Advice needed re: trip to Canada with a seven year old, please.

[UrbanChic]

My mom wants to take my son to Canada the last week of July. Any thought on where she should take him?

Here's what you need to know:

* She'll be flying out of Newark, NJ and probably won't want to be in the air for more than 3 hours.

* She's a walker (she spends a lot of time in NYC) and doesn't drive at all.

* She'll be taking this trip just for Nate, my seven year old son.

* She wants to spend three days and two nights in one place and then fly back home.

Bear in mind I realize Canada's a big country and there's so much to do that my question seems ridiculous. I thought I'd start here, though, and maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

As always, thanks!

[Eats_Crayons]

Montreal will give her son an interesting dose of a much more European feel (as will Quebec City, but in Montreal all businesses are staffed with people who speak both French and English, so it's easy for non-French speaking visitors.) He may not appreciate the historic feel of the big city though at his young age.

Toronto is quite close. It has a great musuem with dinosaur bones, the Ontario Science Center which I LOVED as a youngster, and Paramount Canada's Wonderland (Disney-like theme park, but smaller). There is also Ontario place which is quite fun (also loved that as a kid) http://www.ontarioplace.com.

End of July is the HUGE Caribana Festival July 24- Aug.5 (kind of like Mardi Gras)

Within an 1-2 hour drive from Toronto is the "African Lion Safari" where you can take a an air conditioned bus trip through grounds on which there are lions, monkeys, giraffes etc. (think drive-thru version of the zoo, but the animals are not in cages, they can walk around your car and look in your windows. Note: Do not take a rental car through the "safari" because baboons tear off windshield wipers and antennae.)

Toronto has a zoo as well, and of course the CN Tower.

The aforementioned museum (the ROM) is downtown and easily accessible by walking and public transportation. The Ontario Science Centre, the zoo and Canada's Wonderland can be bigger pains in the butt as far getting to them, but they are self-contained enough that once you're there you can spend the full day.

Go here for Toronto area attractions http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/links.htm#attractions

[UrbanChic]

Charmian, you're a doll. Thanks ever so much.

I'll check the links you provided but I'm pretty sure I'll end up sending them there.

[Eats_Crayons]

Juanita I just asked a co-worker about public transportation. Ontarioplace and the Ontario Science Centre are both accessible by public transportation, but a cab is still recommended (she also agreed that the Science Centre is way cool -- for adults too). My co-worker also reminded me that Centreville on one of Toronto's little islands is great for kids too, and a bit cheaper. Accessible by public transportation and you get to take a short ferry ride to the island. She also reminded me that the ROM now has the neighbouring "COM" which is geared more for youngsters.

Wonderland is really expensive and far (and technically it's in Vaughn), but I'd assume that there's some kind of shuttle for it somewhere. If I remember my childhood correctly, I liked Ontarioplace better. There may also be some kind of tour bus type thing to the Africa Lion Safari because it's so far out from the city. When I was a kid you could feed popcorn to the zebras and giraffes that came up to your car, but I think they no longer allow it. (We also almost got charged by a rhino once, but they are quite stupid creatures and it forgot what it was doing, so it just stopped and started to eat.)

[UrbanChic]

Cool, Charmian. She'll being staying (hopefully) at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Toronto.

I talked to her and she's very interested in the Africa Lion Safari. I'm going to attempt to find a site for that and get more information for her.

Again, thank you. You've been an invaluable resource!

[Sunspace]

The African Lion Safari. It's west of Toronto, north of Hamilton off Highway 6, I think (never been).

There's also the Childrens' Own Museum, currently located next to the ROM, in the McLaughlin Planetarium building.

The Childrens' Own Museum is a non-profit organization committed to providing play-based learning experiences that stimulate the development of young children. Our audience is children aged 1 to 8, and their parents, families and caregivers.

And a few blocks west along Bloor is the Bata Shoe Museum.

Discover the treasures of North America's unique shoe museum. Over 10,000 shoes are housed in architect Raymond Moriyama's award-winning 5 storey structure. Artifacts on exhibit range from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut crushing clogs and Elton John's platforms. The Museum celebrates the style and function of footwear in four impressive galleries. Over 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th century celebrity shoes are reflected in the permanent exhibition, "All About Shoes". Three other galleries feature special exhibitions.

To get to Wonderland, take the subway to Yorkdale or York Mills and catch a bus. GO Transit runs a shuttle service.

Some railway stuff for a seven-year-old:
In Stouffville, a pleasant and not-yet overdeveloped town just northeast of the urban area, there's the York-Durham Heritage Railway. Warning: this site has offensive pop-up windows.

Winding along the Oak Ridges Moraine, the journey takes you on a 20 km, 2 hour and 30 minute round trip, between the historic towns of Stouffville, Goodwood and Uxbridge, Ontario.

Northwest of the city in Halton, there's the Halton County Radial Railway museum.

