Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)

Generations of children and adults have trooped through the museum since it opened in 1914. With six million objects in its collections and 40 galleries of art, archeology and natural science, the ROM offers a whole world to explore. Four giant carved totem poles rise in the centre of the stairwells; the largest is 24.5 metres (80 ft. 6 in.) tall. The Hands-on Biodiversity gallery offers families a fun interactive experience about the interdependence of people, animals and plants.

In June of 2007 the ROM unveiled the dramatic new expansion, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Made up of interlocking prismatic forms the bright, modern addition to the museum expansion was one of the most challenging construction projects in North America, but the results are a sight to be seen.

To commemorate the late Elizabeth Samuel, Liza's Garden is a contemporary secret garden of greenness and sustainability, installed on the south portion of the Philosopher's Walk wing. Created by PLANT Architect Inc, the 10, 000 square foot area offers a dynamic haven of greenery. Aside from aesthetic appeal, the garden is a practical landscape that reduces the heat island effect and provides shelter for birds and other small creatures. The garden can be viewed from c5 Restaurant Lounge, located at the pinnacle of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.

Art Gallery of Ontario

The Art Gallery of Ontario installed recently some 5,000 works in 110 galleries, marking the final phase of the Transformation construction project. Designed by renowned Toronto native Frank Gehry - the architectural genius behind the Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - the transformation includes a physical expansion of the Gallery by 97,000 square feet, the addition of more than 10,000 new works of art to the already vast collection and a 47 per cent increase in art viewing space. 

The Anne Tanenbaum Gallery School provides a full slate of classes for adults and children. Classes are taught by professional artists specializing in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media.

The AGO Art Rental and Sales Gallery continues to offer an extensive selection of works from such celebrated Canadian artists as Jean-Paul Riopelle, Michael Snow and Ed Burtynsky in its current location at 481 University Avenue. Artwork is available for sale to the public, or can be rented out by AGO members for as little as $20 per month.

Works from the AGO's permanent collection can be explored online through an innovative web project called Collection X (www.collectionx.museum). This fully interactive website allows users to view works from the AGO collection, curate their own online exhibitions, as well as showcase their own work and connect with other users.

George R Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art

The Gardiner Museum is internationally renowned for its collections of ceramic art. From South American religious worship to century-old British drinking games and aristocratic pursuits, the collection offers visitors a glimpse into civilizations past.

Having just completed a $20 million makeover, the Gardiner Museum is also recognized as being one of Toronto's most outstanding examples of modernist architecture. The Museum's gift shop offers a stunning collection of artist-made objects. Perched on the third floor of the Museum, famed restaurant Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner offers sumptuous fare and gorgeous views.

Textile Museum of Canada

Incorporated in 1975, the Textile Museum of Canada (formerly the Museum for Textiles) is the only museum of its kind in Canada. The collection was originally shown in a small space in Mirvish Village. The museum is now housed in a total of 25,000 square feet of exhibition, library, conservation and preservation and retail space devoted to promoting the importance and craft of the textile arts through time and around the world.

The internationally recognized collection goes far beyond fabric swatches with quilts, garments, carpets, ceremonial objects and objects of workmanship and artistic endeavor on display. The historic and ethnographic pieces give insight into other cultures and individual lives. Represented are: China, Japan, Africa, South East and Central Asia, South and Central America, Europe, and the Pacific. The museum's educational programs, lectures and tours are designed to increase public knowledge of the beauty and cultural and historical significance of the artifacts.

The Museum's Contemporary Gallery is the only gallery in Canada devoted to regular exhibitions of contemporary visual arts in textile media. Fibrespace, an educational gallery, provides a hands-on, interactive experience where visitors can try a foot-powered or Japanese braid loom.

The gift and bookstore carries textiles, carpets, clothes, cards, paper from around the world, one-of-a-kind textile gifts and books on textiles.

Bata Shoe Museum

An unusual idea for a museum collection, but the international variety housed in this museum near the University of Toronto is vast and fascinating, ranging from the fantastical to the practical. If clothes make the man (or woman), then surely we can learn much from his or her footwear.

The museum began as a personal passion for shoes. Sonja Bata has been collecting shoes of every flavour since the 1940's and in 1979 her collection had grown too large for her own private storage space. So the Bata family established the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation and in 1995 the shoes moved to their current home at 327 Bloor St. W.

The museum houses a variety of collections including shoes worn by North American Indigenous people, shoes representing every age of Western fashion, shoes from every corner of the world and even shoes from the 'Walk of Fame' worn by everyone from John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe to Donovan Bailey and Pablo Picasso.

Shoes have always reflected something of the wearer's culture, social status, age, affiliation and needs. This collection, housed in an architecturally-unique building, includes more than 10,000 shoes, boots and sandals spanning 4,500 years and thousands of stories -- stories of vanity, practicality, and a touch of mad vision.