Nathan Phillips Square

You can love it, or you can hate it (okay, maybe you can semi love and hate it too), and personally, I LOVE THIS PLACE. I personally prefer it over Dundas Square because of the variety in events that take place here, though Dundas Square has beautiful animal figurines and display screens that reminds you of Times Square in New York.
Spring, summer, fall or winter, Nathan Phillips Square IS the place for many events and activities in all seasons. During the winter, there is an ice rink decorated with beautiful lights at night that hover over the rink. The rink is free if you bring your own skates, and they have rentals, sharpening services and pushers as well. Be mindful that it will be slightly more expensive though. Other winter events that are iconic of this Square is Calvacade of Lights and the New Years Bash that happens every year with a ton of people crowded in the heart of Toronto.
After Pan Am and the beautiful Toronto sign installation, it honestly brought more light and culture to Nathan Phillips Square. I’m so glad they placed it there!
During the summer, there will be several times where mini booths will be held in Nathan Phillips Square where vendors sell their merchandise! Toronto is a beautiful place in the summer as it’s usually breezy compared to the summers in other places!

Went skating on a date night and had a great time full of fun and joyous ambience. Was cool to see the surroundings and the eatery onsite, but would be nice if there was more of that in the immediate area. Would also be good to have more protected flooring for walking around with skates and more effective seating/​storage options. However, great night and glad Toronto has this to offer.

Love this place!!! Ideal for any event that will attract thousands of people. Very easy to get to (either Osgoode or Queen station). Also a nice view of city hall…

As a tourist and not being able to see this place all the time, here’s what my conclusions are:
— It’s a pretty place and courtyard with the fountains and the Toronto sign is rather peaceful and clean
–The church that it faces reminds you of Boston or New York
–The city hall building looks like a space ship, even my daughter said the asme thing
–It’s a tourist trap and you can see mainly tourists here
–If you come here on a weekday, it’s actually rather quiet

Once upon a time, a friendly giant was strolling along the shore of Lake Ontario. It was a muggy summer day, so she stopped for a refreshing drink from the lake.
Gazing across the horizon, her mind wandered. She constructed a small dome of sand, and surrounded it with two curved towers.
(She was the last of her kind, and she had never seen a male giant. Otherwise, she might have constructed a CN tower + Skydome arrangement)
She froze suddenly — it was a familiar scent. A woolly mammoth! Or was it? She stayed still, slowly tracking it with her eyes until it returned to the forest. As she left for the hunt, she admired her sand castle.
She stepped forward, pulling her leg back to unleash a mighty kick.
But she held back at the last moment, disappearing into the forest forever.
— — — — — — — — — — —
Indeed, she wasn’t much of an artist. From behind, the towers are hideous. But, looks aren’t everything.
There are a few things to love about Nathan Phillips Square:
1. It feels like a real Square, something that Yonge-​Dundas Square cannot claim. It should be called Yonge-​Dundas Ludicrous Street Corner. The center of NPS is tucked away nicely from Queen and Bay streets.
2. Ice skating. It’s one of the few urban outdoor activities in the winter. I love harbourfront (disco skating), but NPS is less crowded and a couple degrees warmer. (note: bring your own skates, some of the rentals are awful. Just looking at them, you’ll want a tetanus shot)
3. Great concert venue. There are several options for stage configurations. The sound carries well.
4. Random events. It’s always worth a random walk through. You never know when it’s going to be an art festival, a music festival, a farmers market, or some other strange event. (You could use the internet to find out, but that’s no fun). Usually there is some sort of food /​art /​music to investigate regardless of what the event is.
Warning: If the square is empty, the grey concrete may depress you. Don’t look down
Bonus: Worf for mayor! If he would just walk through the portal, I’d vote for him.

I’ve been going to Nathan Phillips Square for years for various events, and of course the iconic NYE bash.
Yes it’s a tourist trap, and yes it can get packed but it’s still a lot of fun. I was here yesterday for a Pan Am event and while it was packed, there was more seating than I expected, plenty of food concession stands around and it’s relatively easy to get to. Do some shopping at the Eaton Centre and then walk over and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. There is skating in the winter but I have yet to go b/​c it always seems way too crowded for my liking. Various festivals and events and concerts are held here b/​c the space is big.

