Are you a Gilmore Girls fan? If so, this quaint Ontario small town should definitely be on your radar this spring.
For a quick day trip from Toronto, you can visit the charming small town that served as the filming location for the TV series.
Just 35 minutes from the city lies a historic hamlet that’s basically Canada’s version of Stars Hollow, with cute B&Bs, restaurants, boutiques, and lots to see and do — all that’s missing is Rory and Lorelai Gilmore.
In Markham, Main Street Unionville served as the filming location for the pilot episode of the series, which follows a 32-year-old single mom who lives with her teenage daughter in the fictional small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
As a huge Gilmore Girls fan myself, I had to pay Unionville a visit once I learned it was a part of the show. What I found was a cute town with old-world charm that you’ll easily fall in love with, whether you’re a Gilmore Girls fan or not.
The town makes for a great summer day trip from Toronto. If you’ll be checking it out this spring or summer, here’s how to plan out your day.
Grab some brunch at NextDoor Restaurant
Address: 139 Main St. Unionville, Markham, ON
Why You Need To Go: Rory and Lorelai never missed out on a complete breakfast at Luke’s Diner, and neither should you.
While you can’t actually visit Luke’s Diner in Unionville (the building that played it in the show is a medical spa in real life) you can get the next best thing at NextDoor Restaurant.
The restaurant serves up brunch (and dinner) using Canadian ingredients, with options like buttermilk pancakes, shrimp toast and shakshuka on the menu.
Don’t miss their iconic brunch towers, which come stacked with smoked meat, pancakes, eggs, sausage and more.
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Snap a pic under the town gazebo
Address:139 Main St. Unionville, Markham, ON
Why You Need To Go: In town, you’ll find a cute gazebo that’s perfect to snap a pic with.
The gazebo is located at 139 Main Street Unionville, by the Historic Planning Mill. Fun fact — while it didn’t appear in the series, the gazebo served as the inspiration for the town gazebo featured in Gilmore Girls.
The gazebo is decorated with flowers and garlands for each season. There’s also benches inside where you can sit and people watch.
Grab some coffee
Address: 170 Main St. Unionville, Markham, ON
Why You Need To Go: In true Gilmore Girls fashion, you can never have too much coffee! Head to the Old Firehall Confectionery on your way down Main Street to grab a cup of java.
The confectionery’s location in Unionville is a historic building that at one time housed the town’s firehall.
It also influenced the look and feel of Taylor’s Olde Fashioned Soda Shoppe in later seasons of Gilmore Girls.
Here, you’ll find sweet treats, local goodies, and, of course, fresh coffee. However, if you’re not a coffee person, they also make a great chai latte.
Other coffee spots in the area include Espresso 21 Cafe, which serves up coffee, tea, fruit tea and savoury bites, and the Alley, which offers hand-crafted drinks and grab-and-go cafe food including pastries, salads, fried snacks and house blended specialty coffee.
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Check out the historic buildings
Address: Along Main Street Unionville
Why You Need To Go: Unionville’s historic buildings are a highlight of the area. You’ll find charming inns, boutiques, restaurants and more with unique architecture and character.
You can walk down Main Street and take in the picturesque buildings. Be sure to have a camera handy as they’re too pretty to not snap a pic.
Go on a Gilmore Girls walking tour
Address: Around Main Street Unionville
Why You Need To Go: You can enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the Unionville locations that appeared in the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls.
VisitMarkham has a handy online tour guide you can follow to see the iconic filming locations from the show, including the building that served as Luke’s Diner, the Stars Hollow sign, and more scenery from the show.
The tour begins at the iconic “Stars Hollow” sign (which in real life is the sign for the Unionville Planning Mill) and ends at the Old Firehall Confectionery.
Along the way, you’ll be able to spot other scenes from the show, like the red brick church that appears in the opening shot of the first episode.
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Shop for unique clothing, jewelry and more
Address: Along Main Street Unionville
Why You Need To Go: Main Street Unionville is home to a number of cute shops and boutiques that would be right at home in Stars Hollow. You can find everything from clothing and accessories to home decor and gifts.
Along Main Street, you’ll find clothing stores like Susannah Designer Consignment, Tucci Armadio, and Pretty Thingz, jewelry stores like Silver Lilac Jewellery and Gold Crest Jewellery, and specialty stores like the Cigar Bodega.
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Paint some pottery at Crock A Doodle
Address: 159 Main St. Unionville, Markham, ON
Why You Need To Go: For a fun activity to do on Main Street, you can head to Crock A Doodle and paint your own pottery.
The space offers mugs, plates housewares and more ready-to-paint pieces that you can customize, and feels like the kind of charming easy-going activity that you’d find in Stars Hollow.
The store provides the pieces ready to paint, and an array of paint colours to choose from.
Once you’ve finished painting your piece, you’ll leave it with the store to be professionally glazed and kiln-fired to a bright, shiny, food-safe finish that you can pick up later.
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Check out the local festivals
Address: Along Main Street Unionville
Why You Need To Go: Just like the town it plays in Gilmore Girls, Unionville hosts a variety of events throughout the year on Main Street, including concerts, markets, holiday festivities, and movie showings.
Events this spring and summer include Mother’s Day on Main, the TD Markham Jazz Festival, and Music on Main.
Don’t miss the Unionville Festival, which kicks off the summer on the first weekend of June. The festival, which has been taking place since 1969, features a parade, food vendors, live music and tons of fun activities.
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Finish the day with a sweet treat
Address: 155 Main St. Unionville, Markham, ON
Why You Need To Go: Finish your day in Unionville with a sweet treat — it’s the Rory and Lorelai way!
For an array of frozen treats, Flavours of Unionville offers 24 flavours of gelato, and also serves up ice cream, bubble tea and frozen yogurt.
You can also grab a cone at the Old Firehall Confectionery or the local Dairy Queen.
If ice cream isn’t your sweet treat of choice, you can also check out Sweetie Pie for both sweet and savoury pies, or the local Starbucks for cookies and baked goods.
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If you love small towns, be sure to check out the other small towns in Canada with Gilmore Girls vibes for more of that Stars Hollow charm.
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.