Founded in 1953, Halton County Radial Railway is Canada's first, and Ontario's only, operating electric railway museum. Situated at Stop 92 on the former right-of-way of the Toronto Suburban Railway , we offer the opportunity to enjoy a trip down memory lane with rides on a variety of restored street cars, radial and work cars, through 2 kilometers of scenic woodlands. Settle back to the creak of the leather seats and the clang of the gong as your car carries you back to a period around the turn of the century.

Both of these are operated by volunteers!

Another interesting thing to do: take a Hippo tour. The amphibious Hippo vehicles look halfway between a boat and a bus. They drive around town and then plunge into the lake...

And what better time to mention the Toronto DopeFest at Hanlan's Point on the Island 13 July?

Regrettably, the dragon-boat races were last weekend.

Some events cause a little crowding. You may wish to take care:

The Gay Pride Parade is this coming weekend (Sunday 30 June). ~500 000 spectators.

The Pope is in town during the [Catholic Christian] World Youth Days: 18 to 28 July. ~300 000 people.

Then there's Caribana: 19 July to 5 August. Around a million people for the big street festival on Saturday 3 August.

I can't believe they scheduled those last two to overlap...

The Molson Indy car races take place around Exhibition Place 5 - 7 July. Lots of road closures and screaming engines.

However, as a Torontonian, I'm afraid I have to mention the possibility of a strike of outside municipal employees. Yes, this means no garbage collection in most of the City, and no ferry service to the Islands. Details from the Toronto Star.

[Eats_Crayons]

STRIKE WOES:

Although, Toronto is usually a great place to visit, there are some strikes that may cause some problems for a visit planned within the next few weeks. If you are going to the major attractions, you'll be mostly unaffected. Public transportation is still just fine, the major attractions (such as museums, Wonderland, and Ontario Place) will be running as usual.

#1
The outdoor workers' strike is causing some yucky garbage problems. Not as horrible as I would have expected, but the city is generally rather dirty compared to usual (usually American visitors express astonishment at how clean Toronto is for such a big city.) It still isn't all that bad, but definitely grungier than the norm. As part of the outdoor city workers' strike is affecting ferry service to Toronto Island and has such down some public pools. Indoor city workers will soon be joining the strike. Again, it shouldn't affect the major attractions and fun stuff, but I wouldn't want to be the poor soul who needs a street parking permit.

#2
The major big hotels in Toronto (Sheraton, Westin, Hilton) are also suffering from strikes. Only the big unionized hotels are suffering from the labor dispute, however, the smaller hotels have been taking on a lot of additional guests and as a result and may be very full. With Caribana coming up and the Pope's visit, hotel reservations may be very difficult to lock down.

After extolling the virutes of the fine City of Toronto, things kind of went to pot! Just thought I'd warn you of the mess that the summer has become, so you don't tun in to any nasty surprises.

[eunoia]

Montréal:

Montréal Expos are home against Florida and Arizona. Plentiful tickets available. Accessible via clean and safe subway system.

The Fireworks Competition wraps up with France and the closing ceremonies. Free from many vantage points around the city, or paid ticket includes admission to LaRonde, a Six Flags owned amusement park. Also subway accessible.

What seven year old doesn't like bugs? Subway accessible.

There's more to do here in the summer than I could possibly list. It should be paradise for a seven year old, and I know this for a fact since I have the mind of one. So there, Toronto, nyahhh, nyyahhh, nyahhhh....

[RickJay]

In Toronto, the Ontario Science Centre definitely has to be #1 on the list. Kids and adults love it; it's a terrific place to go and will take all day. Admission prices are relatively cheap. It has an Omnimax theatre; your tyke might really like "Island of the Sharks."

The Royal Ontario Museum has dinosaurs. Kids love dinosaurs.

The Toronto Metro Zoo is also a nice attraction. Disadvantageously, however, it is *very* hot here right now, and spending a day walking around in the zoo, which is very big and has asphalt walkways, might be impossible for a 7-year-old in 90-100 degree heat. The zoo takes a lot of walking and is pretty tiring.

Canada's Wonderland is big fun but takes awhile to get to.

I'm sure the tyke would love the CN Tower. You can walk on a glass floor with a straight-down view of the ground... about 1200 feet below you. I won't even CRAWL on it, but kids love it.

If the tyke likes baseball, you can always see a Blue Jays game. If the tyke likes basketball, take him to see Vince Carter's Charity Slam on August 2.

And of course there is Caribana, so if the tyke likes parades, there will be parades the likes of which you will not often see.

[corvidae]

Centre Island is nice, but the ferry won't be running while the strike is on.

I have to echo everyone about the Science Centre - it's a fantastic place to spend the day. The exhibits are fascinating, and you can have a picnic on the grounds. I've used to spend practically every Sunday there as a kid. It's a great spot.