Toronto Review 14/Many: While visiting Toronto not long AGO, we went to this museum. Aside from…read morethat terrible pun, the museum was excellent and quite big, with an interesting mix of modern and old artwork. Of course, we didn't love everything, but that's to be expected with modern art. Anyway, it didn't take long for us to enter, but it was a bit difficult to find everything. Part of this was because some of the hallways couldn't be accessed, as there was what looked like a wedding reception on parts of the lower floors. The first thing that we went to was their signature exhibit right now, "The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art." It was a nicely designed exhibit that took up the entire floor, with plenty of space between each artwork, allowing people to get around and look at everything. I was happy to see that it wasn't just works by the most prolific artists, but also works by Morisot, Bernard, and Munch, among others. There was also a nice gift shop for this exhibit, among other things. Also, there was a nice observation area up the stairs, even with the fifth-floor gallery being closed. Of the other special exhibits, my favorite one was "Ranbir Sidhu: No Limits." A London-born but Toronto-based sculpture creator, Sidhu created works for this exhibit that were made primarily of mirror-finished stainless steel and were fascinating to look at due to their sheer size and scale. If you want to look up one of them, Asteroid 3033 X1 is the centerpiece. Near the end of my time there, I also saw "Diego Marcon: The Bubble Boy," which had some interesting use of CGI and puppets, with one of the movies reminding me a little bit of Anomalisa from a few years ago. Outside of these works, I wasn't as big a fan of "Dawoud Bey: Material Histories, Living Landscapes." The shadows were interesting, and some of the work had interesting faces, but I found the movie inside to be on the more pointless side, even if it had some creepy/unsettling aspects to the music and otherwise. Due to the giant line, I wasn't able to see "Yayoi Kusama's INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER" either. The pictures look nice, but I wasn't planning on waiting what seemed like 45 minutes or an hour, so if you don't want to wait that long, go there immediately. The Dutch master paintings from "Painted Presence: Rembrandt and His Peers" were also nice, with some more impressionist works around the corner. Outside of this, there was some interesting Indigenous and Canadian art, some other Dutch/European works, a nice collection of snuff bottles, and a large space with sculptures by Henry Moore. I would go over everything else, but I won't, as there was a lot. Overall, it was a nice selection of works from all over, with my only complaint being that it was a bit difficult to find everything. I would highly recommend taking several hours to go to this museum.

We had an excellent visit. 1. Paul McCartneys photos from…read more1963-64. A must for this Beatles fan. 2. Canadian modern art. Stretches the brain. 3. Henry Moore sculpture garden. $60 CAD for admission for 2 $8 coat check for 2 $13.95 for coffee and pastry

Arcadia Earth was a cool experience. You go through stunning rooms and you use a special app to see…read morespecial things through a screen. The place's theme was sustainability ad protecting the earth, and they made it pretty engaging. There are also things to interact with and watch. The VR with the tablets was actually surprisingly cool. Each room in the experience was so spectacularly made that it was breathtaking. Finally, the virtual reality experience at the end was one of the coolest things I have ever done in Toronto. Before you go, note that it is heavily reliant on technology. It is also best to have storage to download the app on your phone, unless you want to borrow a tablet. This was a cool experience that I would recommend for people of all ages.

Visited Arcadia Earth recently and overall had a good experience!…read more The space is beautifully designed with lots of immersive, photo-worthy rooms and a strong focus on environmental awareness. I love how they combine art + technology to teach about climate change in a way that's easy for kids to understand. The VR feature and interactive elements were fun, and it's definitely a great place for families or anyone looking for something different to do in Toronto. That said, for the price (~$39), it may feel a bit short for some people, and it's more of a "go once" type of experience. Still, I appreciate the message behind it and think it's worth checking out at least once--especially with kids!

This exhibit is now version 2 for 2025. I didn't go to the original, but this version was really…read morenice and fun. It was a bit overpriced, but the movie, videos and effects were very immersive and a lot of fun. I enjoyed how they tried to tell a story through video - it was art in and of itself. Customer service was also friendly, informative and helpful. Worth a trip!

I was able to visit the Van Gogh Exhibit twice. They got 3/5 for hospitality/customer-service, but…read moreif not for that, the exhibit itself would be 2/5. The first time I went was as a Drive Through Experience during the Spring of 2021. Unfortunately the experience was very lackluster. You go through all the trouble of booking a time slot, and when you arrive, not only is there no space to enter, but there is no free parking as you have to wait for the cars ahead of you to go through. Its basically a drive through, but they should have accounted for having X number of cars during time period Y. When we finally started driving through, there was no real explanation of the exhibits or paintings, just a projected screen, and when we wanted to stop to take photos, we were told we had to keep moving. I'd previously made a review explaining this, however the manager (or someone in charge) contacted our group and offered to give complimentary tickets for the summer as they were back to in-person. Thats the only reason for the 3/5. As for the in person, yes there was social distancing circles, but they didn't do much as everyone freely moved around the whole time without staff intervening. Again, no real explanation for the photos as they were projected, just projected images accompanied by music. If the exhibit wasn't titled Van Gogh, you might not even know it was his paintings being projected.

