The Distillery Historic District is the most photogenic part of Toronto — forty-seven Victorian industrial buildings in red brick and cast iron, all immaculately preserved and now converted into galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and performance venues. The complex is entirely pedestrianised. On a quiet weekday morning, before the tour groups arrive, the courtyards of the old Gooderham & Worts Distillery feel genuinely atmospheric.
The Distillery was the largest in the British Empire during the 1860s, producing whisky on an industrial scale. When it closed in 1990, the buildings sat empty for over a decade before a major heritage restoration converted the site without demolishing anything. The Young Centre for the Performing Arts, home to the Soulpepper Theatre Company, is in one of the old still houses.
The Christmas market in November and December is a Toronto institution — mulled wine, artisan craft stalls, and a properly large Christmas tree in the main courtyard. During the rest of the year, the district is busiest on weekends. It is also a reliable filming location for period dramas set in 19th-century North America or Europe.