As Canada's largest city, you would expect Toronto to have a good range of museums and galleries. The city does indeed fulfil the expectations of tourists and locals alike, because there are some great museums in Toronto and several of them are huge!
In this article, we will present a selection of the best museums in Toronto, including those with curious themes, but with exhibitions that hold the attention of travellers.
Read also our special article on where to stay in Toronto well located!
9 Best Museums in Toronto, Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario - AGO
The architecture of the AGO is striking and sophisticated
The Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest museums in Toronto, with a huge collection of paintings, photography, drawings and sculptures. There are several highlights during the visit.
Firstly, the external architecture is distinctive, after all, there have been extensions over its 122 years. We really liked the area called Galeria Itália, full of light wood, glass and metal, especially illuminated at sunset.
The inner hall with its staircase, also made of wood in light orange tones, is minimalist but interesting.
The collection is all the more impressive because the permanent exhibitions are large and varied and there are also temporary exhibitions. You can appreciate European paintings as well as a large collection of African Art.
We focussed on the paintings by Canadian artists because it was something new to us, especially the paintings depicting Canadian landscapes in the seasons, with an emphasis on winter.
Anyway, we saw European paintings, decorative objects from various periods, sculptures and got lost among so many rooms.
I think we went into the Art Gallery of Ontario a little unprepared. Next time, we'll have to select what to visit beforehand, because you can't see everything, and it's worth making a more focussed visit.
Practical information - The AGO is free on Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm. To do this, you need to book your free tickets via the website from 10am on Monday. Regular tickets cost $25, but only those over 25 pay. For more information, visit the official website.
Royal Ontario Museum - ROM
The Royal Ontario Museum is a monumental museum, being the largest in Canada and the fifth largest in North America. We visited the ROM twice and could not even get into all the rooms.
Anyway, one of the highlights is the natural history collection , especially the dinosaur fossils. The gallery with precious stones is another highlight, very sumptuous and even has diamonds.
Of course, at the ROM there are huge collections on ancient Africa, Asia, European Civilisations and Canadian Indigenous Peoples.
In addition to a collection larger than a traveller can see in one day, the Royal Ontario Museum is famous for its contemporary architecture.
It's impossible not to notice the geometric, glass and aluminium facade known as the Michael Lee-Chin "Crystal" by architect Daniel Libeskind.
We also marvelled at the beauty of the internal rotunda covered with mosaics inspired by Byzantine art.
Practical information - Adult admission costs $23. For more information, visit the official website.
Hockey Hall of Fame
Source: Wikimedia
Housed in the historic Bank of Montreal building (1885), one of the few survivors of the great fire of 1904, the HockeyHall of Fame museum is a typically Canadian place to visit, after all, it addresses a national passion, hockey.
What attracts thousands of visitors is a collection of relics of the sport, including the Stanley Cup. In addition, the museum houses the hockey hall of fame.
As you can see, for the experience to be more complete, it is worth studying the sport and its history, so that the collection, relics and names make sense during your visit.
Practical information - Adult admission costs $25. For more information, visit the official website.
Aga Khan Museum
Source: Wikimedia
Away from the tourist areas is the Aga Khan Museum, one of the best museums in Toronto, having a different but broad theme. It is dedicated to Islamic Civilisations and Art, which includes dozens of countries and art from various eras.
There are many ancient artefacts, but they are housed in a space with contemporary architecture designed by award-winning architect Fumihiko Maki. The architecture is so beautiful that the Aga Khan Museum is a wedding photo backdrop.
Practical information - Adult admission costs from $10. For more information, visit the official website.
Bata Shoe Museum
We visited the Bata Shoe Museum during the event Doors Open Toronto. The museum was free to enter, so why not visit it? The result is that we were surprised by the quality of the exhibits.
The Bata Shoe Museum is focused on shoes, but in an interesting way and with historical context. It presents the evolution of shoes around the world and over the millennia and centuries. For this, there are great captions and pairs of shoes from around the world.
This museum is organised, modern and also has temporary exhibitions. Therefore, we recommend visiting the Bata Shoe Museum if you like fashion or museums with different themes.
Practical information - The adult ticket costs $14 and you need to buy it online. More information on the official website.
Casa Loma
Inspired by Gothic castles, Casa Loma is now a museum, but when it was built (1911-1914) it served as a residence, even though it had 98 rooms!
The exterior architecture attracts the eyes of those who pass by one of the noblest areas of Midtown, on top of a hill, a rarity in Toronto. Inside, the decor is classic and luxurious, but one of the highlights is the library.
Casa Loma is such a beautiful and sophisticated venue that it hosts weddings and luxury events, especially in the summer.
In autumn, the highlight is Halloween season, when the museum dresses up as a haunted house!
Practical information - Adult admission costs $40. For more information, visit the official website.
Spadina House
Spadina House is a house-museum where an influential Toronto family lived for decades.
Located next to Casa Loma, Spadina House offers a free, full guided tour of the living rooms, bedrooms and other rooms where three generations of the Austin family lived.
James Austin was the founder of Dominion Bank (now TD) and president of Consumers Gas.
Interestingly, James Austin had a vision that Toronto would grow into the Spadina House area, which at the time was a suburb. And he got it right, being one of the prime areas of the city and today easily connected to the centre.
Besides the house being well preserved, with furniture from the first decades of the 20th century, the gardens are very beautiful to photograph and there is a vegetable garden and orchard, which are full of flowers and fruits in the summer.
We have a specific post about Spadina House!
Black Creek Pioneer Village
Source: Wikimedia
How about touring the Toronto of 1860?
That's what Black Creek Pioneer Village, a museum village in the city's north end, is all about.
Visitors learn how the settlers lived in Toronto and there are also animals, green spaces and guided tours.
Practical information - Adult admission costs $16. For more information, visit the official website.
Ontario Science Centre
Source: Wikimedia
Families with young children flock to the Ontario Science Centre, but luckily it's one of Toronto's huge museums, with exhibits of all kinds, but all focused on the natural sciences.
Its location is in the northern area of the city, which may put off tourists, but it is the best of its kind in the city and one of the best in the country.
Practical information - Adult admission costs $22. For more information, visit the official website.
Where to stay
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