We spent 2 months in Canada and Toronto is, by far, one of our favorite places there! What an awesome place, full of everything!
Rest assured that if you are wondering what to do in Toronto with kids; this city actually happens to be one of the few cities in the world that had all of our 4 kids super happy almost all the time. All the time wouldn't be possible, now, would it?
We're the World Trip Diaries family with 4 kids, from 5 to 13 years old and we were in Toronto in the summer of 2017! Here is our list of fun things to do in Toronto with kids.
Find below a list of the top 10 things to do with kids in Toronto. From parks, to museums, to towers and letters; there are plenty of things in Toronto for kids._____________________
TOP MONEY SAVING TIP:If you pre-purchase a Toronto CityPASS®, you can save 36% on combined regular admission prices to 5 of Toronto's must-see attractions. You can even skip the line at most of the entrances.
Included sites: CN Tower, Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Option Ticket: Toronto Zoo OR Ontario Science Centre
SAVE MONEY AND GRAB YOUR TICKET ONLINE_____________________
1. Casa Loma
Casa Loma is the only full-size castle in North America and it's huge. Wander around a castle per se is fun enough but the audio guides were a lot of fun too, and they hand out one for each person, so no sharing needed.
There are 2 things we liked most about it: the tunnel taking us from one part of the castle to the other, and the tower. It was pretty cool climbing all the way up. They even have an Escape game there, which must be awesome, but we couldn't do it. Definitely one of the best outings in Toronto 4 kids.
(What I loved most was finding the places where movies were shot there, and they even show some scenes on a TV by the café there)
2. Waterfront
It's a great spot to have a picnic, cycle, run, or just laze about. There are playgrounds and some nice shaded areas to use. It's a cool place to unwind and just be. Life can't be bad by the water, can it?
3. Squirrel watching
As far as Toronto kids activities go, this one might just possibly be the best! And it is a free! There are just SO MANY SQUIRRELS everywhere! They're cute, tiny, and super fast! They can be black, gray, or brown. You can find them on the trees, running over cables, inside rubbish bins, by your window (if it's a house and not an apartment of course), crossing the road ... just about everywhere!
We were often standing just watching them doing their thing.
4. High Park
There are many parks in Toronto, and all of them have something nice, but High Park was our favorite. It's a huge and beautiful park, with so much to see!
My little one loved the mini zoo they have there because it was early summer and all the babies had been born. Who doesn't love a baby animal? Take a picnic, a mat, and be ready for a nice day surrounded by nature in the middle of a city!
Sometimes it is nice to just get away from all the typical Toronto attractions for kids, and simply enjoy being outdoors.
5. Streetcar
The streetcars are actually trams, and they function very well taking people from one place to the other, but for us, it was just fun. It's super vintage looking, the conductors are really nice, and it was one of the best things we did! It was also one of the cheapest things we did there. Win-win!
Another fun way to explore the city is via the red open-top, double-decker Hop-on-Hop-off bus. You can grab your tickets online here.
6. ROM
ROM, or Royal Ontario Museum, is enormous. We spent almost a whole day there and we didn't see everything. Of course, we did spend a lot of time fossil digging, trying to get a photo with the T-Rex, finding the differences between all the dinosaurs there. Can you tell we have a dinosaur addict in the family?
We also spent a lot of time at their special exhibit (it was the Blue Whale exhibit then) because it was just amazing! Very worth the money!
Grab your ROM tickets online
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TOP MONEY SAVING TIP:If you pre-purchase a Toronto CityPASS®, you can save 36% on combined regular admission prices to 5 of Toronto's must-see attractions. You can even skip the line at most of the entrances.
Included sites: CN Tower, Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Option Ticket: Toronto Zoo OR Ontario Science Centre
SAVE MONEY AND GRAB YOUR TICKET ONLINE_____________________
7. Toronto Letters
You can only see the letters when it is not winter (during winter the pool becomes an ice skating rink), but we enjoyed it! The kids kept hopping from one letter to the other, trying to find the best one to chill in (the O's were the winner, obviously, and also the most popular letters) and watching them change colors! It's prettier after sunset but it's fun all day long.
8. Dundas Street
We walked around this street way too many times. It has some great restaurants, cute shops and cafés, and a few playgrounds here and there. Ice cream? Chocolate shop? Thai food? Art store? It's all there. There is something to please everyone in the family!
9. Ripley's Aquarium
What a huge aquarium this is! It can be a full day out, but it's a bit too full until 4 pm. Don't worry, it's open until 11 pm!
Don't miss the anemone tank (so colorful), the ray feeding time (SUPER FUN), and the touch tanks! The playground and the little interactive games scattered around are fun too, but they're mostly for smaller kids.
10. CN Tower
We missed this one, but seeing Toronto from high up can't be bad, right? Through glass floors? Well, it's just across from Ripley's Aquarium, so you can have it all done in one single day! I'd love to have watched the sunset from the tower...
Those were the best things in Toronto for us, and we skipped a lot of other things for lack of time! It'd take a month to do everything we wanted to, really! Maybe next time!
P.S Niagara Falls is a perfect day trip from Toronto!
One of the most popular things to do in Toronto is to hop on a full day tour to Niagara Falls.
Check prices and info on this super popular full day Niagara Falls tour .
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More about Thais
World Trip DiariesI'm Thais, the mom of the World Trip Diaries family. We've been traveling full time since April 2016.
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Leave us a Comment:- Which of these items on the list of things to do in Toronto for kids do you want to see?
Originally from South Africa, now living in Australia, Jolene is a wife and a mother to three beautiful daughters. Together with her family, she is embarking on a journey towards changing her current stress-filled life to one focusing on her dreams and her passion for travel. She wants to share her stories in the hope to inspire you to chase your own dreams!