Johnson Lorraine - Top 10 Toronto

All price ranges quoted for hotels in this guide are based on a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges. Similarly, all price ranges quoted for restaurants are based on a three-course meal for one, half a bottle of wine, and all unavoidable extra charges including tax.

Toronto Highlights

Torontonians are justifiably proud of their vibrant and exciting metropolis. Canadas largest city and its financial hub, Toronto has a tremendous amount to offer, including a thriving theater, music, and arts scene, top museums, world-class restaurants and shops, a beautiful lakeside location with lovely beaches, and streets safe and inviting to walk in. Its cultural diversity over 90 ethnic groups are represented in Toronto enhances the urban experience.

Richly decorated with gold leaf and hieroglyphic inscriptions, this ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, which dates back to around 850 BC, protects the mummified body of a court musician. Although museum researchers have never opened the case, a high-tech CAT scan has revealed that she died at age 35 from a severe tooth abscess.

Barosaurus Dinosaurs

Gordo, towering above the other specimens in the Temerty Gallery, is the largest dinosaur on display in Canada and, uniquely in the world, consists almost entirely of real fossils.

Acropolis Model

The Golden Age of Athens about 400 BC comes alive in this model of Greek temple life, which depicts the Parthenon and surrounding buildings as they looked at the height of ancient Greek civilization.

Living Beehive

This active beehive is a highlight of the Hands-On Biodiversity Gallery. Visitors can see the interior of the hive, buzzing with thousands of honey bees that have flown in from the outdoors.

Mosaic Dome

A spectacular mosaic dome tops the rotunda. Over a million tiny colored squares of Venetian glass form symbols of ancient cultures, such as an Inca thunder god and a mythical Greek seahorse.

English Parlor

Dating from the 1750s, with original carved pine walls and period furniture, this parlor looks as if a wealthy English gentleman and his card-playing friends have only momentarily left the room. Though the gilded harp in the corner is silent, evocative, ambient Baroque music completes the vignette.

Ming Tomb

Guarded by stone camels, a fierce warrior, and a scepter-bearing adviser, this ensemble of funerary sculpture features artifacts from the Yuan dynasty (14th century), Ming dynasty (15th17th centuries), and Qing dynasty (17th18th centuries). Sculpted mythological animals adorn the arches.

Totem Poles

Four striking totem poles, the stylized figures commemorating family origins and achievements, were carved out of western red cedar in the 1880s by the Nisgaa and Haida peoples of Canadas northwest coast. The tallest is over 80 ft (24 m) high.

Chinese Guardian Lions

Two proud stone lions, carved for a Beijing palace in the 1600s, stand guard outside the museum.

Hardwood Forest

The dappled light and hushed calm of an Ontario hardwood forest are perfectly re-created in this diorama. If you look closely, you will see more than 20 animals, among them a porcupine and fox, hiding among the colorful autumn leaves.

Tip: Visit 4:308:30pm on Fridays for discounted admission. The website details special programming, much of which is free.

Tip: Grab a quick bite in the cafeteria on the lower level, or settle in for a fine meal at the rooftop restaurant, C5.