City Centre

Barrie’s City Centre wraps around the edge of Kempenfelt Bay and is the best example of the city’s growing diversity. Boasting a variety of residents, lifestyles, and real estate, all within less than five kilometres there truly is something for everyone. 

With breathtaking scenery and urban accessibility, the City Centre is the best of both worlds. During the daytime, stores and restaurants on well trafficked Dunlop Street are busy and bustling, and the parks along the lakeshore are teeming with cyclists and joggers, beach bums and Tai Chi-loving seniors. In the evenings, the younger crowd comes out to play in the pubs and clubs sprinkled throughout the core.

From film geeks and theatre lovers to the fitness buffs and amateur boaters it’s no surprise that people from all over the city flock here on the weekends for shopping and a walk along Barrie’s waterfront. It’s also no surprise that the waterfront condos, with prime views and ultra-convenient locations, are selling like hotcakes.

In the summertime the numerous festivals and events along the waterfront showcase all that the city has to offer while being a great day out in the sun for the family. In the winter the Circle at the Centre becomes a pleasure skating ice rink in the middle of the city so a hot chocolate is never far away and the Centennial Park Ice Rink is a great spot for shinny with a water view. Twelve months of the year the Barrie’s Farmers’ Market runs on Saturday mornings bringing local growers and makers together to sell their wares. Barrie Farmers’ Market is held on the premises of Barrie City Hall, both outside during the spring and summer months and inside the City Hall Rotunda through the autumn and winter.

The waterfront is one of the neighbourhood’s best features; along with the multiple parks around the lake and the City of Barrie Marina. In addition, the downtown core has a thriving arts and culture scene, with a couple of museums and theatres. The Barrie Transit Terminal and the main branch of the Barrie Public Library are within the neighbourhood borders.

To recommend a single restaurant in the city centre would be near impossible as the options are almost endless. Walk the streets of downtown and you’ll be sure to find something incredible to satisfy your cravings.