Toronto TTC Subway Map: A 5-Step Guide

In Toronto, the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) runs the subway, the light rail, the streetcars and the buses. This guide reads the Toronto TTC subway map in words, so you can plan before you open a map. Get the official map from the transit commission itself. Its routes and schedules page lists a subway, light rail and streetcar map, a system map with buses, a downtown map and a Blue Night map.

Step 1: Read the Toronto TTC subway map in five lines

The map has five numbered lines. Three are subway lines and two are light rail lines. Together the subway lines have 70 stations, by the TTC's own count.

Line 5 Eglinton opened on 8 February 2026. According to the TTC, every train stops at every station, so you can board anywhere along it. Line 6 Finch West opened on 7 December 2025 and connects to Line 1 at Finch West station.

The map is not a street map. It shows stations in order, not distances.

Line 1 Yonge-University is the line that serves Yonge Street. The TTC pages used here do not describe its route street by street. They do send you from Queen, King and Bloor-Yonge stations onto Yonge Street, and the Eaton Centre sits at 220 Yonge Street.

Most big sights are on Line 1. These are the closest stations, as the TTC's Explore Toronto page lists them.

For trips the lines do not cover, a Toronto taxi and the other ways around the city are covered in the getting-around guide.

Step 2: Check when the subway runs

The subway runs from about 6 a.m. to about 2 a.m. from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays it starts at about 8 a.m. and still stops at about 2 a.m. The exact time varies by station, and the TTC says 2 a.m., not 1:30 a.m.

After the trains stop, the Blue Night Network takes over. These night buses and streetcars run from about 1:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. every day. On most major routes a bus comes every 30 minutes or better. The TTC also has a Blue Night map on its routes and schedules page.

The pages used for this guide do not say how often subway trains come. Check ttc.ca for the next train.

Pro Tip Skip the CA$4 PRESTO card on a short visit, because a tapped bank card or phone gets the same CA$3.30 fare and the same two-hour transfer.

Step 3: Pay with a tap and use the two-hour transfer

An adult fare is CA$3.30 if you tap a PRESTO card or a bank card, and CA$3.35 in cash. A bank card can be a debit card, a credit card or a phone wallet. Cash must be the exact amount, because the TTC does not give change. Children 12 and under ride free, as the TTC fares page states.

Here is how a ride works.

1. Tap your card or phone when you enter a subway station. That tap starts your fare.
2. Ride Line 1, 2 or 4.
3. When you board a bus, a streetcar or a Line 5 or Line 6 train within two hours, tap the same card or phone again. You pay no second fare.

On Line 5 and Line 6 you tap on the platform before you board. Onboard payment is not available on Line 6, so tap before you step on.

The two-hour transfer works with a PRESTO card or a tapped bank card. It does not work with cash. If you pay with a bank card, keep tapping the same card or phone. A different card counts as a new fare.

A physical PRESTO card costs CA$4. You can buy it at the fare machines in subway stations, at Shoppers Drug Mart, at some customer service outlets, or online at prestocard.ca. A digital card for your phone wallet is free for ages 13 and up. For a short visit, tapping your own bank card is usually simpler, because you skip the CA$4.

The PRESTO day pass costs CA$13.50. The TTC fares page does not explain its rules, so read them on ttc.ca before you buy. Four tapped fares cost CA$13.20, so the day pass only pays off when you start five separate trips in one day. The two-hour transfer often merges trips into one fare, so many visitors never reach that number.

The best way to see a big city is the public transit its own residents ride.

Step 4: See the sights with the TTC or a bus tour

Riding the TTC is the cheaper way to reach the sights, and a bus tour is the easier way to see them. A tour is worth it when you want a guide and a fixed loop instead of a plan of your own. A tour is the wrong pick when you only need to get from one place to another.

Taking the TTC is a good fit if you know where you want to go. A single fare costs CA$3.30, and the two-hour transfer covers a change of line. You learn the lines once, then you ride all day. The catch is that you do the planning, the checking of directions and the walking from the station.

A hop-on hop-off bus removes that planning. The City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus, from €45 per person, offers a 24-hour or 48-hour ticket. The operator says it has 13 stops and passes the CN Tower, Casa Loma and the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). A full loop takes about two hours and 15 minutes if you stay on board. The GetYourGuide listing shows a rating of 4.3 from 3,058 reviews, free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and City Sightseeing Worldwide as the operator. You meet at Sankofa Square, 1 Dundas St E, and the ticket does not include hotel pickup, food or attraction entry. The listing does not say how many people ride the bus.

The same kind of ticket comes with a boat ride in the hop-on hop-off bus with harbour cruise, from €53 per person. Shop Dine Tour runs it, and it is rated 4.4 from 337 reviews, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The ticket is valid for one or two days and meets at Yonge-Dundas Square, 1 Dundas St E. It does not include hotel pickup, food, drinks or paid attraction entry, and the listing does not give a group size. Choose it if the harbour matters as much as the streets. The full range of buses, prices and stops is on the hop on hop off Toronto page.

If the weather is cold or wet, the TTC works with a different kind of tour. A guided walk through PATH lasts two hours, starts at 65 Front St W and costs from €27 per person. PATH is the underground walkway under downtown, and the listing says the walk reaches key sights without going outside. Buzz Tours runs it for a small group, and it is rated 4.9 from 112 reviews, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The listing says it is not suitable for children under 10 or for people with mobility impairments or wheelchair users. Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide.

The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Toronto in October 2026 found 6 city bus tours, from €31.39 to €53.17 per person.

Step 5: Plan for the airport, late nights and elevators

A few services help at the edges of the day. For the airport, the 900 Airport Express bus runs from Kipling Station on Line 2 to Pearson, about 20 to 25 minutes one way. On the TTC's airport page, it runs about 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. from Monday to Saturday, and about 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. on Sundays, with a single TTC fare.

The other airport choice is the UP Express, a separate train from Union Station. UP Express says a one-way adult fare with PRESTO is CA$9.25, and the stations are Union, Bloor, Mount Dennis, Weston and Pearson.

For a late night, the 300A Bloor-Danforth night bus runs about 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. every day. The TTC says it takes about 60 minutes from Yonge and Bloor to the airport. The TTC page does not list a fare or how often it runs.

For step-free rides, the TTC says most stations have elevators. A May 2026 TTC report puts it at 64 of 70 subway stations, with elevator work still going on at College, Spadina, Museum, Islington, King and Old Mill. Before you travel, call the TTC 24-hour line at 416 393-4636 and press 5, or use the Elevators and Escalators page on ttc.ca to check a specific elevator.

Key Takeaway One tapped card, one CA$3.30 fare and a two-hour transfer window cover most TTC trips, and Lines 5 and 6 need the tap before you board.