The "Things to do in Toronto when you visit" thread

[2badknees]

https://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/

Not cars, but your 5 YO will likely enjoy, and its in the heart of the city.

 

[Tigger]

My turn now. I'm heading to Toronto next month, around the 22nd to 26th or so. I have two business meetings and am getting reimbursed for two nights in a hotel and my flight, so I figured I'll extend it a couple of days and bring my wife and 5 year old boy. I've been to Toronto a bunch of times, but don't generally do much because I fly in for a meeting and immediately fly back home.

Anyway, we're on a very tight budget and would prefer to stay in Toronto and on public transport lines as much as possible. My son is absolutely obsessed with cars and diecast cars. Is there anything downtown that might satisfy that obsession? Like a diecast car store (hotwheels, Maisto, Jada, etc.) or an auto museum?

Also, any other suggestions for a five year old? They don't have to be car related. What about the science centre?

Aquarium? I'm taking my daughter there next month, another trip to the science centre in October ( hopefully ), though she's 12 now.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

My turn now. I'm heading to Toronto next month, around the 22nd to 26th or so. I have two business meetings and am getting reimbursed for two nights in a hotel and my flight, so I figured I'll extend it a couple of days and bring my wife and 5 year old boy. I've been to Toronto a bunch of times, but don't generally do much because I fly in for a meeting and immediately fly back home.

Anyway, we're on a very tight budget and would prefer to stay in Toronto and on public transport lines as much as possible. My son is absolutely obsessed with cars and diecast cars. Is there anything downtown that might satisfy that obsession? Like a diecast car store (hotwheels, Maisto, Jada, etc.) or an auto museum?

Also, any other suggestions for a five year old? They don't have to be car related. What about the science centre?

If you're willing to make the trip up to Vaughan (northwest Toronto suburbs, though still accessible by transit), you could go to Legoland at Vaughan Mills Mall.  It's not a huge theme park, but there's plenty there to keep a 5 year old quite entertained for hours:  a couple of rides, a sizeable climbing area for burning off energy, various building areas, a 3D theatre that constantly runs 3 different Lego movies (no extra charge), and a large miniland with lots of elaborate Toronto/Ontario constructions to look at.  If you're there on a weekday it's usually not busy at all, though be aware that the last Wednesday of every month is adults only night.  You mentioned his interest in cars, two of the construction areas have plenty of various Lego car parts for making your own car, and there's two ramp setups, one steep for speed/jumping, the other for racing other people's car builds.

If Legoland is too far to get to, I'd second the recommendations of the aquarium and the Science Centre.  While the Science Centre is quite big and has lots to see for any age, a 5 year old can also easily spend hours in the sometimes overlooked KidsPark area, so make sure you seek it out if you go there.  If you happen to make plans to go to Legoland, let me know when you're thinking of going and if the time and day happen to work out favourably, I could try to meet up with you with my 5 and 9 year old boys, as we have year passes there.

 

[Tigger]

The aquarium was fantastic, spent about 3 hours there looking at everything from jellyfish and groupers behind glass to crabs and sharks you could touch. Definitely a great place for kids. We worked in a round of food and fun at the international vegfoodfest while we were there, which blew me away some, I didn't realize some of the things that were being made out of not meat/dairy. It helped that my sister was part of the branding team for the event, she knew where to go for certain things, and she's a vegetarian... speaking of food we capped the day off with dinner at Barrio Coreano, tacos to die for.

 

[seahawk]

speaking of food we capped the day off with dinner at Barrio Coreano, tacos to die for.

Where is this located? I love Mexican.

 

[Tigger]

speaking of food we capped the day off with dinner at Barrio Coreano, tacos to die for.

Where is this located? I love Mexican.

642 Bloor St W

This site has some decent photos/descriptions of the cuisine and interior. It's a Mexican Korean mix, I absolutely loved it.

http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/barrio-coreano-toronto

 

[Bender]

The aquarium was fantastic, spent about 3 hours there looking at everything from jellyfish and groupers behind glass to crabs and sharks you could touch. Definitely a great place for kids. We worked in a round of food and fun at the international vegfoodfest while we were there, which blew me away some, I didn't realize some of the things that were being made out of not meat/dairy. It helped that my sister was part of the branding team for the event, she knew where to go for certain things, and she's a vegetarian... speaking of food we capped the day off with dinner at Barrio Coreano, tacos to die for.

My vegetarian/vegan sister went to that event also