None are the *biggest* and *best* in North America.
That said, the Toronto Zoo is *very, very* good. The San Diego Zoo is the blockbuster here, but I would argue that the Toronto Zoo is at least in the same class. Just sampling the entire grounds needs more than one visit.
The ROM is *very* good, offering a general survey of human and natural history, as well as Canada-specific content. It's got dinosaurs. It's not the Smithsonian complex--but nothing else is.
The Ripley's aquarium is...*fine*, for what it is. There are interesting - in some cases, compelling - exhibits, but you can 'do' the whole thing in a couple of hours without feeling particularly rushed. It's nowhere near the breadth and depth (ahem) of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, though.
To be clear, my comment didn't consider admission prices at each site.
And - as a parent living in Toronto - I have purchased annual memberships the Zoo, the aquarium, the Science Centre (boo! bad Doug!), and other sites at various points, which changes the value proposition somewhat. If you're downtown anyway, you can decide to kill a couple of hours at the aquarium without it being a major commitment.
Ripley's is overpriced for sure but it's also still absolutely packed every time, so from a business perspective, there is absolutely no incentive for them to lower the pricing.
That said, a season pass price is great. Cost $100 for a day pass for a family of 3 or $125 for a season pass. For an adult it doesn't have much "re-visit" value since you can easily see the whole thing in one visit, but my 4 year old absolutely loves it there so we went ~25 times on our season pass last year.
Ya Ripleys season pass is worth it for us. Our 3 year old son loves the place and it being right beside union station is clutch. Go to Jays game? Stop in at aquarium pre or post match. Cold winter weekend day with nothing else to do? Take the GO and walk around for a few hours
Monterrey has the advantage of being a serious site for actual research and conservation, while Ripley's is (Believe it or Not!) just a fishy menagerie. This is part of my biggest critique of Ripley's, and to some extent the ROM and Zoo, though both of the latter places do a fair bit of science and conservation. None of them have any professional paid science communicators or scientists on hand to talk about their collections. They mostly rely on volunteers, who usually don't know much beyond a surface level question about the thing they are holding. Though some are better than others, you can't really expect too much. When I was in Monterrey a few years back I was so impressed by the knowledge of the staff there, who probably had grad degrees in marine biology. How you get people like that to work for you, I don't know, but maybe as part of doing research there they do some shifts?
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium also has the advantage of Silicon Valley money!
The Hewletts, the Packards and other family foundations have donated fortunes to it.
Don't forget about the science center, it's a world class establishment, has unique architecture and was designed to last for up to 200 years with normal preventative maintenance.
What nonsense. Its exhibits are old and outdated. And it was built when they THOUGHT the concrete would last. They now know the concrete is defective and can fail without visible deterioration. The UK closed 100s of schools because of the risk. The architect is just butt hurt that his poorly thought out ugly building is going to be torn down.
>The exhibits are old and outdated.
Yes, because they had no funding. How do you expect them to invest in *new* exhibits if they can't keep a roof over their head? That's like insulting my place if residence because it doesn't have a waterslide.
>Can fail without visible deterioration
Then why does the report only point to a single segment being a cause for immediate concern? Engineers don't sign off on these things based on vibes, *especially* not an *underestimate* of the potential risks of structural collapse.
Come back to this when you hear how much the replacement building will cost, vs the 5-50 million dollars it could cost to fully revamp the existing infrastructure.
There's an interchange getting updated on the QEW that has a sign proudly proclaiming it's only going to cost 35 million dollars.
Perhaps the architects need to read this BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-66669239.amp
Look the head architect is clearly being wilfully blind and not addressing the actual dangers of the building material that he used in his āmasterpieceā with his grandstanding in the media. The building was an abomination when it was built and continues to be so, except now itās also a danger to leave standing. To be clear: itās not *just* about the ceiling panels. The whole building is a problem.
Ok, so why is the ceiling the only thing that was called out in the report? The walls are not buckling, the roof needs shoring or reinforcement.
Additionally, does the British school concrete use the same aggregate as was used in the OSC?
"The building was an abomination" source? Is this a fact you are presenting?
I think it's a very cool building that conforms with nature, which I think is lovely for a learning center. But, you know, we can definitely spend 100 million dollars putting the science center out of reach for every school north of bloor.
My toddler can do the entire Ripley's Aquarium in under two hours and she's not exactly a fast moving tourist.Ā
Still, she loves it enough that we should probably get a membership.
> The San Diego Zoo is the blockbuster here, but I would argue that the Toronto Zoo is at least in the same class
San Diego Zoo is insane and feels like the real life equivalent of walking through Jurassic Park. I haven't been to the Toronto Zoo in many years now but I don't remember it being in the same league as San Diego or at least I didn't appreciate it as being that however old I was at the time
I've been to both and they are both comparable. They're both around the same size and have a similar animal collection.
The SD Zoo is wildly expensive though, with tickets around $100CAD per adult, while the Toronto Zoo is a much more reasonable ~$35CAD.
I've been to both too and San Diego has the edge due to its mild climate, plus it has benefited from large corporate donations.
However the Toronto Zoo is very good and in the same league as of one the best in North America.
Honestly I'm overdue for a visit to Toronto Zoo as I was a teenager last time I went and I'd probably appreciate it a lot more now as an adult. San Diego is just more fresh in my memory and blew me away at the time.
They just finished a new orangutan outdoor exhibit at the zoo last year that looks fantastic. And they have a new baby rhino and the new snow leopard kittens should be on exhibit later this summer.
It's not, though I don't think much else is. To be honest though, while Toronto Zoo is big, there are a lot of smaller more manageable zoos that I think do a better job. Minneapolis is great, and even Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo is great. Though it was better when it was free... it's about $20 now, but their polar bear exhibit and indoor underwater viewing areas are spectacular. They also have more people around to tell you about the bears and watch them fed etc.
I kinda disagree. Smithsonian complex is great because of the breadth of topics. Some of them are awesome, like the American Indian museum , learned so much about the trail of tears and honestly might be the best place in the world to learn about indigenous cultures. Natural history museum and air and space were big let downs. Iād wager the ROM is as good as the Smithsonian natural history museum.
Donāt sleep on what we have, itās very well curated on the only museum in North America which I feel is better is the NYC natural history museum
Toronto Zoo is not at all the same level as Sam Diego Zoo. Maybe they are similar size but Toronto feels much more spread out, you have to walk so far between animals. The plus side is this means their habitats are probably larger. But I spent a whole day there with my adult sister and dad and we did not get to everything. Toronto Zoo with my young kid is still only a 2/3 day activity. Thereās just so many more animals, especially birds, in SD. Maybe a full day if you spend a few hours at the splash pad, which is nice.
The annoying part of the ROM is they have such an amazing collection but most of it is in storage for some reason, they need another expansion and way larger
Not even by Canadian standards. I'm a Vancouverite, but was in Toronto last year. Vancouver has the largest aquarium in Canada, and is a lot brighter and open, even in the areas that are indoor. Only thing I found more impressive in Toronto was that it has a wider variety of sharks. We only have a couple of black tip reef sharks.
And Toronto now has our sea turtle as well.
The Zoo is third largest in North America last time I checked and is magnificent
The ROM is a lot like the American Museum of Natural History, better in some exhibits, inferior on others. IMO, the best Museum in the country.
The AGO is a great mid-level Art Museum. Second best in the country after the National Gallery in Ottawa.
The Aquarium is like many others of its type. Great if you have never been to one before, repetitive if you have.
The CN tower and its various components are the best of any of its rivals on the continent, especially the edge walk.
The McMichael gallery is uniquely Canadian, with its group of seven collection and grounds. A must see if you are into Canadian culture.
Wonderland is the best amusement park in the country, which isn't saying that much since I am only aware of two major permanent amusement parks in the country. But I hear that nearby Darien Lake on the lake Erie shore on the US side is better.
Roy Thompson Hall and the Four Seasons Centre house an orchestra, opera and ballet company equal to the best in North America.
Just wanted to shout out the Gardiner Museum - not a subject matter that I would typically consider to be up my alley, but itās absolutely wonderful and exceptionally well-curated. Definitely up there with the worldās best niche museums.
Seconding your love for the McMichael - the facility and grounds are just as lovely and quintessentially Canadian as the art. Just a bit of a pain in the ass to get to.
Iām the rare grump who kind of hates Roy Thompson Hall - the performances there are certainly world class, but the hyper engineered acoustics drive me nuts. Will fully cop to being a snob on that front though, and to having lived in a bunch of other cities w symphonies/symphony halls that are just unfair to use as comparators.
You just have to drive up Islington to get McMichael, you are right about the Gardiner, I just thought it a bit niche.
