Downtown, Sunny Acres & The Junction, Guelph

Saturday starts at the farmers' market and wanders past limestone storefronts, with the Basilica keeping watch over it all. Concerts, cafés, the riverside walk home: this is Guelph with the volume turned up. Sunny Acres is a little pocket west of downtown that knows its neighbours by name. McCrae House and Royal City Park are a short stroll, and the farmers' market is practically around the corner. The Junction fills the streets between Paisley Road, Edinburgh Road and Wellington Street, beside Sunny Acres.

The 2021 census counted about 3,500 homes in Downtown, Sunny Acres and The Junction. About three in ten are in apartment buildings under five storeys, and about three in ten are in buildings of five storeys or more. Single detached houses make up just over a quarter. Half of the homes were built in 1960 or earlier, and about a quarter between 1961 and 1980.

Guelph Central Station, at 79 Carden Street, is the hub for Guelph Transit, and most of the city's bus routes meet there, including the 99 Mainline along Gordon, Norfolk and Woolwich streets. GO trains on the Kitchener line run from the station to Union Station in Toronto, and VIA Rail and GO buses stop there too. Wellington Street, Gordon Street, Paisley Road and Edinburgh Road are the main streets, and the Hanlon Expressway runs along the west side.

Royal City Park, at 139 Gordon Street, covers about 5.6 hectares along the Speed River, with a playground and a ball diamond. Howitt Park and Sunny Acres Park, at 45 Edinburgh Road North, have playgrounds and community gardens. The Guelph Farmers' Market, the River Run Centre and the Sleeman Centre are all downtown, along with City Hall and Guelph Museums on Norfolk Street. The main branch of the Guelph Public Library is at 100 Norfolk Street, and the new Central Library on Baker Street is scheduled to open in spring 2027.

• Central Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the downtown and Sunny Acres streets.
• Paisley Road Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for The Junction, with French immersion.
• Willow Road Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The public middle school.
• Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school.
• John McCrae Public School — JK to Grade 8. The public French immersion school for downtown and Sunny Acres, and for Grades 7 and 8 from The Junction.
• John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for French immersion students.
• Holy Rosary Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for downtown and Sunny Acres, on Stevenson Street North.
• Sacred Heart Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The board offers Sacred Heart to the downtown and Sunny Acres streets for the International Baccalaureate program, with Holy Rosary as the other choice.
• St. Joseph Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for The Junction.
• St. James Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for downtown and Sunny Acres.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for The Junction.