Top Tourist Attractions in Toronto
Discover the best tourist attractions in Toronto. From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, explore the vibrant culture and attractions of Canada’s largest city
CN Tower: Climb up to the top of Canada’s most famous structure for amazing views. Or take the EdgeWalk, the world’s highest external walkway on a building.
Royal Ontario Museum: This giant museum (locally called the ROM) has everything from art to dinosaurs. Plus, it runs tours on subjects like climate change.
CN Tower
One of Toronto’s most recognizable landmarks is the CN Tower which stands at 1,815 feet and once held the title as the tallest freestanding structure in the world. Today, the concrete megastructure is home to several observation decks, a revolving restaurant, and the EdgeWalk which allows visitors to step outside the tower for an adrenaline-fuelled experience. During peak season it can be pretty crowded with tourists trying to snap the obligatory selfies and get their best view of the city.
If a visit to the CN Tower is on your travel bucket list, then plan and book tickets online in advance. This will save you time at the ticket booth and ensure that you’re able to visit the main observation levels on the day you’d like. Alternatively, purchase a CityPASS that includes admission to the CN Tower and other top attractions for a better value.
Even on a clear day, the views from the CN Tower are breathtaking. You can see the skyline of downtown Toronto and its surrounding neighborhoods and, on a good day, as far as the wilds of Ontario. The main observation decks offer many ways to enjoy the views, including glass peepholes on the elevator floor and a glass floor looking down two stories below you.
The revolving restaurant is another popular attraction, and it’s important to make reservations in advance as the restaurant fills up quickly. The menu is crafted with local ingredients and serves an array of dishes that showcase the flavors of Canada. Be sure to try the poutine, which is a popular dish of mashed potatoes, cheese curds, and gravy.
A trip to the CN Tower is also an excellent opportunity to shop for souvenirs, and there are plenty of options available. You’ll find everything from T-shirts to stuffed animals, but if you want the best deals, be sure to check out the sale items in the gift shop.
Aside from the CN Tower, there are many other popular tourist destinations worth a visit in Toronto. The Art Gallery of Ontario is home to a massive collection of over 90,000 works, and you can learn more about Canada’s indigenous peoples at the First Nations House.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
If you are a fan of marine animals, this aquarium is a must-visit attraction. Located near the CN Tower, this state-of-the-art venue lets you experience marine and freshwater habitats around the world through the 140,000-square-foot aquarium. It features exhibits with more than 1.5 million gallons of water and showcases exotic fishes, sharks, jellies, stingrays, and turtles. You can even touch crabs and stingrays, take behind-the-scenes tours, and have the chance to “sleep with the sharks” during an overnight stay beneath the tank.
The largest museum of world culture and natural history in Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum is a favorite of locals and visitors alike. Its collections run the gamut from art to archeology, mineralogy, geology, and zoology. The ROM’s six million or so objects are so diverse that you might not be able to see everything in one visit, making multiple visits a good idea.
Whether you are looking for a souvenir to bring home or just want to stroll around, the Distillery District is one of Toronto’s top attractions. Originally the Gooderman and Worts whiskey distillery, this historic area is now a bustling entertainment district with more than 80 retail shops and restaurants. The district is also the setting for festivals, shows, and other events throughout the year.
For those who love to shop, the Yorkville neighborhood offers a variety of boutiques and upscale retailers. The area is known for its exclusive fashion and luxury goods, but it is also home to many great places to dine and drink. Several bars and clubs can be found in the area, including the trendy XS Lounge and the hipster-friendly The Drake Hotel.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is a must-visit for fans of the national sport. You can learn more about the game’s history and admire the names of great players. The complex is located on Front Street in the heart of downtown. It also features an ice rink in the winter and walking trails along the waterfront.
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto is a diverse city with countless tourist attractions to discover and enjoy. From awe-inspiring art and cultural venues to popular shopping areas like the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, there’s something for everyone in this bustling metropolis. With a well-developed public transport system, residents and visitors can travel around Toronto’s streets without much hassle.
One of the most famous places to visit in Toronto is the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Located north of Queen’s Park in the University of Toronto district, this world-class museum showcases art, culture, and natural history from all over the globe and across the ages. Its collection contains 13 million art and natural history objects, including the largest dinosaur skeleton in North America, fossils from the Burgess Shale, and key Art Deco works.
The ROM is the most visited museum in Canada, with over one million visitors each year. The museum offers several interactive exhibitions for families, including the Discovery Gallery and the Family Gallery of Hands-On Biodiversity, where kids can touch shark skulls and beaver pelts, dig dinosaur bones, and explore bat caves. They can also learn about the cultures of Indigenous peoples in Canada through cedar crest totem poles and interactive displays.
Other must-see tourist attractions include the CN Tower, where you can get unbeatable views of Toronto from the sky, and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, one of the most popular aquariums in North America. And if you’re a fan of movies, don’t miss the chance to tour the 98-room Casa Loma castle, where you can walk through rooms that have appeared in films such as X-Men, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Billy Madison.
If you’re looking for more things to do, check out the Toronto Botanical Gardens or the Toronto Art Gallery of Ontario. The former features 17 unique gardens spread over four acres in the heart of downtown, while the latter is one of the biggest and most distinguished art museums in North America. Plus, a visit to the city would be incomplete without a stop at Kensington Market, where you can find everything from vintage clothing stores and cannabis shops to meat, fish, and produce vendors, street food restaurants, and hole-in-the-wall bars.
Bata Shoe Museum
The Bata Shoe Museum houses one of the world’s largest and most diverse collections of footwear and related artifacts, spanning 4,500 years. Founded in 1995, the museum communicates that footwear is a key element of the way we live and how people dress. Located in architect Raymond Moriyama’s iconic building, this unique and popular museum offers four bold and contemporary permanent galleries as well as three more impressive spaces for changing exhibitions.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the exhibits freely and to engage in hands-on activities like tying shoelaces, sculpting foam, or designing their mini clogs. For a deeper look into the museum’s collection, a guided tour is available.
The main gallery, All About Shoes, showcases a remarkable array of footwear from ancient Egyptian sandals and Chinese bound-foot shoes to sneakers and clogs beloved by contemporary celebrities. It also includes a fascinating assortment of celebrity footwear from a set of Queen Victoria’s ballroom slippers to Elvis Presley’s blue loafers and John Lennon’s Beatle boots.
In addition to the All About Shoes gallery, the museum features three more impressive spaces devoted to rotating exhibitions. These include Dressed to Impress, which explores how shoes and fashion interact, and Object of Desire, a powerful reflection on the 1930s when desire proliferated across industries from economic crisis to Hollywood glam.
Dressed to Impress highlights some of the museum’s best footwear acquisitions, including a pair of John Fluevog winklepickers that became the silhouette of gothic culture, Gucci horse-bit loafers worn by business executives in the 1980s, and a pair of Converse All Stars with $100 bill logos that were worn by rappers in the early 1990s. Other exhibitions explore the ways that women’s footwear has changed through the decades as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s storage vaults.
The museum is open daily except Sunday, and admission is free. Guided tours are available, and a small Museum Shop is offering footwear-themed souvenirs and gifts. The museum is located in the heart of Toronto’s cultural, financial, and shopping district at 327 Bloor Street West.
Discover the best tourist attractions in Toronto. From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, explore the vibrant culture and attractions of Canada’s largest city CN Tower: Climb up to the top of Canada’s most famous structure for amazing views. Or take the EdgeWalk, the world’s highest external walkway on a building. Royal Ontario Museum: This giant…