Kensington Market and Chinatown
The board files this area as Kensington-Chinatown.
A national historic site that still works as a market, beside the busiest Chinatown in the country — low-rise, dense and unlike anywhere else in the city.
Homes for sale in Kensington Market and Chinatown
178 on the market now — each with its school boundaries, sale history and what comparable homes actually sold for.
What it is like
Two adjoining areas with different housing. Kensington Market proper is narrow Victorian and Edwardian houses, many converted to shops at grade and flats above, on streets too small for through traffic. Chinatown along Spadina and Dundas West is a mix of commercial blocks, older apartment buildings and newer infill condominiums. Very little here is new construction, and a lot of the housing stock is small, old and much altered, so condition varies enormously and an inspection matters more than usual.
Getting around
The 510 Spadina streetcar runs in its own right-of-way along the western edge and connects north to Spadina station on Line 2 and south to Union. The 505 Dundas and 506 Carlton streetcars cross the area east-west. Line 1 stations at St Patrick and Queen’s Park are a short walk east. Driving inside the market itself is slow by design.
Things to see and do
Kensington Market was designated a National Historic Site in 2006 and remains a working market of produce, fish, cheese and vintage clothing along Augusta, Baldwin and Kensington Avenue. Pedestrian Sundays close the streets to cars through the warmer months. Chinatown’s restaurants and grocers run along Spadina between Queen and College. The Art Gallery of Ontario is on the eastern edge, and Trinity Bellwoods is a short walk west.
Shops, restaurants and work
Independent retail almost entirely — this is one of the few central districts with very little chain presence inside it, which is both the attraction and a planning fight that has run for years. Employment nearby is the university, the hospitals on University Avenue and the Financial District, all walkable or one short ride.
Schools nearby
Within about 2.5km of the middle of the neighbourhood, with the Ministry of Education’s EQAO results where the school reported them. A rating is one measure of one thing, and school boundaries are set by the board rather than by distance — check any individual listing for the boundaries that actually apply to it.
| School | Level | EQAO |
|---|---|---|
| St Michael's Choir (Jr) School | Elementary | 9.8 / 10 |
| St Michael's Choir (Sr) School | Secondary | 9.8 / 10 |
| Kensington Community School School Junior | Elementary | 9.7 / 10 |
| Montrose Junior Public School | Elementary | 9.5 / 10 |
| École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau | Elementary | 9.3 / 10 |
| Collège français secondaire | Secondary | 9.3 / 10 |
Sale figures are aggregates from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s MLS® System over the last twelve months. School information: Ontario Ministry of Education and EQAO. Population, income and age: Statistics Canada 2021 Census, averaged across the dissemination areas this neighbourhood covers.