Toronto Attractions

Wander with your kids through this top-notch art museum, home to works by Canadian as well as European artists. Along with works by Renoir and Monet, the museum features an entire gallery of Henry Moore sculptures as well as works by George Segal. In November 2008 Frank Gehry's dramatic additions and changes to the Art Gallery of Ontario debuted, increasing the space by 97,000 square feet. The Douglas-fir sculptural staircase, as well as the Galleria Italia, a soaring wood and glass sculptural gallery that overlooks Dundas Street, should spark interest in both architecture and art. If that doesn't do it, there's always the large AGO shop with affordable earrings for teens and AGO's art-to-go kits, conveniently packed pastels, watercolors, markers and paper.

A facility dedicated to shoes may sound boring, but trust us, this one's a favorite of budding fashionistas and the curious. Think four-inch Manolos require practice to walk in? What about the nine-inch Chopines worn by wealthy women in 16th century Venice? See those along with Native North America footwear in a gallery showcasing beautifully beaded and decorated moccasins. Socks details the history of knits, nylons and other types of these necessities and All About Footwear includes celebrity shoes such as Shaquille O'Neal's size 23 Reebok's and Elton John's flamboyant silver lame platforms.

Historian and long-time Torontonian Bruce Bell offers engaging and insightful walking tours of the city. On his regularly scheduled St. Lawrence Market and Old Town tour, there's time to try the city's signature pea meal bacon sandwich and stroll to other snacks. Bruce Bell also offers custom tours based on a family's interests.

From the 1,465-foot-high Sky Pod or from the 1,136-foot high observation deck, reached by glass elevators, take in panoramic views of the city from the world's tallest, freestanding structures -- 1,815.5 inches high. A fun family challenge: See if you can stand on one of the glass panes on the floor below -- a mere 1,122 feet high. Although strong enough to withstand 14 hippos, the glass creates the illusion of walking on nothing at all.

Toronto makes the most of its waterfront, at which Harbourfront Centre is at its center. A 10-acre site that hosts more than 4,000 events each year, families may stumbled upon Classical or Caribbean concerts, a HarbourKIDS circus with juggling and magic acts, a children's literary festival in May or a Hot & Spicy Food Festival in August. At the craft studio, York Quay, watch resident ceramicists and glass blowers at work. There are shows at the Theatre Centre and the Fleck Dance Theatre. Along the waterfront, you can rent kayaks, sailboats and powerboats, as well as bicycles and inline skates. On a stroll, pause at several waterfront parks, including HTO with its manmade sandy beach dotted with umbrellas and the Music Garden, whose flower arrangements suggest a work by Bach. In winter, ice skate at the Natrel rink.

From downtown Toronto, it's an easy, two-hour train trip to Niagara Falls, where taxis are available to take you from the train station to the Canadian side of the park. Getting wet on the Maid of the Mist has been a tradition since 1846 when the first steamboat ferry carried stagecoaches and horses across the Niagara River near the falls. Now the 30-minute boat rides puts you within spraying distance of the thundering falls, both the American Falls and the wider, more impressive Canadian Falls.

Just outside the park, Clifton Hill, a street lined with fun houses, a SkyWheel (Ferris Wheel), Ripley's Believe It or Not, mini-golf and more looks like Nirvana to kids and looms like a money pit for parents. Negotiate with your children ahead of time about how many hours and how many dollars you want to spend here. Enjoy a nap on the afternoon train trip back to Toronto.

It's all about hands-on fun at the Ontario Science Centre. At KidSpark, those 8-years-old and younger can float boats, build skeletons, balance balloons on air currents and lots more. A gated, cushioned area for toddlers has big trucks, fish tanks and books. The Weston Family Innovation Centre challenges teens with a variety of possibilities. Teens can craft aerodynamic shoes, take apart computer circuit boards, compose sound tracks and see what they look like in a photo made from oil and air bubbles.

With more than six million items in its collection, the ROM rates among Canada's largest museums, and a must-visit for families. Visit the First Nations Gallery for native artifacts such as a birch bark canoe and Sitting Bull's headdress; the newly revitalized Bat Cave with animatronic bats; the Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs for an impressive collection of skeletons and fossils, including the full skeleton of a 90-foot long Barosaurus. At the CIBC Discovery Gallery, young kids can try on chain mail, dig for dino bones and crawl in a teepee. Through January 2, 2011, visitors are in for a special treat: "The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army." Eighteen life-sized terra cotta figures created 2,200 years ago will be on view. (Buy tickets online ahead of time).

With no cars, the Toronto Islands, a short ferry ride from downtown, provide lots of green spaces and parkland. With older kids, go biking and inline skating. Take younger kids to ride the handcrafted carousel and visit the farm animals at Centre Island's Centreville, an old-fashioned amusement center. Also nice for little ones is the island's Franklin's Children's Garden, based on the "Franklin the Turtle" book series. Here, kids can climb on sculptures of Franklin, Goose and Rabbit and search for real turtles in the pond.