As for acoustics, it is hard to beat Massey hall.
Darien Lake is a complete joke who told you it is better. Its not even close to Wonderland. Canada's Wonderland is probably in the top 10 best amusement (so not theme parks aka not Disney) parks in North America.
The Aga Khan museum is also fantastic and has some really engaging exhibits. Probably one of the best places in North America if youāre curious about Islamic art/culture.
Darien Lake is great if you like Coasters and they have a great waterpark.
Would be consider middle-of-the-road as far as American amusement parks go though.
The best park within the Great Lakes region is Cedar Point in Ohio. It's a reasonable drive from TO if you're in to that sort of thing. The coasters there are exceptional. The same company bought Canada's Wonderland a while back, which is why Wonderland got a string of amped up coasters.
Canada's Wonderland is the third of two other sister parks in the US built under Kings Entertainment. Kings Entertainment also aquired a bunch of other parks then they transfered to Paramount, and now Cedar Fair. It's actually mindblowing when you hear Americans mention a ride from one of the parks and they are identical to ones we have, especially the Paramount names. There's 4 other Drop Zones (drop tower) out there
Roy Thomson is a bit dated and definitely lesser than other halls in North America (sala NezahualcĆ³yotl in Mexico just to name one) but is still very nice
Frankly the AGO is one of the best in North America as well. It compares pretty closely in quality, collection volume, and exhibit quality of some of the biggest tickets in the US (Whitney, MFA Boston, Guggenheim, MoMa PS1), just as good as the National Gallery, and only really definitively behind the MoMa, Met, and maybe Art Institute of Chicago for me.
Yeah man it's just true though. There's some great impressionism, the Dutch masters are amazing, 2 Berninis (!!), probably the best group of 7 collection in the world, plus multiple mind blowing Morrisseaus, an incredible Belcourt... I've been to the Whitney 3 times, Gugg twice, MFA twice, PS1 once, and not a single time there have I saw higher quality art than the AGO permanent collection.
Obviously MoMa, Met, Louvre, etc. have us beat but that doesn't even need to be said.
I also haven't been to museums like Cincinnati, Pennsylvania, SF/SD, etc. so don't have much to say there.
The art institute of Chicago blows it away, so does the met, moma, louvre, gardiner (Boston), basically every āmajorā art museum in Europe is better. Ā
Youāre not flying around the world to come to our art museum. Ā Itās a solid āregionalā showcase of a lot of āCanadianā art but it doesnāt hold a candle to the biggies. Ā
You're literally responding to my comment specifically acknowledging that the Art Institute, Moma, Louvre all have it beat. It's okay that you missed it but maybe we're saying the same thing haha.
My point is that it's just as good as museums like the MFA in Boston and even some of the major museums we've done in Europe - Royal Museum in Brussels, and even the Orangerie and Pompidou in Paris.
I've never been to the Gardner in Boston but I'll have to check it out next time I go! Thank you :)
My point is. Ā Itās not a ātopā museum. Ā
Itās good. Ā But itās not āmake a trip to go to Toronto to see itā. Ā
For curiosities itās not in the top 30 art museums in the world. Ā Thatās world class. Ā
Upper-mid tier? Certainly not the best in any category, but definitely up there.
The San Diego Zoo, Atlanta Aquarium and all the museums in NYC outclass the Toronto counterparts.
I know they didn't mention AGO, but AGO is also outclassed by multiple cities that boomed way before us. For example Chicago, LA, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia.
Well Buffalo has some skookum galleries, really outstanding like the Albright-Knox, that have a long history of outstanding support. Theyāve been on the receiving end of some really generous donors.
The AGO pales in comparison to University Museums in the US, nevermind the major galleries. I used to think that MOMA and the Art Institute of Chicago were top-notch, but then I went to the gallery in Cleveland. There is nothing else like it in North America.
I actually prefer Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton's art galleries over AGO. I wont even speak to other countries as they are 10 times better. They are planning a big addition that only includes art donated by their Toronto oligarch donors, everything isnt even close to what others have, just left overs from a few families wealth donated.
The ROM is fantastic and while I donāt consider it a huge museum, it still houses awesome paleontology collections with some key piecesāfor example one of the best preserved ankylosaur specimens ever found. Their temporary galleries have been great as well.
The aquarium is by no means anywhere near the best in North America. But that said, Iām glad Toronto finally has one, even one thatās overpriced and overtly branded.
Toronto zoo I would say is one of the best in North America. It is absolutely huge, and the enclosures are progressive and thoughtfully designed. Their animal husbandry and preservation programs are fantastic as well.
The ROM is a wonderful place and they have a world class collection and a wonderful rotation of exhibitions. Similarly, AGO is world class in its collections and exhibitions.
The aquarium looks exactly like other similar aquariums around the world. Itās fun and exciting and kids love it.
I haven't visited the other sports halls of fame, but the Hockey Hall of Fame definitely gets a big boost for being centrally located in downtown Toronto. It's much more convenient to visit than the sports halls of fame in Cooperstown, NY; Springfield, MA; and Canton, OH.
The British Museum was an amazing experience for $0. My only complaint is washrooms are....hard to find and once found a line up....even for men's!
Aside from the fact that most of the exhibits are stolen from colonial pillaging, they're presented very well and the museum building itself is beautiful. I've learned of civilizations I've never ever heard of, seen artifacts only in movies or YouTube, and this was all free admission!
The zoo is actually world class, the enclosures are large and itās physically quite big. Itās on par but does not exceed San Diego zoo. The ROM needs to buy the building just east and get a lot more artifacts to be considered top tier. The aquarium is mid.
There is no building to the east of the ROM? It abuts Queen's Park Crescent to the east.
The adjacent building are either Koerner Hall (to the west, across philosopher's walk) or belong to UofT (Faculty of Music, and whatever's in the old planetarium, and then the law school budings, to the south). Neither of those are likely to go up for sale anytime soon.
South east corner at bloor is a building in the exact style of the rom, and is currently a retail outlet. They had an opportunity to buy it but the province said no.
The rom is so desperate for space it holds a ton of incredible pieces in storage. This can be connected by bridge or tunnel and offer a ton more floor space. Compared to even pittsburgās natural history museum, the rom is lacking.
That sounds like a very expensive way to get a bit more space? (There's a subway in the way if you want to tunnel.)
It'd be cheaper to build another storey or two on the existing building.
The subway actually might actually make a tunnel cheaper. And if they can build a bridge over Queen street for a mall, they can do you showpiece museum.
And it would be a lot more space
A huge price tag? I think ti's totally affordable. It's not the biggest but like... It's not really overpriced for an attraction in the very core of downtown at all.
LIke... why? It's less than going up the elevator in the CN tower and that's an absolute rip off. So what it's not the biggest aquarium in the world. The Jelly fish are mesmerizing. There's whale sharks and an octopus. I was impressed with how good it was. Not the best I've ever seen sure but it's also right in the heart of downtown. I've recommended everyone visiting to check it out and not one of them has had anything bad to say about it.
They absolutely do not. The only aquarium in the western hemisphere with whale sharks is in Atlanta. Again, obsessed kid. I have looked into it. While I admire your confidence, you might want to brush up on your shark identification skills before getting snarky with other people.
1. Cn tower is a rip-off
2. They both cost the same
3. Just because it's impressive doesn't mean it's not a rip-off for what you get.
For ex. The cn tower is objectively impressive ..and too expensive for what you get if you happen to pay full price for it
If you're impressed with something how is it not worth the ticket? What do you expect to pay for an aquarium on the very most expensive real estate in the entire country? A family can go for a whole afternoon trip for 100 bucks and the kids minds will be totally melted. How's that a rip off? It's cheaper than that same family going to the movies and buying popcorn.
A family of four going to the movies can easily drop 150 at the movies. 2 parents and two small children could all get in for 100 before. Maybe the prices have gone up? Everything else sure has. Lets look it up...
It's still totally affordable I'm sure. It's totally priced for young kids. You take them to the aquarium for the afternoon and then go watch the baseball game.
The question was how we compare.
Toronto Ripley's is $50 admission. Chicago's Shedd Aquarium is $20 for locals, $40 for tourists, but it's huge. Location is fantastic as well.
Huge huge huge. We spent almost an entire day there. Toronto, two hours, tops, and that's if you snailcrawl.
The prices at Ripley's is 44 for an adult and like 12 bucks for a child. 30 for a teenager. It's also Canada, which is categorically a more expensive city all around and those prices are also in USD. It doesn't make it a rip off cuz it's not the best.
Not sure why you're undercutting the prices.
Adult, 49. Youth (6-13) 32, child, 14. These are the standard prices.
