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Nathan Phillips Square
Categories: Active Life Parks Public Services & Government Landmarks & Historical Buildings Parks, Landmarks & Historical Buildings [Edit]
100 Queen St WToronto, ON M5H 2N1
Neighbourhood: Downtown Core
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
15 reviews for Nathan Phillips Square
14 reviews in English
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Review from Stephanie C.
Toronto, ON
10/6/2011 29 Check-ins Here
I love Toronto but what it lacks in the downtown core is open public spaces. Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall is the closest thing to what we have to a public square.
If you haven't been to NPS, it's a mishmash of characters: fast food vendors, city counselors, tourists, homeless people, and seagulls, to name a few. They all share the space.
In the summer, NPS becomes a popular retreat for those in nearby offices and for those visiting the city for the first time. When the sun gets too hot, many of us with fair complexions retreat underneath the overpass for the shade, while sun-lovers bask in the sun near the reflective pool and Freedom Arches.
I'm super excited about the revitalization program. From what I've seen of the plans, you should less grey and more green at NPS.
A few things have changed: the Skate Pavilion is nearly completed and the Peace Garden has been dismantled but will be reconstructed elsewhere. But the most beautiful addition has been the Podium Roof Garden. You can walk up the ramp and you'll be transported to a place of serenity. It's a beautifully landscaped area with benches and walkways, and provides a great view of our cityscape.
Being in the centre of our city, special events are held all year round. During the week in the summer, the farmer's market is held on Wednesday which is very popular and spread across the square. There's also Tasty Thursday where you can sample a plethora of ethnic dishes.
The only downside about NPS is the growing avian population. Getting bombed by one of these birds is a regular occurrence, and the aggressive seagulls aren't shy to grab your fries as you leave the Blue Chip Truck.
Other than that, it's a good meeting place and a good place to escape to for an hour or more.Listed in: Urban Oases
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Review from Dana S.
Toronto, ON
2/4/2012
I would say more like a 3.5. The skating rink is pretty small, needed to be zambonied BADLY when we got there so we thought an ice clean was due soon... nope. Definitely took a while.
Otherwise, it's generally not too crowded. They have music playing which makes for a good atmosphere, rentals (can't remember how much) and a small locker room.
It's definitely in a good area, a few minutes walking distance from the Eaton Center in the heart of the city.
Going to check out the rink at the Harbourfront for the first time tonight so we'll see how it measures up. High hopes! -
Review from Darren L.
Scarborough, ON
10/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
Usually some sort of event happening here. Especially over the weekend. You can also skate here in the winter time. Very easily accessible and in a friendly safe area right in the middle of downtown.
You can recognize the building from Resident Evil, it gets blown up at the end. -
Review from Q H.
North York, ON
1/22/2012 6 photos
There's nothing like counting down to the first day of new year with thousands of people on new year's eve at Nathan Phillips Square.
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Review from Sean D.
12/30/2011
Skating was great here. Lots of people, beautiful setting in front of city hall(s) and nice to be in the centre of the city. Rentals were $5 for kids, $10 for adults for 2 hours if you're just visiting like I was. The Eaton Centre is a block away for hot chocolate or coffee and a walk around to warm up!
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Review from Emily T.
Toronto, ON
12/5/2008
It's a true testament to the old when people can appreciate their city hall. Nathan Philips Square is not just the place where our city councilors do their 'thing", but it's a gigantic public space open to everyone. During the year, there are various events, concerts, shows and cavalcades and I've had a number of great experiences there.
One of my fondest memories is skating on the Nathan Philips Square rink in the winter, which just opened this past week. At night, the rink is lit up with bright lights and music is always playing. The rink is open 24/7 so a fun adventure is to go at 3 am, strap on a pair of skates and listen to the not-so-quiet of Queen Street below you.
Every summer the Square holds the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition where you can find all mediums of art on display for sale. The exhibition is as wide and vast as the square itself and it's a wonderful showcase of local Toronto artists, along with several travelers as well. It's a great way to spend a summery afternoon.
During the Nuit Blanche festivities that the city holds every year in the fall, Nathan Philips Square is a huge focal point. This past Nuit Blanche, the two buildings facing each other were lit up like a giant pong game. Crowds of people were singing and laughing as they sat and walked around the Square...
I've been there for free outdoor concerts and shows, and pass the Square on a weekly basis on trips to the downtown core. When I first saw Nathan Philips Square and city hall I thought the concrete wasn't very warm or welcoming; it looked dark and felt cold. I still think they could use more plants and seating, but the Square has definitely grown on me over the years, especially due to all the events I've been to.
If you live in Toronto, take advantage of the free outdoor events Nathan Philips Square holds. If you are a visitor, it may not be so pretty, but the Square is a great place to visit, especially in the summer during a night concert! -
Review from Harris B.
9/24/2009
I just visited Toronto for two days, and there was an event here each day. First there was Mexico in Toronto. Then Manifesto, a great rap and culture festival.
There's a beautiful fountain, a peace garden, food, city hall, and more. Only missing free wifi. You have to go to Timothy's World Coffee across the street for that. -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
12/5/2008 1 photo
I thought the only thing I liked about NPS were the chip trucks, but it really is a decent square with some pretty quirky architecture.
On a summer day, this place is an excellent spot for people watching, especially from one of the benches facing the fountain/magical arches -- that is, if you aren't accosted by the random vagrant or rabid seagull who wants to steal just one of your vinegar drenched fries.
Concerts and farmers markets are held here over the summer, but I have to say these are the two things that fail. The space seems unwisely used and not intimate enough for both. On the other hand, the annual Toronto Outdoor Art Show is a pretty awesome jam-packed collection of amateur and professional artists who can afford the hefty stall fee. It's definitely one of my summer highlights.
