Nathan Phillips Square Toronto: A Year-Round Event Guide

Every city has a living room, and Toronto’s is the square outside City Hall. It works in December with skates and lights, and it works in July with a festival stage.

What is Nathan Phillips Square?

The City describes it as a public gathering place where architecture, culture and community come together outside City Hall. The City’s Square page cites 1.8 million visitors a year to community and City-led events there, such as Cavalcade of Lights and concerts.

The Square’s design has stayed part of the story. The arches were officially named Freedom Arches in 1989, and a piece of the Berlin Wall lies at the base of the centre arch on the south side, embedded with a plaque. The arches and the reflecting pool and skating rink are part of the heritage designation of the Square. For the building behind it, see our City Hall architecture guide.

Can you skate at Nathan Phillips Square?

Yes, and it is the reason many people first visit. The reflecting pool is a decorative and cooling feature in summer, but the City says it is probably best known as a skating rink in winter, open to the public annually from November to March. West of the rink, a pavilion has food concessions, change rooms, skate rentals from November to March and public washrooms. Above it, a roof terrace lets you take in a panoramic view of the Square.

Check the City’s site for this season’s skating dates and rental details before you go. For reference, last season the City announced free skate rentals every Saturday from December 6 to January 3, 2026, during the Cavalcade, courtesy of Desjardins. For more rinks, our free outdoor skating guide has plenty.

What do you need to see on the Square?

Make a slow lap and tick off five things.

The TORONTO sign. It stretches across the Square, stands three metres tall and is called by the City one of Toronto’s most photographed landmarks. Its 3D letters, Medicine Wheel and maple leaf have vinyl wrap artwork on their outer edges, and its LED lights change colour to mark holidays, festivals and major events and illuminate the Square every night. A new 3D sign was installed in September 2020. It is a more durable replica of the original, installed in July 2015 for the Toronto 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games.

The Archer. Its official name is Three-Way Piece No. 2, and it is a 2.5 tonne bronze free-form statue. It was installed in Nathan Phillips Square in 1966. Henry Moore donated 200 pieces of his artwork to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1974, and they are on view in the AGO’s Henry Moore Sculpture Centre.

The Peace Garden. It was relocated from the middle of the Square to the west landscaped area next to Osgoode Hall and the Law Courts Sculpture Garden. It is organized around a reflecting pool between two elevated planting areas with flowering trees and native plants. At the north end of the pool, a rekindled eternal flame sits within a vessel of water that cascades into the pool. The City notes that the Peace Garden is not available as an event space. We think it makes a calm spot to walk through.

The Spirit Garden. The City’s Square page states that the Spirit Garden is now open. It is a 20,650-square-foot Indigenous cultural space, created in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 82. At its centre is a two-metre-tall limestone Turtle sculpture in a reflecting pool. It was developed by Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre in partnership with the City of Toronto.

The Churchill statue and the Roman column. A three-metre bronze statue of Sir Winston Churchill by Oscar Nemon sits in the northwest corner of the Square known as Sculpture Court. A 2.1-metre ancient granite column was presented in 1957 to Mayor Nathan Phillips by the Mayor of Rome as a token of friendship between the citizens of Rome and Toronto.

What is on at the Square through the year?

The City publishes a schedule of what is happening today and in the days ahead. Here is the winter run, taken from the City’s 2026 calendar.

• Cavalcade of Lights. The festival has brought holiday cheer to Torontonians since 1967 and offers nightly ice skating and festive light installations through the holiday season. The City’s 2026 schedule lists it from November 24 to 30, with the event beginning November 28, and again from December 1 to 31. Last season the City’s release promised Toronto’s official Christmas tree and more than 300,000 LED lights. Our Cavalcade of Lights guide has the full story, and our holiday lights guide maps more of the season.
• Menorah lighting. The City’s 2026 schedule lists the Menorah lighting for Hanukkah from December 4 to 12.
• Lunar New Year. The City’s 2026 schedule lists SPARK The Lunar New Year in February, with the event on February 14 to 16 around Family Day. That listing has passed, so watch the City’s calendar for the 2027 dates.

The rest of the year is just as full. The City’s 2026 schedule lists Doors Open on May 23 to 24, a Pride Festival from June 25 to 29, the Indigenous Legacy Gathering from September 26 to October 1, Nuit Blanche from October 2 to 11 and Diwali, Festival of Lights, from October 21 to 25. A permanent stage doubles as a landscape element and a shade canopy on summer days.

How do you plan a visit?

Start with the City’s schedule, then wander. The City reminds readers that the schedule is not a tool for determining availability. If you are pairing the Square with the rest of the core, our guide to parks in Toronto lists more places to breathe nearby.

Send this to the friend who has never skated under City Hall.