The Handmaid's Tale: Gilead in Ontario

June's assigned home is a historic 1893 mansion on the corner of Bay and Aberdeen in Hamilton, standing in for the Waterfords' house. Offred meets Ofglen at the gate here before a shopping trip, and the handmaids' walking scenes were shot in the surrounding Durand neighbourhood, which holds one of Canada's densest clusters of early 20th-century mansions. The Victorian house was nearly demolished in the 1990s before new owners preserved it. The Durand streets around it are the real Gilead backdrop.

Gilead's Rachel and Leah Re-Education Center was filmed at St Aidan's Anglican Church in the Beaches, at Queen Street East and Silver Birch Avenue. June is brought into the old school here, where she and Moira are taught to be handmaids, and Aunt Lydia trains the recruits in the basement gym of the memorial hall. The church dates from 1908 and is still an active Anglican parish.

Visitor guidance: An active parish in the Beaches; visitors are welcome at Sunday services.

Before Gilead, June remembers a family day at Ripley's Aquarium, walking the underwater tunnel with her husband and daughter. The flashback was shot in the Dangerous Lagoon, the aquarium's largest tank, where a moving conveyor belt carries visitors through the water. The aquarium opened to the public in October 2013, just southeast of the CN Tower, and the same walk-through tunnel is still there.

Visitor guidance: On Bremner Boulevard beside the CN Tower; the Dangerous Lagoon tunnel is the scene's stand-in.

The wall where executed people are left hanging was filmed at Mill Race Park in Cambridge, beside the Grand River. Offred and Ofglen walk the river path home from shopping and come upon three bodies on the wall. When filming began, residents saw gallows in the park, tanks on the bridge and three bodies hanging by the river. The park appears in many episodes, and Cambridge's Gilead walking tour runs from Queen's Square to the riverbank.

Visitor guidance: Park beside the Grand River in Cambridge, a short walk from Queen's Square.

The bowstring arch over the Grand River is Gilead's main crossing. Offred and Ofglen cross it after an execution, and later June and Moira are caught in a protest on the same bridge when police open fire. Built in 1931, the concrete bridge is 57.3 metres long and links Queen's Square with Water Street; it was designated a historic place in 1982. Pedestrians can still use the sidewalks on either side.

Visitor guidance: Walk the sidewalks between Queen's Square and Water Street in downtown Galt.

During the protest that turns violent, June and Moira duck into the Grand Café at 18 Queen's Square to escape the bullets and explosions in the street. The café was used as a filming location for The Handmaid's Tale and several other productions. The café has since closed after more than 23 years; the address is still on Queen's Square, in the middle of Cambridge's Gilead walking route.

June and Moira descend into Lower Bay, a disused TTC platform standing in for a Boston subway station, hoping a train will carry them out of Gilead. June is spotted before she can board; Moira escapes alone. The real Lower Bay has been closed to the public since 1966 and is now used for training, moving trains between lines and filming without disrupting service. It opens only occasionally, notably for Doors Open Toronto and Nuit Blanche.

Visitor guidance: The station is normally closed; it opens periodically for Doors Open Toronto and Nuit Blanche.

Gilead's public ceremonies were staged in LIUNA Station, the former Hamilton C.N.R. station on James Street North. The handmaids are lined up here before a Gilead function. The 1931 building is one of the National Historic Sites of Canada; LIUNA bought and renovated it, reopening it in 2000 as a banquet and convention centre. It still hosts weddings and events, so check the calendar before turning up.

Visitor guidance: An events centre on James Street North; check its calendar for public events.

The Royal York stands in for two very different Gilead spaces. Its ballroom hosts the banquet, and its corridors become Jezebel's, the illicit club where Commander Waterford takes Offred and she finds Moira alive. The hotel opened in 1929 and its ballroom still has the original oil-painted ceiling. It is a working hotel on Front Street West, so visitors can walk in for a drink or afternoon tea.

Visitor guidance: A working hotel at 100 Front Street West; the Library Bar serves afternoon tea.