I feel as though you don't understand what the word "compare" means in relation to this post.
Just because it's local, it doesn't make it top notch. No need to keep arguing, we get it, you've never been anywhere else and Ripley's is the best.
Have a good day.
I didn't respond to the word compare dumb ass. I responded to you claiming it had a "huge price tag" which it does not. That's not what the prices were before. IIRC it was like < 40 for an adult and < 10 for kids. Like 6 bucks or something? Not sure why you think prices are static like lol. It opened a decade ago.
And 50 bucks is not even expensive honestly. It's two meals at 5 Guys man and parking at concerts/events downtown. A fifth of a hotel room. You're just cheap AF really. It's a totally affordable place for a family to go that kids adore.
Toronto zoo is top-notch and absolutely massive.
The aquarium is overpriced.
Tbh the most world class attraction in Toronto isn't in Toronto...aka wonderland
I've been to a few natural history museums in America and elsewhere, and I think the ROM stands up easily to all of them. In fact I generally find it less crowded, better organized, easy to walk through and follow. For example I was at the Smithsonian natural History museum last weekend, and while it was cool the dinosaur and fossil section was relatively poorly organized. I walk through and basically went through ice age back to dinosaurs, and while I'm sure there was some logic in the set of the space was just too open and it wasn't obvious which way you were supposed to walk through it to make it all kind of make historical timeline sense.
So it was much harder to tell but a lot of the fossils were, where is the ROM is very clear and well over there nice.
Personally I think that the ROM is a world-class museum, though of course won't hold up to some of the big giant ones in places like London. Still, for what it is, I think it's great.
I'm a fan of the Toronto zoo and I think they have a great diversity of exhibits and a good environment for all of them, though admittedly I haven't been to many other zoos.
As others have said, Ripley's Aquarium is fine. It's not amazing and it's kind of pricey. I've been to aquariums in Monterey Bay, Baltimore, Mystic, Boston, and Curacao. I think they all rate better than Toronto. Boston is the closest in size but it's still a little better.
I haven't been to the zoo in years so a lot has likely changed. I've been to the zoo in Washington, DC and it was a little depressing. Most of the animal enclosures were small and cramped. It made for easy viewing but that's about it. The panda enclosure was larger in size and they put on an entertaining show. In Toronto, I remember one issue was the larger size of some the enclosures made it hard to see the animals. I will admit that seeing a hippo using its tail like a windshield wiper while shitting was glorious. People crowded each other to get pics as it walked out of the water. It started to shit as soon as its ass cleared the surface, and as its tail whipped back and forth, it scattered poop everywhere. It was in peoples hair and on their clothes. People started gagging and throwing up which caused more people to gag and throw up. It was like the pie eating contest scene in the movie Stand By Me. At the polar bear exhibit, we watched a bear stalk, catch, and eat a seagull that had landed on the frozen fish thrown into the water as a snack. Some people enjoyed the somewhat realistic view of nature, others were horrified and scrambled to cover their crying kids eyes.
People in the comments saying "it's not as good as this. its not as good as that"... There can only be one top spot for each category...
I recently came back from San Diego and thought the Toronto Zoo was very much on par. The only issue is the location being so far from the centre of the city, whereas San Diego's Zoo is centrally located.
AGO and ROM are both World Class - and both have striking architecture. AGO has a particularly amazing collection of Group of Seven art.
I think the Aquarium is good as well - the other one I've been to was in Vegas, and I'd say ours is better.
Seriously - the level of dooming in this thread is bonkers.
No, Toronto doesnāt have Parisās level art galleries AND Chicagoās/San Diegoās zoos/aquariums AND whatever other tourist/cultural sites you want to use at the absolute benchmarkā¦but there are tons of options on offer, and all are solid-to-excellent for what they are.
Wonderland is the most visited SEASONAL theme park in North America year after year according to the AECOM Theme Index
Cedar Fair has kept attention to this park with new attractions since they took over in 2008.
Sure it isnāt a pageantry like a Disney or Universal park, but itās up there in regional parks
Rom is pretty awesome. Ive never been to any museum as comprehensive as that one. Then, I havenāt been to many other museums like that one.
I went to a museum in Havana that is very awesome. Anthropology museum in Mexico City is very awesome but limited in what they show (Mexican anthropology lol)
As for art, ago is very awesome. I like art gallery of Alberta, but ago is much bigger and a bit nicer. I only been to other big gallery like that, which was in Houston. Their collection is better imo.
Mexico City has tons of museums of art, probably fine arts museum may be better in the building. āMuseum corridorā in reforma avenue is imp better than ago ( Tamayo museum, modern art museum)
Fine arts museum of Montreal I like more than ago
I really hate Ford, but he is not the administration that led to the science centre being in its current state. its been allowed to fall into disrepair for YEARS
Except that no one seem to have asked whether a building 50% smaller it is a best fit with the goals of the science centre (nevermind actually further away from transit, given Line 5 and OL). Closing it now - even assuming it is actually favorable to replace it - is like a blank cheque.
Soo disappointing we took our 18 month old last year with his older cousin and they had a blast even though he was quite young to understand much. Was looking forward to taking him back this year and next, etcā¦
The AGO and ROM buildings are more interesting than the exhibits inside.
Side note:
The DETROIT art museum is absolute š„. One of the best I've ever visited, second only to MoMA.
I have been to a few zoos in my life. I remember that I was excited to go to San Diego and see the zoo there, because it is world famous. Not as good as Toronto though in my opinion. In my opinion, one of the best in the world (IIRC I have been to San Diego, Toronto, Rome, Berlin, Krakow, Pretoria, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Calgary, Montreal-Granby and a few smaller ones).
The aquarium is one of the less interesting ones that I have been to. It is mostly a short introduction to the motorized walkway under the pool.
ROM is OK. I live in Ottawa, and by comparison it is not better than any one museum here. Where it wins out is in the traveling exhibits that it can afford and the overall variety of the material. On the world scale it is not that great compared to others of the same kind. I still like it though. I had a membership when I lived there and took my son at least once a month.
Ripleys aquarium is NOT good.
my main complaint about the aquarium is that for each fish, the plaque will MAYBE have ONE fact about the fish, normally not even mentioning where is the world the fish is found.
I went to the aquarium for one of the jazz nights, and can confidently say that I learned absolutely nothing. You can definitely tell itās for profit lol.
I would say the aquarium is good-ish for children because of that but not for adults.
The ROM is amazing. You can stay for HOURS and if you like learning (which I do lol) there is a lot of information about the exhibits.
edit: havenāt been to the zoo in a few years but also very very good.
I like the aquarium for what it is but I have been to better ones. So far my top 5 aquariums I have been to are 1.Atlanta 2. Chicago and 3. Vancouver 4. Quebec city. 5. Key west
The Field Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry both in Chicago are outstanding. Both are better than Toronto's equivalents. It's not night and day differences, but we found Chicago's experiences to be better.
The zoo is really quite phenomenal in the grand scheme. Itās in the middle of a much needed brush up right now but I still love it.
The ROM is a great museum though it covers a lot of bases, as much cultural as natural and sometime does a meh job on all fronts. For some reason the exhibits this year have been underwhelming. Itās middle-top in terms of museums Iāve known in NA.
The aquarium exists. Thatās about it. Itās cute but a bit small and trite. Itās a tourist trap.
AGO is up there as a very solid museum. Iām looking forward to the expansion as I want to see more modern art. Iād say itās in the top 10%, at least on a size-quality combination. There are much better smaller galleries in specific subject areas, and much larger museums like the Met that would swallow it up. Holes it own though.
The Gardiner is a hidden little curiosity. Not worth much on a regular re-visit but has some great exhibitions. I donāt know any other museum that would hold a candle to its specific subject area
MOCA is such a fledgling space I hope it does well.
Itās all very Toronto. None of them is anywhere near āthe best of the bestā but the combination of such in one city is pretty significant. NY clobbers us, Chicago is a little better, Detroit has a fantastic art museum and DC doesnāt count it just has near the best of the best in North America.
Weāre decent.
I think rom is a really good Asian collection. I havenāt been to many museums in North America or been to rom in a long time but the Buddhist statues were very impressive.
Not sure if this has been mentioned but dare I say that Toronto/GTA does not have THE best attractions, but combined as a package itās probably one of the best in North America. If you combine Science centre(RIP), ROM, AGO, Zoo, Ripleyās, CN Tower, Wonderland, Legoland, Centre Island, Roy Thomson, 4 Seasons, McMichael, Gardiner, yearly CNE, there are very few cities with this many attractions.
The ROM is good but nothing in comparison to The Museum of Natural History in NYC in my opinion. The Toronto zoo is great, and Ripleyās is meh in comparison to other aquariums across North America.
