Located just up the street from Evergreen Brickworks, Todmorden Mills consists of the main building…read morewhich acts as a welcome centre, art gallery, theatre, and event space, as well as historic buildings scattered around in the property. The historic houses are only accessible with a tour guide, ran by the Toronto Historic Museums. We got a tour of the historic houses which belonged to and were occupied by the workers who worked in the nearby mills / factories, and we learned about how they lived in the late 1800s. Great informative tour. They periodically have events such as the annual Eco Fair every spring. The location is close to a few different trailheads in the area, with connections to the Don River Valley and the Don Valley trails.

I love touring well protected heritage sites but this was quite disappointing. The site itself was…read moredisappointing, but we also had a bad experience here. My family was taking a day off together for a special celebration, and for the morning, we wanted to just check out a Toronto heritage site, walk a garden, and head off to lunch. I called ahead because I saw online that there are tour times but you could self tour, and I wasn't sure we could make it to a scheduled tour. The lady I spoke with on the phone assured me that the tour is optional and we can walk the site ourselves. So we show up, and there's only two houses... but they're both locked. So we go to the desk to ask if maybe the heritage site and houses were further down the road somewhere. I saw no mill, nor houses. They tell us we missed the 11:30 tour. It was 11:37, so I asked if we could catch up and we were told no.... Only after persistently asking did they reveal that actually, since no one showed up at 11:30, they just didn't do the tour. They're short staffed and couldn't spare people.... But we were welcome to wait until 1 and go walk to see the outside of the houses...... I just got really fed up because it was their own miscommunication and I had to drive from quite a distance. We'd seen most heritage sites in the GTA and this was one of the few left we haven't visited. I was ready to just leave at that point. It's free admission so it's not like they care if they have visitors I guess. But the girl at the desk got someone to cover for her and offered to walk us to the two houses. I could tell she wasn't thrilled about it, but mind you, it's not her fault and the poor girl was literally the only one staffed aside from the manager. She was probably as frustrated as I was that she had to deal with this. I was very grateful she took the time and she was quite knowledge about the homes. About the site: The mill was essentially gutted and turned into an art museum, which rotates exhibitions quite often. I was expecting to see and learn more about the site itself. Sadly, there's just a few signs here and there. The houses themselves were lovely, but sadly only two and you have to catch the tour if you want in. They do keep them locked, so not, you can't walk around yourself. One of the homes was from the 1800's which actually was a semi detached. The city built a doorway between so you can just walk both houses as one. The second building is a cottage home that was from the 1940's. It was quite interesting and I liked knowing that the original owners daughter helped them to refurbish it, so it reflects how it actually looked when she lived there herself. I do wish they had more homes at the heritage site. There's a 15 minute walking path too which is extremely untamed. Legit just a 15 minute short walk that's pretty much in a forest. You won't see much.. Over all, disappointing for a heritage site. There's really not much to see or do. And, you have to catch the tour, otherwise, you're welcome to just look at the outside of the houses.

This is a shockingly good free museum that was hidden away. The one thing you'll want to know is…read morethat you can only take photos in one direction, because this is in an active police station. But, you can take pictures with cut outs of Blinky, and you can see all the historical rank badges. You can see all the classic Toronto ranks, written proudly across their silver badges from: Inspector, to chief, to patrolman, and even "woman". O.K. Arguably that's a little dated. But that's why it "belongs in a museum", as a fedora wearing archeologist might say. If you're in the area, and it happens to be open, it's a surprisingly interesting visit.

I visited the Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre during my trip to Toronto for the big Fan…read moreExpo Canada in August. It's inside the police headquarters just to the left of the entrance. A museum assistant named Norina allowed me tag along with a group tour and answered all of my questions. There are stairs and ramps for access. The museum is not very large and you can read all of the displays and look at all the photos in less than two hours. There is a gift shop across the hallway. It was worth the visit during my vacation from Michigan. Highly recommended.

I've been the the Barns a few times over the years for different events. A few times when they…read morehave held their Vintage Fair here (amazing vintage items, clothing, jewellry); once for a play and most recently for the Tabasco Hawkers Market. This is a great place to hold an event, party or wedding. This is a former hub for streetcars back in the day but has now been turned into an event space. Interior brick walls, high ceilings and open floor plan allows the venue to become accommodating to almost any kind of event. It has that vintage but industrial kind of ceiling. There are a lot of great photo ops in here. There are also photos/info on the walls that tells the history of this place.