This exhibition mostly of Dali watercolours is pricey, not that spectacular & you're mostly paying…read moreto see reproductions of the watercolours. But at least you can take photos Partly due to the nature of the watercolour medium, the works are not very defined, but there's a variety of styles represented (some watercolours are blurrier than others, some are black & white, some are stark line art, some are more surreal & others more realistic) Some thought was put into staging - hell, purgatory & heaven are all decorated differently. The last is especially nice with cushions on benches & angelic shapes over the windows The staff are surprisingly knowledgeable about the works though

Beautiful! I loved the whole exhibit. The art, the quotes, the videos, the music, the seating…read moreareas, the decor... every detail was purposeful and well thought out.

The premier museum in Canada for art from the Group of Seven and associated artists. Tucked in a…read morebeautiful forested area by the Humber River Valley. Great place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. The grounds are huge - went to the museum first. Well organized - all the exhibits are in a linear circuit with the Group of Seven landscape paintings near the beginning - grouped by painting location. Lots of native art - especially on the second floor. Make time to walk around the grounds whether it's a short hike to the cemetery and sculpture garden or a more extensive jaunt around the Humber River behind the museum. Parking is current seven dollars. Every third Sunday is free. This museum will Be shutting down for 2-3 years for renovation later this year...

I love this museum! Amazing selection of oil paintings and historic art pieces with focus on…read moreindigenous life. Place is clean and well maintained. Staff are amazing and friendly. Outdoors is great for hiking as well. Great for all ages. A must visit.

This is a strange place--but in a very good way. The elegant neo-classical facade of the original…read moreclub is backed by a somewhat ghastly modern condo-tower. There are two desks in the lobby, one for the condos and one for the club (which occupies the first six floors of the tower). The club has a private elevator. The Institute guest rooms are huge, well-appointed, comfortable, and very reasonable in price for Toronto (even for a reciprocal like me--even cheaper for members). But best of all, even when the club is not serving food and drink (it was not when I stayed there on a Sunday, so I cannot speak to that aspect) guests have the run of the public rooms (some of them, alas, given over to catering: but that's club life these days) which are half museum and half club, including the magnificent library which may be the handsomest room in Canada. I spent an hour communing with Richthofen's fighter-plane seat, in a vitrine in one of the bars. And when club services are not offered, the club is profoundly silent: a joy in the chaotic stew of today's Toronto. I would go back just for that. Two things to remember: Food and drink (and indeed other people, other than the 24/7 concierge) are only available Wednesday-Saturday. But one of the densest collections of restaurants in the world surrounds the club. Despite the preserved facade, this is a modern building, and despite the Institute's attempt to make it as old-dark-wood, swords-and- pistols-on-the-walls, London military-clubby as possible, it feels like one. If you want old-world pomposity in your interiors, stay at the National Club.

The club was founded in 1890…read more The club is first class, in a brand new building.  The old club was falling down structurally and the members decided to take a chance years ago and allowed a large condo building to be erected and the club would get 6 floors in the building and the ability to purchase condos in the building above the club first before it was offered to others. It has all worked out very well and the club is thriving.  The wait staff was taken care of while we were closed and most were able to return to us afterward assuming they wanted to. The club has both men and women members and though the members originally consisted of officers of the Toronto Garrison; there is no longer any military requirement-though there is a very strong military presence in the club. There are many bedrooms, a fitness facility, dining rooms, bar, etc , a military museum and library.  To my knowledge- it is the largest private military library in North America. The RCMI has an extensive reciprocal list of maybe 250 of the top clubs in the world. The club is located on University Avenue and next door to the University Club of Toronto. Eaton Center is extensive shopping mall complex that is a couple of blocks away.

Cute, but boring. It's probably one of the smallest museums I've ever visited. It probably takes 15…read moremintues to go through the exhibit. This may be fun if you want to take pictures of vintage televisions.

I had never heard of this place, but my dad is a CARP member and mentioned wanting to go here…read more What a fascinating collection they have, stepping back in time. The museum is in the heart of Liberty Village, so it's accessible by transit, or there is street parking nearby. Although the museum itself is only one large room, we easily spent a couple of hours in there. There is a guided tour you can take on your phone that explains everything. But you can also just read the placards they have, as there is a lot of detail. The collection is displayed beautifully, and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. We signed up for the mailing list as I understand that they have a ton of stuff that's still in storage. They set up other exhibits and change things around once in awhile, so I'd love to see what else they have!