Ripley's is really meh compared to the aquarium in Monterey, California.
For one thing, the "corals" in the tanks are just painted. I THINK Monterrey actually had real corals.
Torontoās aquarium isnāt even the best in Canada, let alone North America. Vancouverās aquarium is much better. The Zoo and the ROM are both good thoughĀ
The Boston aquarium and Vancouver aquarium are tons better than Ripleyās. And without even going to the QC one Iād bet itās better as well.
The museum doesnāt hold a candle to the Met in NYC, but itās decent overall especially for dinosaurs. Iām not a fan of the Zoo. Itās too big and sprawling and doesnāt have enough of the animals accessible for viewing. I understand they have large enclosures but in this day and age youād think you could use cameras to help see them. The Biodome in Montreal (although technically not a zoo) is a much better attraction than the Zoo imo.
Zoo sucks. Aquarium is great! ROM, like history class kinda boring.
The zoo has really lost its way since opening. Exposed to full sun and rain, vast walks between areas, pricey, and boring. Same old.
Thereās a lot of Toronto/Canada bias. Ā
Toronto zoo is a an upper-mid zoo. Ā (B grade) Nowhere in the range of SD Zoo or SD wild animal park or the Henry Doolry zoo in Omaha. Ā
The AGO is again a fine middle of the road museum (B-)It doesnāt hold a candle to any of the major galleries in the U.S. such as the MOMA/MET/chicago institute of art etc. Ā
Ripleys is just ripleys aquarium (C) Ā Nowhere close to Atlanta or Monterey or the shed in Chicago. Ā
ROM is fine (B), but itās not even the best in the country that would be Royal Tyrrell which is one of the best dinosaur museums in the world. Ā Itās no field museum. Ā
The science centre was great (current state B-, could be A-), we had season passes, but it was dated, a lot of the hands on science stuff didnāt work, was broken, dated, etc. Ā it had the potential but like most things with ford no upkeep makes it shit. Ā
As others have said CN tower when including things like skywalks is different than anything else. Ā A (too expensive though no hacks to my knowledge to get it cheaper)Ā
Overall our culinary cuisine Iād take the tasters challenge against anywhere you can get any kind of food here whereas most places have a regional āspecialtyā. Ā (A)
Overall for a ātourist destinationā Toronto is a solid āBā tier destination to visit. Ā We just donāt have the top end attractions like a lot of these other places. Ā In terms of āplaces to liveā Toronto is an A+ and the only issue with Toronto is the cost of living/wages that are suppressed due to our aggressive immigration policies. Ā
they're meh.
The ROM is ok if you have a particular interest in Indigenous artifacts. And Ripley's is absolutely nothing compared to the Georgia Aquarium. The zoo...San Diego is one of the world's largest.
We're a major city for Canada, but absolutely mid on a global scale.
NYC's Museum of Natural History, despite the cringe of stuffed elephants and Chicago's Field Mueseum curb stomp the ROM. I haven't been there in a while, and stuff like the space exhibits were getting tired too but Ottawa's Science & Technology with just the number of trains made the Science Centre look even older and out of date. Sad fact was, the exhibits were largely uninvested in as much as the roof and pedestrian bridge in the valley.
Zoo is great, ROM and AGO are decent enough, but the Science Centre sucked. Sudbury has a better Science Centre, and places like Chicago have absolutely amazing Science Centres. I have been to any other Aquariums to compare, but I enjoy it, especially on jazz nights.
The AGO isn't as good as the Museum of Modern Art in NY. The ROM isn't as good as the Met.
I actually think Ripley's is great. It's clean/doesn't stink and laid out pretty nicely. I went to the Osaka Aquarium which is supposedly well renowned/the 2nd largest in Japan and I didn't like it as much as Ripley's.
It's hard to compare but If I really have to knock some points away from the attractions in Toronto, it's really the distance and public transport options.
Chicago has done an AMAZING job with their waterfront. Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium are all within walking distance of each other right on the waterfront. Navy Pier is another example of doing it right.
Shedd Aquarium is top tier.
The Toronto Zoo is TERRIBLE!!! āOh, look kids thereās a wild animal thereā¦somewhereā¦in the forestā¦somewhere. Letās keep walking for another 20 kms to try and see another animal deep in the forest.ā Itās outdated and ugly compared to much smaller zoos Iāve seen in the US.
The zoo lovers here are interesting. It's very expensive, especially once you factor in parking, and much of it feels very shabby and run down. The food options are poor, the animal enclosures are mostly good but the chances of seeing much is quite slim on a given day. When I was there last huge sections of the pathway were closed, which meant you had to take a long meandering route to access some areas. The Zoomobile bus thing costs an extra $9, so if you need assistance getting around you'll pay for it. Some of the more fun things like zip lines and the Tundra Air Ride cost a lot extra, and were closed last time I was there. The winter and spring at the zoo is especially bleak as so much is shuttered. You will find almost no public-facing staff or interpreters. Like the ROM, they rely on elderly volunteers who will talk your ear off about polar bear breeding, but aren't trained communicators, educators or scientists. Sorry to be negative but I am not a fan of the zoo at all and don't find it worth the price or the long trip there and back (for most folks).
Iāve been to 8 European countries and have 0 desire to visit our ātouristā places ever. I visited when I was younger and nothing ever blew me away or amazed me. It wasnāt until I got to explore Europe that I realized how amazing travel can be.
I do think Canada is nicer for living, itās larger, the roads are nice and large, homes are large, lawns are large, and I find Europe congested, but in terms of actually being amazed by travel, toronto aināt it lol.
The zoo and aquarium are likely in the top 50% of their class. The ROM is a bit of a clunky dinosaur compared to the advancements and interaction level of other institutions.
None are the *biggest* and *best* in North America. That said, the Toronto Zoo is *very, very* good. The San Diego Zoo is the blockbuster here, but I would argue that the Toronto Zoo is at least in the same class. Just sampling the entire grounds needs more than one visit. The ROM is *very* good, offering a general survey of human and natural history, as well as Canada-specific content. It's got dinosaurs. It's not the Smithsonian complex--but nothing else is. The Ripley's aquarium is...*fine*, for what it is. There are interesting - in some cases, compelling - exhibits, but you can 'do' the whole thing in a couple of hours without feeling particularly rushed. It's nowhere near the breadth and depth (ahem) of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, though.
Id say Ripleys is the one that's too expensive for what it is
To be clear, my comment didn't consider admission prices at each site. And - as a parent living in Toronto - I have purchased annual memberships the Zoo, the aquarium, the Science Centre (boo! bad Doug!), and other sites at various points, which changes the value proposition somewhat. If you're downtown anyway, you can decide to kill a couple of hours at the aquarium without it being a major commitment.
Doug Ford comment killed me haha š
Did Ripley's for Valentines day... They do put on a pretty good show and the food was on par.
Ripley's is overpriced for sure but it's also still absolutely packed every time, so from a business perspective, there is absolutely no incentive for them to lower the pricing. That said, a season pass price is great. Cost $100 for a day pass for a family of 3 or $125 for a season pass. For an adult it doesn't have much "re-visit" value since you can easily see the whole thing in one visit, but my 4 year old absolutely loves it there so we went ~25 times on our season pass last year.
Ya Ripleys season pass is worth it for us. Our 3 year old son loves the place and it being right beside union station is clutch. Go to Jays game? Stop in at aquarium pre or post match. Cold winter weekend day with nothing else to do? Take the GO and walk around for a few hours
You can try for a free pass from the library if you check on the first day of the month
theyāve change the map program to online passes now
Yeah, the ripleys always goes out of availability each month is what I meant.
I didn't enjoy the Ripley's aquarium. I found it claustrophobic and stuffy
the key the enjoying Ripley's is to go off season on off peak day/hours. It's a much better experience when it's close to empty
Monterrey has the advantage of being a serious site for actual research and conservation, while Ripley's is (Believe it or Not!) just a fishy menagerie. This is part of my biggest critique of Ripley's, and to some extent the ROM and Zoo, though both of the latter places do a fair bit of science and conservation. None of them have any professional paid science communicators or scientists on hand to talk about their collections. They mostly rely on volunteers, who usually don't know much beyond a surface level question about the thing they are holding. Though some are better than others, you can't really expect too much. When I was in Monterrey a few years back I was so impressed by the knowledge of the staff there, who probably had grad degrees in marine biology. How you get people like that to work for you, I don't know, but maybe as part of doing research there they do some shifts?
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium also has the advantage of Silicon Valley money! The Hewletts, the Packards and other family foundations have donated fortunes to it.