In the winter, things CAN still be vibrant, especially when the fountain pool turns into an ice rink. Would be fabulous if I actually knew how to skate, but I'm just as content gawking after grabbing a hot chocolate from Timothy's across the street (or visiting my friends at the chip wagon). -
Review from Vanessa G.
Toronto, ON
10/2/2008
If you come to Toronto, go skating here. If you don't have a pair, you can rent one.
This is such a wonderful experience, I think everyone should do it. Even if you live in the city, go. If you don't know how to skate, you'll learn. We complain about winter but when you're breathing in all the delicious winter air, you can't help loving that you live in Toronto.
They have tons of other great events here: New Year's Eve, concerts, charity events, speeches. It's located right near the Eaton's Centre, so there's always a ton of people there, not to mention the chip, burger and hot dog trucks that line its edge.
Visit NPS if you're a tourist. You won't be disappointed. -
Review from Kim B.
ON
1/29/2009 1 photo
I can only speak of NPS as it exists in the winter, because I generally avoid going into the deep stink of the city too often in the summer. Sad, I know.
But! In the winter! It rocks. Chip trucks stalk its edges, skaters twirl, ice sculptors...uh....admire their work? I dunno. It's just a really vibrant winter space, one that looks entirely beautiful (snow globe styles) in the middle of a gentle snowstorm.
awww. -
Review from Catherine M.
ON
12/15/2008
There are tons of neat things that happen in Nathan Phillips Sqaure, and if I'm nearby I will usually duck over to grab some fries from a chip wagon and see if anything neat is going on. I've stumbled onto a few interesting things like fireworks shows that way before.
Overall though, I feel like the entire square is kind of a big square of concrete, which is why the proposed "greening" of the square would have been so cool. I'm pretty sure I read that the funding may have been put on hold for that project, and it wouldn't surprise me that it did. Like so many other things in the city, it'll do just fine.
Events to check out the square - winter fireworks, jazz festival, the outdoor art show and whatever they do during Nuit Blanche next year. -
Review from Jimi S.
ON
11/28/2008
okay, so this is my confessional review. my heartwarming coming of age review. be prepared to shed a tear; im hoping im already setting the mood. now be open, it might be a tear of joy or sadness. it might be filled with hope; you might say to yourself a little too loudly underneath your breath, "hey, that was me!" or "jeez, why couldnt that have happened to me?" or even " dammit. i knew i should have gone out on nuit blanche, why am i such a snobby homebody?"
okay. so the beans. so it was grade 11 and i had crappy grades, no girlfriend, perhaps i was a late physical bloomer (see, confessional), and things were generally dismal. well as things would have it, the tell tale sign of equally dismal grades surfaced and i was pulled from school one day BY MY DAD and spent the day with him strolling around...
NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE.
my sole memory was of my dad telling me that i could, when i was hurt, stay on the ground, so to speak, and let people continue to kick me, as it were, and wallow in the pathos of it all...OR...i could acknowledge what was going on, dust off the kick marks, and get up and giv'r.
(are you crying yet?)
okay then, how about this? cut to 20 or so years later, nuit blanche 2008, 3:00 in the morning, and i am trudging up the same godforsaken ramp beneath the eye of toronto to take as close a look as i can take at the pong game being played on the windows of the eyelids which were turned into two huge computer screens. WHAT THE H!!!! brilliant. magnificent. times square eat your heart out (for one night).
(how about now? tears of breathtaking joy?)
ah, well. screw you then. maybe your cake is more of an ice skating fetish with your romantic hockey mom or girlfriend, or boyfriend i guess; maybe you want to stuff a few hotdogs, poutines, burgers and some greasy truck onion rings down your throat between stock trades; you probably like snapping photos of the swearing in of new cops and the sea of uniforms that overflow in the peripheral. i bet you get a kick out of kicking up your heels to the sounds of modern versions of la bamba on mexican festival days. ya thats it.
well go ahead then. because thats where youre gonna find it. and maybe youll finally find something to cry about. -
Review from P J.
Toronto, ON
8/7/2010
I love going here, getting a big fat sausage and fries and sharing it with my boyfriend in front of the water, especially late evening when it's lit up. It's offers privacy, because the benches are so far apart and the sound of the water (incredibly relaxing) blocks out most other sound. There are art shows and performers in the summer and during the winter, it has free public ice skating, a gorgeous Christmas tree and wonderful concerts. I wish there was a grass space though, too much concrete.
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Review from Mike S.
Toronto, ON
10/3/2008
I like squares. I think it is a hold over from my time in Europe where
every good city had a main square. Now Toronto has two very good
squares(Nathan Philips and Yonge Dundas) and while Nathan Philips Square
is bigger it is the lesser of the two, but that doesn't mean that it's not any good. Nathan Philips Square is named for
Toronto's first Jewish mayor who was incidentally also one of the first
Jewish mayors of any major city in North America. It is a place for
concerts in the summer but often while these concerts are free they
still aren't worth the price of admission. It is in the winter when
Nathan Philips Square really shines. In the winter the main fountain is
turned into a skating rink reminiscent of Rockafeller Centre. This is the
place where Torontonians can go in the winter and feel like they are
still living in a small town and going to the local pond. There is hot
chocolate and radiators so when you finally get off the ice you can warm
up quickly. Nathan Philips Square like Yonge Dundas square is a special
place for Toronto, because when you are there you are able to experience
the community that is Toronto. When you are there you can feel the
pulse of the city and interact with people from all over the world who
have chosen Toronto for their home. I really like going there and I
think you will too.
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