Continuing my tradition of reviewing public concrete courtyards, I feel I must add to what is surely, not a unique review amongst the others.
How to describe a public centrepiece of Toronto? Where locals and tourists and near and far congregate?
During the winter, the large fountain pond is converted to a public outdoors skating rink. You can even rent skates and if space allows, rent a little day locker to leave your stuff. But most people leave their stuff near the concrete benches around the pond.
During summer it is transformed to a farmer’s market, art market, larger festivals (Panamania for example) with music and entertainment.
Is it the glue that binds Torontonians?

This is one of the major tourist attractions for people for toronto or even 905 dwellers. I will say it is lively during all seasons whether it be festivals in the summer or skating in the winter. This rink is packed either way. And there is always concessions from hotdogs to Icecream to hot coco. It’s always a pleasent Time when in the dT core and in need of an attraction fix.

I proudly consider myself a Torontonian now (after about four years in the city) so it doesn’t feel right giving Nathan Phillips any less than four stars. I remember the first time I came here was to visit City Hall on a less than pleasant errand and I was intimidated by the two looming towers and giant square. Now, it’s just another fixture in what I call ‘home’.
In true Toronto fashion, I avoid the square during summer weekends as it’s flooded with tourists and *gasp* 905ers (the horror!). Unless there’s an event I desperately want to attend. They recently had a city-​wide pillow fight here which I enjoyed tremendously. Less so for the down-​filled whacks I received, and more so for the sense of community that can often be lost in a city centre.
During the winter, we’ll sometimes lace up our skates and come here. Free if you bring your own. It’s more crowded than Harbourfront or the community centre rinks, but there’s something more romantic about it. Maybe it’s watching your partner shamelessly burrow his/​her face in poutine afterwards.
Like any urbanite, I love and hate this place. But I know if I ever leave, I’ll miss those damned looming towers.

I like the square but it isn’t one of my favourite places in the city. The skating isn’t as nice as Harbourfront (it feels a lot more repetitive and the space is colder) and it is large enough to feel impersonal when events are staged here. Still, it is central and surrounded by architecturally interesting structures.

Great place to skate, I used to go here every year. There’s always small kiosks that sell weird trinkets, and a lot of food trucks around. The skating rink at Harborfront is a lot bigger and better, but this one is the more popular location (especially to non-​downtown natives). It’s located in the heart of downtown, right next to Eatons so it’s very accessible. A lot of other events are held at this location. I’d recommend the harborfront skating rink if you’ve never tried it.

Other than the skating rink there is really nothing exciting to see here. It’s usually full of workers for the city that work at city hall during the weekdays. The skating rink on the other hand is what people usually come here for. To use the rink, it’s free! Who doesn’t love that? If you don’t own a pair of skates yourself, you can rent them for $ 10 (adult) and $ 5 (kids). It’s nice to go there during the night because the «ceiling» of the rink lights up and is actually quite pretty. During the summer though, the rink becomes an outdoor fountain. All in all, Toronto’s city hall building itself does need some maintenance. Perhaps some renovations and upgrades would be nice, seeing that the city hall building looks the same as a decade ago. Perhaps something new to set fireworks on would be nice for a change.

If I lived in Toronto, this would be my lunch spot everyday.
As much of a great city and a comfortable lifestyle Toronto has to offer, it lacks a lot of sightseeing localities, not only for tourists but also for residents. Nathan Phillips Square was a breath of fresh air from all those cluttered streets of those hip stores on Yonge. Not exactly an ideal place to hangout since there are fairs and whatnot that block half of the space. As far as art in Toronto goes, this is pretty much one of the few places you can see an outdoor art creation and it’s nothing like what you’ll see in Chicago.
I came here when there was an art fair and while the white tents did ruin the fun a bit, the fountain was a gorgeous view. Granted, it’s not the Bellagio but that’s Toronto’s city hall for you and I’m sure it looks beautiful at night. I’ve been to many city halls and this was certainly not the most dull-​looking. It’s much cleaner than I had imagined and more spaces. Plus, their tap water comes from from a tank rather than pipes!

Sorry Toronto… This place could be better… I do love the open markets…

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!

C’est the patinoire où les torontois se rendent en famille et amis surtout le week end. Vous verrez des gens de tout âge s’adonner aux joies du patinage: des bambins jusqu’aux mamies avec des cannes!
Cette patinoire offre un panorama grandiose avec la mairie et les immeubles du quartier des affaires.
Cependant mieut vaux né pas venir le week end car cela devient vite bondé.

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!

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 see 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.

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.

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.

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).