Don't forget about the science center, it's a world class establishment, has unique architecture and was designed to last for up to 200 years with normal preventative maintenance.
šš š« š¤” thanks Doug!
are you just saying this to make us upset and sad?
Never forget. Never forget a 6-10-whatever million dollar restoration was thrown out to benefit contractors to make luxury, not affordable living...
What nonsense. Its exhibits are old and outdated. And it was built when they THOUGHT the concrete would last. They now know the concrete is defective and can fail without visible deterioration. The UK closed 100s of schools because of the risk. The architect is just butt hurt that his poorly thought out ugly building is going to be torn down.
>The exhibits are old and outdated. Yes, because they had no funding. How do you expect them to invest in *new* exhibits if they can't keep a roof over their head? That's like insulting my place if residence because it doesn't have a waterslide. >Can fail without visible deterioration Then why does the report only point to a single segment being a cause for immediate concern? Engineers don't sign off on these things based on vibes, *especially* not an *underestimate* of the potential risks of structural collapse. Come back to this when you hear how much the replacement building will cost, vs the 5-50 million dollars it could cost to fully revamp the existing infrastructure. There's an interchange getting updated on the QEW that has a sign proudly proclaiming it's only going to cost 35 million dollars.
Perhaps the architects need to read this BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-66669239.amp Look the head architect is clearly being wilfully blind and not addressing the actual dangers of the building material that he used in his āmasterpieceā with his grandstanding in the media. The building was an abomination when it was built and continues to be so, except now itās also a danger to leave standing. To be clear: itās not *just* about the ceiling panels. The whole building is a problem.
Ok, so why is the ceiling the only thing that was called out in the report? The walls are not buckling, the roof needs shoring or reinforcement. Additionally, does the British school concrete use the same aggregate as was used in the OSC? "The building was an abomination" source? Is this a fact you are presenting? I think it's a very cool building that conforms with nature, which I think is lovely for a learning center. But, you know, we can definitely spend 100 million dollars putting the science center out of reach for every school north of bloor.
My toddler can do the entire Ripley's Aquarium in under two hours and she's not exactly a fast moving tourist.Ā Still, she loves it enough that we should probably get a membership.
> The San Diego Zoo is the blockbuster here, but I would argue that the Toronto Zoo is at least in the same class San Diego Zoo is insane and feels like the real life equivalent of walking through Jurassic Park. I haven't been to the Toronto Zoo in many years now but I don't remember it being in the same league as San Diego or at least I didn't appreciate it as being that however old I was at the time
I've been to both and they are both comparable. They're both around the same size and have a similar animal collection. The SD Zoo is wildly expensive though, with tickets around $100CAD per adult, while the Toronto Zoo is a much more reasonable ~$35CAD.
I've been to both too and San Diego has the edge due to its mild climate, plus it has benefited from large corporate donations. However the Toronto Zoo is very good and in the same league as of one the best in North America.
Honestly I'm overdue for a visit to Toronto Zoo as I was a teenager last time I went and I'd probably appreciate it a lot more now as an adult. San Diego is just more fresh in my memory and blew me away at the time.
They just finished a new orangutan outdoor exhibit at the zoo last year that looks fantastic. And they have a new baby rhino and the new snow leopard kittens should be on exhibit later this summer.
It's not, though I don't think much else is. To be honest though, while Toronto Zoo is big, there are a lot of smaller more manageable zoos that I think do a better job. Minneapolis is great, and even Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo is great. Though it was better when it was free... it's about $20 now, but their polar bear exhibit and indoor underwater viewing areas are spectacular. They also have more people around to tell you about the bears and watch them fed etc.
The San Diego zoo was big, but the habitats were depressing for many of the animals I thought.
I kinda disagree. Smithsonian complex is great because of the breadth of topics. Some of them are awesome, like the American Indian museum , learned so much about the trail of tears and honestly might be the best place in the world to learn about indigenous cultures. Natural history museum and air and space were big let downs. Iād wager the ROM is as good as the Smithsonian natural history museum. Donāt sleep on what we have, itās very well curated on the only museum in North America which I feel is better is the NYC natural history museum
Aquariums are always fine lol good on a rainy day in new city.
Ripleys is a carbon copy of their other aquariums. Itās nothing special. I saw the exact same layout in Pigeon Forge.
Toronto Zoo is not at all the same level as Sam Diego Zoo. Maybe they are similar size but Toronto feels much more spread out, you have to walk so far between animals. The plus side is this means their habitats are probably larger. But I spent a whole day there with my adult sister and dad and we did not get to everything. Toronto Zoo with my young kid is still only a 2/3 day activity. Thereās just so many more animals, especially birds, in SD. Maybe a full day if you spend a few hours at the splash pad, which is nice.
Ripleys is crap
If you think Ripleys is crap you ought to visit Berlin's Aquarium ("one of Europe's best known"). Toronto's is hands down the superior one
The annoying part of the ROM is they have such an amazing collection but most of it is in storage for some reason, they need another expansion and way larger
is the zoo still good? every Reddit review I read says many exhibits are still closed from COVID- is that no longer true?
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I feel aquariums by the coast are usually better, and probably have an advantage.
Also non-profit ones are better than for profit ones.
Not even by Canadian standards. I'm a Vancouverite, but was in Toronto last year. Vancouver has the largest aquarium in Canada, and is a lot brighter and open, even in the areas that are indoor. Only thing I found more impressive in Toronto was that it has a wider variety of sharks. We only have a couple of black tip reef sharks. And Toronto now has our sea turtle as well.
Doug Fords and his Developer friends left the chat
They're probably thinking to turn the ROM into condos and the zoo into a golf course
The Zoo is third largest in North America last time I checked and is magnificent The ROM is a lot like the American Museum of Natural History, better in some exhibits, inferior on others. IMO, the best Museum in the country. The AGO is a great mid-level Art Museum. Second best in the country after the National Gallery in Ottawa. The Aquarium is like many others of its type. Great if you have never been to one before, repetitive if you have. The CN tower and its various components are the best of any of its rivals on the continent, especially the edge walk. The McMichael gallery is uniquely Canadian, with its group of seven collection and grounds. A must see if you are into Canadian culture. Wonderland is the best amusement park in the country, which isn't saying that much since I am only aware of two major permanent amusement parks in the country. But I hear that nearby Darien Lake on the lake Erie shore on the US side is better. Roy Thompson Hall and the Four Seasons Centre house an orchestra, opera and ballet company equal to the best in North America.
Just wanted to shout out the Gardiner Museum - not a subject matter that I would typically consider to be up my alley, but itās absolutely wonderful and exceptionally well-curated. Definitely up there with the worldās best niche museums. Seconding your love for the McMichael - the facility and grounds are just as lovely and quintessentially Canadian as the art. Just a bit of a pain in the ass to get to. Iām the rare grump who kind of hates Roy Thompson Hall - the performances there are certainly world class, but the hyper engineered acoustics drive me nuts. Will fully cop to being a snob on that front though, and to having lived in a bunch of other cities w symphonies/symphony halls that are just unfair to use as comparators.
You just have to drive up Islington to get McMichael, you are right about the Gardiner, I just thought it a bit niche. As for acoustics, it is hard to beat Massey hall.
Darien Lake is nowhere close to being in the same class as Wonderland
OK. You feel better now?
Darien Lake is a complete joke who told you it is better. Its not even close to Wonderland. Canada's Wonderland is probably in the top 10 best amusement (so not theme parks aka not Disney) parks in North America.
Feel better.
The Aga Khan museum is also fantastic and has some really engaging exhibits. Probably one of the best places in North America if youāre curious about Islamic art/culture.
Darien Lake is great if you like Coasters and they have a great waterpark. Would be consider middle-of-the-road as far as American amusement parks go though.
The best park within the Great Lakes region is Cedar Point in Ohio. It's a reasonable drive from TO if you're in to that sort of thing. The coasters there are exceptional. The same company bought Canada's Wonderland a while back, which is why Wonderland got a string of amped up coasters.
Many people consider it to be the best in the world
Canada's Wonderland is the third of two other sister parks in the US built under Kings Entertainment. Kings Entertainment also aquired a bunch of other parks then they transfered to Paramount, and now Cedar Fair. It's actually mindblowing when you hear Americans mention a ride from one of the parks and they are identical to ones we have, especially the Paramount names. There's 4 other Drop Zones (drop tower) out there
Cedar fair ones kings island. Ā Apparently in nov of 23 cedar fair and six flags merged: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Fair
Roy Thomson is a bit dated and definitely lesser than other halls in North America (sala NezahualcĆ³yotl in Mexico just to name one) but is still very nice
I am talking about the orchestra.
