Toronto: Land of Unlimited Attractions

ashleydunlap
Jan 9, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Jan 4

My family used to try and travel to Toronto every year ranging from 2014-2017, and I wish we had never stopped. Since the last time I visited back in high school, I have been dying to go back.

Toronto is the largest city in all of Canada, and every time I revisited, there was always an attraction I did not see the previous visit. This is why I’ve come to the conclusion that Toronto is the land of unlimited attractions! When I lived in Southeastern Michigan, this place was an easy road trip being only four hours away! Toronto is known for being a world leader in business, finance, technology, entertainment, and culture. That’s not all, though! Toronto also has a spectacular food scene with diverse poutine restaurants, a Tim Hortons literally on every block, a plethora of authentic cultural restaurants, and even gelato!

If you visit Toronto, it is unfortunately, highly unlikely, that you are going to see ALL the wonderful attractions it has to offer. But, in no particular order, here are the top 10 Toronto attractions you DON'T want to miss!

10. The Toronto Sign

This is more of just a photo op destination, but it is still iconic. Sometimes, the sign even lights up and shows many different colors! The city skyline backdrop also helps as well, and this sign can be found in Nathan Phillips Square downtown. Coming here and getting a quick photo won’t take long, so you can easily do that on the way to another attraction! In addition, my family and I once observed a pillow fight happening here, so look out for that too!

No colors, but still notable!

9. Love Lock (Distillery District)

In a more hidden area of Toronto, this lovely (no pun intended) sculpture can be found in the historic distillery district. A lot couples like to pose here and/or visit for an anniversary trip! Aside from this, the distillery district also has a lot of great restaurants, wineries, and a small holiday themed site called Winter Village!

8. St. Lawrence Market

Neighboring the Toronto sign, this market provides a plethora of food stands and foodie or not, you’ll be impressed! It is one of the world’s greatest markets and known for the family-oriented hard work and passion for each food and craft booth. On average, people spend about two hours inside and include over 120 specialty vendors. There are three main parts of the market: The South Market, known for the vendor stands on the first floor, and a market gallery exhibition on the second floor. The North Market is known for its Saturday’s Farmers Market while St. Lawrence Hall is known for its rental space for weddings and other special events.

Poutine: A must have meal in Toronto and one of the many choices at the market!

7. The Ontario Science Centre

A little outside of Toronto but still nearby! Whether you like science or not, I guarantee you’ll find this museum interesting either way, as I did and I don’t know anything about science, haha! This is actually one of the first interactive science museums in the world and so expansive, you will need to set aside at least half a day to see it all. Exhibitions include life-sized dinosaur sculptures, human biology, psychology and perceptions, crocheted coral, a space hall, a natural environment hall, a physics and engineering arcade, and an interactive kids center. There was even a science of rock n roll exhibit which my dad was really into. This has sound-proof booths where you can sing and play instruments and learn what it is like to produce music. In addition, since I visited, there is an IMAX Dome Film exhibit where you can watch science based films about dinosaurs, space, engineering, and anything else science related! When people say this is an interactive science museum, they mean it!

My mom and I in the sound booth singing “Old Time Rock n Roll” by Bob Seger!

6. CN Tower

If you miss this while visiting Toronto, why did you even go to Toronto? Until the Burj Khalifa, the CN Tower was the world’s tallest free-standing structure and is a signature of Toronto’s skyline. Anywhere in Toronto, this icon should not be hard to see. From the top floor of the tower, you can see pretty much all of Toronto! I did not do this, but there is also an edge walk that I’ll look into the next time I visit Toronto. In addition, there is a 360 restaurant next to the city view and there’s also a wine cellar too!

That’s the CN Tower in between two industrial buildings!

5. Royal Ontario Museum

This is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. The ROM as they call it, is known for its displays of art, world culture, and natural history. There are about 13 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. While it is true that there are a lot of museums in Toronto, this one is a must because there is no art and culture like it! If you’re ever in Toronto and see a large oddly-shaped crystal jutting out from a building, you’ll know you’re at the ROM!

The jutty crystal architecture!

4. Yonge-Dundas Square

This is a notable square part of a street that runs through the heart of Toronto and actually pronounced “young”. Here is where you’ll see the hustle and bustle of Toronto as well as a little splash pad in the middle of the square! This square also hosts live community events and is home to several buildings including a movie theater, The Beer Store, Toronto’s largest mall: CF Toronto Eaton Centre, etc… Weird things are also known to happen here including solicitors and a woman who spit on me during my first visit! Still a cool place, though!

Times Square? No. Cuz it’s Toronto!

3. Rogers Centre

Home to the Toronto Blue Jays, I actually watched an epic baseball game where they played against the Detroit Tigers during my first visit! There were 19 innings, so I didn’t watch the whole thing, but it was still one to remember! Even when there is no baseball game happening, you can still visit and it is an entertainment venue as well for things not-sport related! Many celebrities have been a part of events at this venue and the venue can be both indoor and outdoor due to the retractable roof.

The outside of the stadium

2. Canada’s Wonderland

A bit outside of Toronto, this is the first and largest amusement park in Canada. A local in Toronto told me that this was comparable to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Ohio that I love and one of the best in the U.S.! There is also a waterpark at CW, but if you don’t have time for it, that’s okay. When I went, it wasn’t that great as only a few rides were open but the amusement park is a must! From what I remember, my favorite ride was the behemoth as I am a thrill seeker, and this definitely had me screaming in my brother’s face, haha!

Not the Behemoth but the other iconic CW ride: Leviathan!

1. Casa Loma

Saved the best for last! This is my favorite Toronto attraction because I have always been interested in medieval castles, and this one was the closest to me outside of Europe. It was a mansion for a family back in the early 1900s and now its a beautiful attraction that also has a beautiful garden in the back, a gift shop and steakhouse inside, and a gelato stand in the garden! I always joked that I wanted to get married here, but I’m sure it’s not cheap to do that.