This is probably one of the best things to happen to the neighbourhood in recent history. Grand…read moreopening was November 2008 and it hasn't looked back since. The space is a reclaimed TTC barn and has five 'barns' each labeled with giant steel numbers. First is the artist live-work space, 2 is the event space where you will find the market on Saturdays in the winter and various other community events, 3 is the community theatre, 4 is The Stop greenhouse and kitchen, and 5 is the open air barn. There is also a children's playground on the east side of the building, an open field that becomes an ice rink in the winter on the south end, an off-leash dog park at the south-west corner, beach volleyball court on the west side, and plenty of benches and picnic tables scattered throughout. I find that their website is not as informative as it could be, perhaps because it is administered by the umbrella Artscape organization: http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/places-spaces/artscape-wychwood-barns So it's better to go directly to the Stop's website to find out about the market and the many very interesting fund- and awareness-raising events they have: http://www.thestop.org/green-barn-market I find that being on the mailing lists for The Stop and our local city councillor Joe Mihevc (http://www.joemihevc.com) keeps me informed of upcoming events like the solar energy info session this Sunday. Some additional notes: ** The Market ** During the cold months it is indoors and runs 8 a.m. - noon. It gets crowded by 11 and goodies like cinnamon buns don't last until then. Bring cash, your own bags and if you're really good, your own travel-mug for the wonderful Kurtis coffee. Interesting vendors include the venison guy, sweet potato man, Mennonite meat lady, knife sharpening guy, tofu dude, the fungi, and the freshwater fish people. In the warmer months it is outdoors and runs a bit later until 1 I think (it is still indoors as I write this so I'm not sure). The vendors are spread out over the walkways under their tents. Half the fun is stopping to chat with neighbours so check your usual Toronto sidewalk pace as you might get stuck behind a stroller and wagon jam. There are several vegetable vendors that also sell organic and heirloom variety seeds and seedlings in the spring. Too bad last summer was so cold and rainy - even so the purple tomatoes I planted were wonderful! ** The Dogpark ** It has weird hours and no commercial dog walkers are allowed. It is closed everyday between noon-3 p.m. and opens later in the morning on Sunday. I'll take a picture of the sign next time I'm there because it's confusing. There is a human + dog drinking fountain but the city doesn't turn on the water until mid-May so bring water for your pooches. Best doggy party times (as with most parks I'm sure) are from 5 - 7 p.m. There might be a morning party but I'm never up early enough to find out.

The Canadian Automotive Museum is a hidden gem in downtown Oshawa. Housed in a historic 1920s…read moredealership, its two floors showcase over 75 rare vehicles, including Lightning McQueen and Canada's first hybrid. While slightly cramped, the informative displays and friendly staff make it an essential stop for history buffs.

The building is not the best, with many pillars blocking your view, no elevator and cars placed…read morevery close together (sometimes behind one another, making viewing hard), but if you like old cars this is a great destination. There's a lot of information provided and most are lovingly restored. There's even a replica Model T / tiny McLaughlin-Buck you/your kids can sit in. Most cars are from the first half of the 20th century, with almost none from the 70s and later so if that is your interest adjust your expectations.

We visited the Duffy homestead sept. 2025. Very interesting place with stories passed down from…read moregenerations that lived there. I love that it is now back in the family and appearantly privately owned unlike most museums!

Since 2021 entrance is free…read more There is a self guided tour with a booklet. The whole tours takes about 45 minutes to complete. (we were very detailed). Mostly gives you an insight in how people lived in 1830-60. If you got some time to kill and are in the area it is worth it, but not with coming here just for it.

A nice little spot to get some Canadian history. It is small so if you tour the house, it won't…read moretake long. Call ahead to see if you can get a guide. We came on an off day because the power went out in the area so we did not get to experience the tea room. They were very good about it and refunded our money for the tea room sitting. There is a lovely tiny garden to explore and they have a Farmer's Market on certain days.

Best thing I stumbled on during my free day in Toronto. It's a hive of art, maker spaces, and…read moredesign. There's a cafe on the north end and two retail shops with fun stuff that are the equivalent of museum gift shops. Completely free!

One of my favourite places to visit in the city, always a rotating blend of art to experience,…read moregorgeous building, and has the best location of Dark Horse Espresso in Toronto.

I discovered a 'secret' Community Garden right at the heart of the concrete jungle near Spadina and…read moreQueen Street on my walk. It backs into our famous Graffiti Alley. It would be even more beautiful to walk through when it gets warmer. The garden is named in memory of Alex Wilson, a landscape designer. During the warmer months, the parkette is planted with native plant species that add to our city's biodiversity. It may not look like much now but I've seen pictures during summer and I'm looking forward to walk by again on my way to admiring the art at graffiti alley. Always appreciate a little bit of greenery in the busy city.