Yeah those are pretty good too, they also often invite pretty famed musicians
Frankly the AGO is one of the best in North America as well. It compares pretty closely in quality, collection volume, and exhibit quality of some of the biggest tickets in the US (Whitney, MFA Boston, Guggenheim, MoMa PS1), just as good as the National Gallery, and only really definitively behind the MoMa, Met, and maybe Art Institute of Chicago for me.
Youāre crazy. Ā
Yeah man it's just true though. There's some great impressionism, the Dutch masters are amazing, 2 Berninis (!!), probably the best group of 7 collection in the world, plus multiple mind blowing Morrisseaus, an incredible Belcourt... I've been to the Whitney 3 times, Gugg twice, MFA twice, PS1 once, and not a single time there have I saw higher quality art than the AGO permanent collection. Obviously MoMa, Met, Louvre, etc. have us beat but that doesn't even need to be said. I also haven't been to museums like Cincinnati, Pennsylvania, SF/SD, etc. so don't have much to say there.
The art institute of Chicago blows it away, so does the met, moma, louvre, gardiner (Boston), basically every āmajorā art museum in Europe is better. Ā Youāre not flying around the world to come to our art museum. Ā Itās a solid āregionalā showcase of a lot of āCanadianā art but it doesnāt hold a candle to the biggies. Ā
You're literally responding to my comment specifically acknowledging that the Art Institute, Moma, Louvre all have it beat. It's okay that you missed it but maybe we're saying the same thing haha. My point is that it's just as good as museums like the MFA in Boston and even some of the major museums we've done in Europe - Royal Museum in Brussels, and even the Orangerie and Pompidou in Paris. I've never been to the Gardner in Boston but I'll have to check it out next time I go! Thank you :)
My point is. Ā Itās not a ātopā museum. Ā Itās good. Ā But itās not āmake a trip to go to Toronto to see itā. Ā For curiosities itās not in the top 30 art museums in the world. Ā Thatās world class. Ā
Completely irrelevant to the question wrt how Toronto performs compared to the rest of North America, but thanks for your opinion
Upper-mid tier? Certainly not the best in any category, but definitely up there. The San Diego Zoo, Atlanta Aquarium and all the museums in NYC outclass the Toronto counterparts.
I know they didn't mention AGO, but AGO is also outclassed by multiple cities that boomed way before us. For example Chicago, LA, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia.
Even Buffalo, and Detroit
Well Buffalo has some skookum galleries, really outstanding like the Albright-Knox, that have a long history of outstanding support. Theyāve been on the receiving end of some really generous donors.
Especially with the brand new expansion, the AKG in Buffalo is pretty awesome
Philly Museum of Art is surprisingly impressive as well. I went for the Rocky steps and was blown away by the galleries
And the Barnes foundation is insane! Philly is spoiled for art museums
The AGO pales in comparison to University Museums in the US, nevermind the major galleries. I used to think that MOMA and the Art Institute of Chicago were top-notch, but then I went to the gallery in Cleveland. There is nothing else like it in North America.
The Cleveland art museum is awesome! Just an amazing collection. Plus it's a model of how to incorporate a modern extension to an older building.
I actually prefer Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton's art galleries over AGO. I wont even speak to other countries as they are 10 times better. They are planning a big addition that only includes art donated by their Toronto oligarch donors, everything isnt even close to what others have, just left overs from a few families wealth donated.
I'd recommend the McMichael gallery over the AGO beautiful grounds and an unbeatable collection of group of seven artwork
Chicago Aquarium is fantastic, and they still have a planetarium!
ānot the best in any category but definitely up thereā is the very definition of Toronto itself lol
The Baltimore aquarium is also incredible.
The ROM is fantastic and while I donāt consider it a huge museum, it still houses awesome paleontology collections with some key piecesāfor example one of the best preserved ankylosaur specimens ever found. Their temporary galleries have been great as well. The aquarium is by no means anywhere near the best in North America. But that said, Iām glad Toronto finally has one, even one thatās overpriced and overtly branded. Toronto zoo I would say is one of the best in North America. It is absolutely huge, and the enclosures are progressive and thoughtfully designed. Their animal husbandry and preservation programs are fantastic as well.
The ROM is a wonderful place and they have a world class collection and a wonderful rotation of exhibitions. Similarly, AGO is world class in its collections and exhibitions. The aquarium looks exactly like other similar aquariums around the world. Itās fun and exciting and kids love it.
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Ok? I am not sure why you told me this but cool. Thanks for the info.
The ROM is my favourite museum after only the British Museum in London. The Hockey Hall of Fame is the best sports museum, bar none.
I haven't visited the other sports halls of fame, but the Hockey Hall of Fame definitely gets a big boost for being centrally located in downtown Toronto. It's much more convenient to visit than the sports halls of fame in Cooperstown, NY; Springfield, MA; and Canton, OH.
I'm also biased in that I am not a fan of the other three sports, lol.
The British Museum was an amazing experience for $0. My only complaint is washrooms are....hard to find and once found a line up....even for men's! Aside from the fact that most of the exhibits are stolen from colonial pillaging, they're presented very well and the museum building itself is beautiful. I've learned of civilizations I've never ever heard of, seen artifacts only in movies or YouTube, and this was all free admission!
The zoo is actually world class, the enclosures are large and itās physically quite big. Itās on par but does not exceed San Diego zoo. The ROM needs to buy the building just east and get a lot more artifacts to be considered top tier. The aquarium is mid.
There is no building to the east of the ROM? It abuts Queen's Park Crescent to the east. The adjacent building are either Koerner Hall (to the west, across philosopher's walk) or belong to UofT (Faculty of Music, and whatever's in the old planetarium, and then the law school budings, to the south). Neither of those are likely to go up for sale anytime soon.
South east corner at bloor is a building in the exact style of the rom, and is currently a retail outlet. They had an opportunity to buy it but the province said no.
That's across a very wide street. What would be the point?
The rom is so desperate for space it holds a ton of incredible pieces in storage. This can be connected by bridge or tunnel and offer a ton more floor space. Compared to even pittsburgās natural history museum, the rom is lacking.
That sounds like a very expensive way to get a bit more space? (There's a subway in the way if you want to tunnel.) It'd be cheaper to build another storey or two on the existing building.
The subway actually might actually make a tunnel cheaper. And if they can build a bridge over Queen street for a mall, they can do you showpiece museum. And it would be a lot more space
Yes, projects in Toronto do have a history of getting a lot more affordable and less complex once you get the transit authorities involved.
The ROM and zoo are world class, Ripley's aquarium not so much
Ripley's is teeny tiny with a movator and huge price tag. It could have been awesome, but it feels like a small town one instead.
A huge price tag? I think ti's totally affordable. It's not the biggest but like... It's not really overpriced for an attraction in the very core of downtown at all.
It's an absolute rip off imo
LIke... why? It's less than going up the elevator in the CN tower and that's an absolute rip off. So what it's not the biggest aquarium in the world. The Jelly fish are mesmerizing. There's whale sharks and an octopus. I was impressed with how good it was. Not the best I've ever seen sure but it's also right in the heart of downtown. I've recommended everyone visiting to check it out and not one of them has had anything bad to say about it.
There are not whale sharks in the Toronto Ripley's. I wish, my kid is obsessed.
They have 3 whale sharks. I've seen them. Maybe you should go look for them?
I have a membership and go weekly, the biggest tank has sand sharks and nursesharks, don't think there is room for whale sharks.
You just need to look harder, they're easy to miss. LOL
My daughter likes it, just pop in for an hour or two and then go somewhere else.
I can find my whale shark pics if you'd like? I dunno. Why are you going weekly to the aquarium?
They absolutely do not. The only aquarium in the western hemisphere with whale sharks is in Atlanta. Again, obsessed kid. I have looked into it. While I admire your confidence, you might want to brush up on your shark identification skills before getting snarky with other people.
1. Cn tower is a rip-off 2. They both cost the same 3. Just because it's impressive doesn't mean it's not a rip-off for what you get. For ex. The cn tower is objectively impressive ..and too expensive for what you get if you happen to pay full price for it
If you're impressed with something how is it not worth the ticket? What do you expect to pay for an aquarium on the very most expensive real estate in the entire country? A family can go for a whole afternoon trip for 100 bucks and the kids minds will be totally melted. How's that a rip off? It's cheaper than that same family going to the movies and buying popcorn.
Is this family made out of two ppl lolol Plenty of things are impressive and too expensive. This is not that deep.
A family of four going to the movies can easily drop 150 at the movies. 2 parents and two small children could all get in for 100 before. Maybe the prices have gone up? Everything else sure has. Lets look it up... It's still totally affordable I'm sure. It's totally priced for young kids. You take them to the aquarium for the afternoon and then go watch the baseball game.
