Banting House Inn, 73 Homewood Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 2K1
Near Jarvis & Wellesley. Click here to view a map of our location.
Our Toronto Bed and Breakfast guest house accommodation is steps from downtown shopping, theatre, gardens, dining, clubbing, art and history. For business or pleasure, you have our assurance of excellence in service.
Banting House Inn ranked in the Top 10 Places to Stay in Toronto!
Our downtown Toronto bed and breakfast is in the heart of the city. Your stay with us for business or pleasure will be a wonderfully memorable experience.
Whether you need accommodation for one night or lodging for longer visits, we're here to help you enjoy Toronto!










Just down the street from Banting House Toronto Bed and Breakfast is one of the crown jewels of the city’s public open space system. The park itself was established in 1858 when local politician George William Allan gave a five-acre parcel of land to the Toronto Horticultural Society. Allan then sold the city of Toronto five adjacent acres in the mid-1860’s with the proviso that the space continue to be available to the public without charge.
An iron and glass pavilion was built in 1879, hosting concerts, performances, conventions, and flower shows. The addition of a fountain and ornate iron fence in the late 1880’s turned the area into a landmark. Although the original pavilion was destroyed by fire, the Palm House greenhouse was soon constructed and remains today as one of the six present-day greenhouses located at Allan Gardens.
The University of Toronto relocated its Botany greenhouses to the Conservatory in 2004, providing new life to the park. The addition created an area devoted to developing the love of gardening in children. With 16,000 square feet of enclosed botanical space, the garden is home to plants from around the world.
Taking their places alongside the original Palm House, the five connected greenhouses each have their own themes. The Arid House features an array of cacti, and the Tropical Landscape House contains specimens from tropic climates such as the Madagascar tropical pine. There are two more areas devoted to tropicals, as well as a Cool Temperature House.
Toronto B&B Banting House is conveniently located for a visit to Allan Gardens. Many of our guests like to visit the Conservatory in the springtime when seasonal bulbs are in full bloom. One visitor has this to say about Allan Gardens:
If you are a botanist at heart - or training - you will find a lot to like here. The Victorian-era building, with later greenhouse additions, has a broad variety of plants, some of which we had never seen before. We visited in late July, and many plants were blooming. The buildings are in the middle of a large park that has numerous benches for sitting.
The beauty of Allan Gardens almost rivals that of our Toronto Bed and Breakfast. At the Conservatory, you will find plants such as bromeliads, orchids, caladiums, amaryllis, ferns, and ivy. The park outside the Conservatory features over 250 trees in a variety of species.
Future planned improvements to the park include a children’s garden and play area, South Garden Terrace, Artists’ Gardens, and a new Fountain Terrace. One welcome recent addition was an off-leash dog park completed in the early fall of 2008. (See box.)
When you visit our Toronto B&B, plan to take the time to visit the greenhouses. It is open weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm. And you can’t beat the price! True to George Allan’s original wishes, both the park and the conservatory remain free of charge.
Fran's Diner
Open 24 hours and 70 years later, Fran's Diner is perfect for a snack or any meal of the day… anytime! Don't miss two locations of this wonderful diner, both a few minutes walk from Banting House.
Covering all the classics such as the Big Breakfast, Pancakes, Triple Decker Sandwiches, Homemade Soups, Sheppard’s Pie and Liver N Onions, the Classic Tuna Melt is a personal favorite.
Besides the classic "diner" dishes, Fran's has more diverse items such as Wraps, Pastas, Asian Style Bowls, Steaks and Vegetarian dishes.
The Fran’s tradition started almost 70 years ago by Francis Deck. Francis was born in Buffalo, New York where his older brother Greg had started Deco Refreshments in 1918. Fran began opening out of town Deco locations. There were over 50 Deco locations in Buffalo alone. Fran and his wife Ellen Jane started Fran's in Toronto as a modest ten-stool diner at St.Clair and Yonge St in 1940, the couple’s vision was one of serving unique high quality food throughout the whole day to their customers.
Over the years Fran’s became a Toronto institution known across the city and surrounding areas for its unrivaled home style cooking and warm welcoming atmosphere. Offering fresh food 24 hours a day it quickly became a gathering place for people from all walks of life.
During it’s more than six-decade existence Fran’s has become famous for a number of its foods. Fran Deck first used the Banquet Burger, a common item in any restaurant today. Other notables are rice pudding and chili, which have won numerous awards over the years.
Today after so many years in Toronto’s competitive market Fran’s is still known as “the restaurant that never closes” (even during black-outs). The tradition is still carried on strong by the new owners, the Kim family, serving great food at great value around the clock.
Located at 20 College Street, or, 200 Victoria Street- both within walking distance of Banting House Inn!
Looking for a night at the theatre before you settle down at our economical B&B in downtown Toronto? Do we have a treat for you!

Jersey Boys tells the story of how four blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks grew up to become Franki Vallie and the Four Seasons.

Writing their own music, the group sold 175 million records before they were 30 years old. More information can be found at www.JerseyBoysInfo.com.
DanCap president Aubrey Dan has Broadway producing credits including The Wedding Singer and The Pirate Queen, while artistic producer Paul Shaw has served as producer for The Canadian Stage Company on more than 80 productions, including The Overcoat, URINETOWN: The Musical, Ain't Misbehavin', and Hair.
We'll see you after the show!
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One of the newest parts of Allan Gardens is the off-leash dog park. The 3,000-square foot space is fenced-in with black iron in keeping with the park’s Victorian design. The fence is double-gated to prevent escapes. Within the fenced area is a separate place for small dogs, to keep them from getting trampled in the large-dog area.

The park features a water fountain, solid rock benches and two giant statues of dogs. From what we’ve heard, some of the real dogs find the statues a bit intimidating, but we think they’re neat! To keep the park looking nice and green, there is an underground sprinkler system. The dog park cost nearly $400,000 to build, and was financed by fees collected from an area developer.
The dog park was added to the grounds of Allan Gardens as a means of keeping people from letting their dogs loose in the park, disturbing other visitors and leaving messes in the grass. What a positive way to deal with an ongoing problem! Ward Councilors welcome the dog-park because of the uplifting effect it has had on the whole area. Ward 30 Councilor Paula Fletcher says, “This brings more people into the park as they come with their dogs. It definitely makes the parks safer because dog owners are here at all times of the day and night.”
"The dog park was added to the grounds of Allan Gardens as a means of keeping people from letting their dogs loose in the park, disturbing other visitors and leaving messes in the grass. What a positive way to deal with an ongoing problem! Ward Councilors welcome the dog-park because of the uplifting effect it has had on the whole area. Ward 30 Councilor Paula Fletcher says, “This brings more people into the park as they come with their dogs. It definitely makes the parks safer because dog owners are here at all times of the day and night.”
Now that the dogs have their own place to go, park authorities plan to restore old flower beds that had previously been trampled by loose dogs, as part of the overall upgrade efforts."
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