Many of Toronto's most important institutions are located along the eight-lane wide street such as Osgoode Hall and other legal institutions, the Four Seasons Centre, major hospitals conducting research and teaching, and landmark office buildings for the commercial sector, notably major financial and insurance industry firms.

The portion of University Avenue between Queen Street West and College Street is laid out as a boulevard, with several memorials, statues, gardens, and fountains concentrated in a landscaped median dividing the opposite directions of travel, giving it a ceremonial character.

University Avenue begins at the intersection of Front and York streets near Union Station and heads northwest for a short distance before turning north.

At Adelaide Street West, the avenue divides slightly, leaving room for a median of greenery and sculptures between the north and southbound lanes.

Noted Canadian author and historian Pierre Berton commented that University Avenue "was rendered antiseptic by the presence of hospitals and insurance offices...the pristine display of wall-to-wall concrete that ran from Front Street to Queen's Park.

"[citation needed] University Avenue has matured and mellowed somewhat since Berton's unfavourable observation, though paving is still characterized by poured concrete and asphalt for most sidewalks and roadway.

The Four Seasons Centre at the intersection of University Avenue and Queen Street was completed in 2006 and is the home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada.

Unlike most major streets in Toronto, there are no rooftop billboards visible from University Avenue due to a bylaw.

[3] A central median has some trees, monuments, and park benches, which are lightly used, because strollers are surrounded by noisy traffic.

According to The Globe and Mail it has been proposed to return approximately half of the width of the broad avenue to parkland.