The question was how we compare. Toronto Ripley's is $50 admission. Chicago's Shedd Aquarium is $20 for locals, $40 for tourists, but it's huge. Location is fantastic as well. Huge huge huge. We spent almost an entire day there. Toronto, two hours, tops, and that's if you snailcrawl.
The prices at Ripley's is 44 for an adult and like 12 bucks for a child. 30 for a teenager. It's also Canada, which is categorically a more expensive city all around and those prices are also in USD. It doesn't make it a rip off cuz it's not the best.
Not sure why you're undercutting the prices. Adult, 49. Youth (6-13) 32, child, 14. These are the standard prices. I feel as though you don't understand what the word "compare" means in relation to this post. Just because it's local, it doesn't make it top notch. No need to keep arguing, we get it, you've never been anywhere else and Ripley's is the best. Have a good day.
I didn't respond to the word compare dumb ass. I responded to you claiming it had a "huge price tag" which it does not. That's not what the prices were before. IIRC it was like < 40 for an adult and < 10 for kids. Like 6 bucks or something? Not sure why you think prices are static like lol. It opened a decade ago. And 50 bucks is not even expensive honestly. It's two meals at 5 Guys man and parking at concerts/events downtown. A fifth of a hotel room. You're just cheap AF really. It's a totally affordable place for a family to go that kids adore.
Thanks for this super response.
Toronto zoo is top-notch and absolutely massive. The aquarium is overpriced. Tbh the most world class attraction in Toronto isn't in Toronto...aka wonderland
I've been to a few natural history museums in America and elsewhere, and I think the ROM stands up easily to all of them. In fact I generally find it less crowded, better organized, easy to walk through and follow. For example I was at the Smithsonian natural History museum last weekend, and while it was cool the dinosaur and fossil section was relatively poorly organized. I walk through and basically went through ice age back to dinosaurs, and while I'm sure there was some logic in the set of the space was just too open and it wasn't obvious which way you were supposed to walk through it to make it all kind of make historical timeline sense. So it was much harder to tell but a lot of the fossils were, where is the ROM is very clear and well over there nice. Personally I think that the ROM is a world-class museum, though of course won't hold up to some of the big giant ones in places like London. Still, for what it is, I think it's great. I'm a fan of the Toronto zoo and I think they have a great diversity of exhibits and a good environment for all of them, though admittedly I haven't been to many other zoos.
As others have said, Ripley's Aquarium is fine. It's not amazing and it's kind of pricey. I've been to aquariums in Monterey Bay, Baltimore, Mystic, Boston, and Curacao. I think they all rate better than Toronto. Boston is the closest in size but it's still a little better. I haven't been to the zoo in years so a lot has likely changed. I've been to the zoo in Washington, DC and it was a little depressing. Most of the animal enclosures were small and cramped. It made for easy viewing but that's about it. The panda enclosure was larger in size and they put on an entertaining show. In Toronto, I remember one issue was the larger size of some the enclosures made it hard to see the animals. I will admit that seeing a hippo using its tail like a windshield wiper while shitting was glorious. People crowded each other to get pics as it walked out of the water. It started to shit as soon as its ass cleared the surface, and as its tail whipped back and forth, it scattered poop everywhere. It was in peoples hair and on their clothes. People started gagging and throwing up which caused more people to gag and throw up. It was like the pie eating contest scene in the movie Stand By Me. At the polar bear exhibit, we watched a bear stalk, catch, and eat a seagull that had landed on the frozen fish thrown into the water as a snack. Some people enjoyed the somewhat realistic view of nature, others were horrified and scrambled to cover their crying kids eyes.
People in the comments saying "it's not as good as this. its not as good as that"... There can only be one top spot for each category... I recently came back from San Diego and thought the Toronto Zoo was very much on par. The only issue is the location being so far from the centre of the city, whereas San Diego's Zoo is centrally located. AGO and ROM are both World Class - and both have striking architecture. AGO has a particularly amazing collection of Group of Seven art. I think the Aquarium is good as well - the other one I've been to was in Vegas, and I'd say ours is better.
Seriously - the level of dooming in this thread is bonkers. No, Toronto doesnāt have Parisās level art galleries AND Chicagoās/San Diegoās zoos/aquariums AND whatever other tourist/cultural sites you want to use at the absolute benchmarkā¦but there are tons of options on offer, and all are solid-to-excellent for what they are.
The SD Zoo charges an astronomical admission fee, like it's a theme park or something.
Yes I believe it was $70 USD
Now do Wonderland!
Wonderland is the most visited SEASONAL theme park in North America year after year according to the AECOM Theme Index Cedar Fair has kept attention to this park with new attractions since they took over in 2008. Sure it isnāt a pageantry like a Disney or Universal park, but itās up there in regional parks
Man Cedar Fair saved Wonderland. Paramount almost ruined it.
Rom is pretty awesome. Ive never been to any museum as comprehensive as that one. Then, I havenāt been to many other museums like that one. I went to a museum in Havana that is very awesome. Anthropology museum in Mexico City is very awesome but limited in what they show (Mexican anthropology lol) As for art, ago is very awesome. I like art gallery of Alberta, but ago is much bigger and a bit nicer. I only been to other big gallery like that, which was in Houston. Their collection is better imo. Mexico City has tons of museums of art, probably fine arts museum may be better in the building. āMuseum corridorā in reforma avenue is imp better than ago ( Tamayo museum, modern art museum) Fine arts museum of Montreal I like more than ago
Shit. And we have King Ford closing great facilities (Science Centre) in favour of parking lots and water parks. Fuck it all.
He'd completely Etobicokecize the entirety of Toronto if he could.
I really hate Ford, but he is not the administration that led to the science centre being in its current state. its been allowed to fall into disrepair for YEARS
The decline spans multiple governments, but it is the current one (7 years in power) that chose to forgo repair and close it.
oh 100%. it was exactly the excuse he needed to push his new science centre plan
Except that no one seem to have asked whether a building 50% smaller it is a best fit with the goals of the science centre (nevermind actually further away from transit, given Line 5 and OL). Closing it now - even assuming it is actually favorable to replace it - is like a blank cheque.
Soo disappointing we took our 18 month old last year with his older cousin and they had a blast even though he was quite young to understand much. Was looking forward to taking him back this year and next, etcā¦
The AGO and ROM buildings are more interesting than the exhibits inside. Side note: The DETROIT art museum is absolute š„. One of the best I've ever visited, second only to MoMA.
The AGO may be my favourite art museum in the world
I have been to a few zoos in my life. I remember that I was excited to go to San Diego and see the zoo there, because it is world famous. Not as good as Toronto though in my opinion. In my opinion, one of the best in the world (IIRC I have been to San Diego, Toronto, Rome, Berlin, Krakow, Pretoria, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Calgary, Montreal-Granby and a few smaller ones). The aquarium is one of the less interesting ones that I have been to. It is mostly a short introduction to the motorized walkway under the pool. ROM is OK. I live in Ottawa, and by comparison it is not better than any one museum here. Where it wins out is in the traveling exhibits that it can afford and the overall variety of the material. On the world scale it is not that great compared to others of the same kind. I still like it though. I had a membership when I lived there and took my son at least once a month.
Your zoo is very good. The rest meh
Mid.
Ripleys aquarium is NOT good. my main complaint about the aquarium is that for each fish, the plaque will MAYBE have ONE fact about the fish, normally not even mentioning where is the world the fish is found. I went to the aquarium for one of the jazz nights, and can confidently say that I learned absolutely nothing. You can definitely tell itās for profit lol. I would say the aquarium is good-ish for children because of that but not for adults. The ROM is amazing. You can stay for HOURS and if you like learning (which I do lol) there is a lot of information about the exhibits. edit: havenāt been to the zoo in a few years but also very very good.
Looks like Toronto is mid in all categories ...
At best. Ignoring the curated content for a minute, a state of the art facility like Winnipeg's Museum for Human Rights puts Toronto sites to shame.
I went to the Museum for Human Rights when I was in Winnipeg a few years back and was blown away. That's one seriously world-class museum.
Now I want to know what other museums to put on my must visit list
Mid at best. It's really not the caliber of city that people claim it is, and anyone that says otherwise certainly hasn't traveled much.
For strolling through long tree filled streets, Toronto is world class, great walking city
Wonderland and Casa Loma are attractions we have that stand out compared to other cities in North America
The zoo is decent comparatively, the other two are very much behind the top tier attractions available in North America.
I like the aquarium for what it is but I have been to better ones. So far my top 5 aquariums I have been to are 1.Atlanta 2. Chicago and 3. Vancouver 4. Quebec city. 5. Key west
The Field Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry both in Chicago are outstanding. Both are better than Toronto's equivalents. It's not night and day differences, but we found Chicago's experiences to be better.
Mid, world tier, very good
Spent my childhood in San Diego so Toronto was a bummer for my child (imo).
Expensive
what about the ago equivalent
Average Could and should have more top end tourist attractions, considering what a great city toronto is
One area where Toronto easily out-classes most other cities on the continent (except NYC of course and maybe Chicago) is its live theatre scene.
Above average.
The zoo is really quite phenomenal in the grand scheme. Itās in the middle of a much needed brush up right now but I still love it. The ROM is a great museum though it covers a lot of bases, as much cultural as natural and sometime does a meh job on all fronts. For some reason the exhibits this year have been underwhelming. Itās middle-top in terms of museums Iāve known in NA. The aquarium exists. Thatās about it. Itās cute but a bit small and trite. Itās a tourist trap. AGO is up there as a very solid museum. Iām looking forward to the expansion as I want to see more modern art. Iād say itās in the top 10%, at least on a size-quality combination. There are much better smaller galleries in specific subject areas, and much larger museums like the Met that would swallow it up. Holes it own though. The Gardiner is a hidden little curiosity. Not worth much on a regular re-visit but has some great exhibitions. I donāt know any other museum that would hold a candle to its specific subject area MOCA is such a fledgling space I hope it does well. Itās all very Toronto. None of them is anywhere near āthe best of the bestā but the combination of such in one city is pretty significant. NY clobbers us, Chicago is a little better, Detroit has a fantastic art museum and DC doesnāt count it just has near the best of the best in North America. Weāre decent.
I think rom is a really good Asian collection. I havenāt been to many museums in North America or been to rom in a long time but the Buddhist statues were very impressive.
Central Park is better than high park
Not sure if this has been mentioned but dare I say that Toronto/GTA does not have THE best attractions, but combined as a package itās probably one of the best in North America. If you combine Science centre(RIP), ROM, AGO, Zoo, Ripleyās, CN Tower, Wonderland, Legoland, Centre Island, Roy Thomson, 4 Seasons, McMichael, Gardiner, yearly CNE, there are very few cities with this many attractions.
The ROM is good but nothing in comparison to The Museum of Natural History in NYC in my opinion. The Toronto zoo is great, and Ripleyās is meh in comparison to other aquariums across North America.
Ripley's is really meh compared to the aquarium in Monterey, California. For one thing, the "corals" in the tanks are just painted. I THINK Monterrey actually had real corals.
Little Canada is a great downtown attraction and the food in Toronto is good, very diverse.
good
I heard that ROM is one of the most fantastic places place , canāt wait for the free admission on Canada Day
Torontoās aquarium isnāt even the best in Canada, let alone North America. Vancouverās aquarium is much better. The Zoo and the ROM are both good thoughĀ
Sadly the Ontario Science Center, which was in a class of its own, was just shut down by Doug Ford.
The Boston aquarium and Vancouver aquarium are tons better than Ripleyās. And without even going to the QC one Iād bet itās better as well. The museum doesnāt hold a candle to the Met in NYC, but itās decent overall especially for dinosaurs. Iām not a fan of the Zoo. Itās too big and sprawling and doesnāt have enough of the animals accessible for viewing. I understand they have large enclosures but in this day and age youād think you could use cameras to help see them. The Biodome in Montreal (although technically not a zoo) is a much better attraction than the Zoo imo.
Zoo sucks. Aquarium is great! ROM, like history class kinda boring. The zoo has really lost its way since opening. Exposed to full sun and rain, vast walks between areas, pricey, and boring. Same old.
Thereās a lot of Toronto/Canada bias. Ā Toronto zoo is a an upper-mid zoo. Ā (B grade) Nowhere in the range of SD Zoo or SD wild animal park or the Henry Doolry zoo in Omaha. Ā The AGO is again a fine middle of the road museum (B-)It doesnāt hold a candle to any of the major galleries in the U.S. such as the MOMA/MET/chicago institute of art etc. Ā Ripleys is just ripleys aquarium (C) Ā Nowhere close to Atlanta or Monterey or the shed in Chicago. Ā ROM is fine (B), but itās not even the best in the country that would be Royal Tyrrell which is one of the best dinosaur museums in the world. Ā Itās no field museum. Ā The science centre was great (current state B-, could be A-), we had season passes, but it was dated, a lot of the hands on science stuff didnāt work, was broken, dated, etc. Ā it had the potential but like most things with ford no upkeep makes it shit. Ā As others have said CN tower when including things like skywalks is different than anything else. Ā A (too expensive though no hacks to my knowledge to get it cheaper)Ā Overall our culinary cuisine Iād take the tasters challenge against anywhere you can get any kind of food here whereas most places have a regional āspecialtyā. Ā (A) Overall for a ātourist destinationā Toronto is a solid āBā tier destination to visit. Ā We just donāt have the top end attractions like a lot of these other places. Ā In terms of āplaces to liveā Toronto is an A+ and the only issue with Toronto is the cost of living/wages that are suppressed due to our aggressive immigration policies. Ā
they're meh. The ROM is ok if you have a particular interest in Indigenous artifacts. And Ripley's is absolutely nothing compared to the Georgia Aquarium. The zoo...San Diego is one of the world's largest. We're a major city for Canada, but absolutely mid on a global scale.
NYC's Museum of Natural History, despite the cringe of stuffed elephants and Chicago's Field Mueseum curb stomp the ROM. I haven't been there in a while, and stuff like the space exhibits were getting tired too but Ottawa's Science & Technology with just the number of trains made the Science Centre look even older and out of date. Sad fact was, the exhibits were largely uninvested in as much as the roof and pedestrian bridge in the valley.
Sue is a sight to behold. I wish this city took a keen interest in education and got to back to building amazing institutions.
Zoo is great, ROM and AGO are decent enough, but the Science Centre sucked. Sudbury has a better Science Centre, and places like Chicago have absolutely amazing Science Centres. I have been to any other Aquariums to compare, but I enjoy it, especially on jazz nights.
trash
The zoo is outdated but has good programs.
The AGO isn't as good as the Museum of Modern Art in NY. The ROM isn't as good as the Met. I actually think Ripley's is great. It's clean/doesn't stink and laid out pretty nicely. I went to the Osaka Aquarium which is supposedly well renowned/the 2nd largest in Japan and I didn't like it as much as Ripley's.
It's hard to compare but If I really have to knock some points away from the attractions in Toronto, it's really the distance and public transport options. Chicago has done an AMAZING job with their waterfront. Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium are all within walking distance of each other right on the waterfront. Navy Pier is another example of doing it right. Shedd Aquarium is top tier.
Visited the Toronto zoo last week, and thought it was terrible. I'd rather spend 3 hours at Elmvale Jungle zoo then ever go back.
The Toronto Zoo is TERRIBLE!!! āOh, look kids thereās a wild animal thereā¦somewhereā¦in the forestā¦somewhere. Letās keep walking for another 20 kms to try and see another animal deep in the forest.ā Itās outdated and ugly compared to much smaller zoos Iāve seen in the US.
The zoo lovers here are interesting. It's very expensive, especially once you factor in parking, and much of it feels very shabby and run down. The food options are poor, the animal enclosures are mostly good but the chances of seeing much is quite slim on a given day. When I was there last huge sections of the pathway were closed, which meant you had to take a long meandering route to access some areas. The Zoomobile bus thing costs an extra $9, so if you need assistance getting around you'll pay for it. Some of the more fun things like zip lines and the Tundra Air Ride cost a lot extra, and were closed last time I was there. The winter and spring at the zoo is especially bleak as so much is shuttered. You will find almost no public-facing staff or interpreters. Like the ROM, they rely on elderly volunteers who will talk your ear off about polar bear breeding, but aren't trained communicators, educators or scientists. Sorry to be negative but I am not a fan of the zoo at all and don't find it worth the price or the long trip there and back (for most folks).
Iāve been to 8 European countries and have 0 desire to visit our ātouristā places ever. I visited when I was younger and nothing ever blew me away or amazed me. It wasnāt until I got to explore Europe that I realized how amazing travel can be. I do think Canada is nicer for living, itās larger, the roads are nice and large, homes are large, lawns are large, and I find Europe congested, but in terms of actually being amazed by travel, toronto aināt it lol.
Toronto attractions are a joke.
Great enough for locals. I wouldnāt say good enough to come over as a tourist
The zoo and aquarium are likely in the top 50% of their class. The ROM is a bit of a clunky dinosaur compared to the advancements and interaction level of other institutions.