Location: 19 Horticultural Ave
Website: City of Toronto Website
Hours: 10 am – 5 pm, 365 days/year
Allan Gardens is one of the best free attractions you can visit in Toronto. Every time I go I am amazed that it is free. It is also next to one of the best playgrounds in the city.
The gardens are a series of greenhouses with different displays each season. Walking through the gardens takes about 45 minutes if you go at a leisurely pace. We have visited many time since baby J was born and try and go once a season to see the changing displays. It is very stroller accessible. J has enjoyed looking at the plants but in most previous visits he did fall asleep in the stroller. It wasn’t until our most recent visit, at 14 months, when he really seemed to love it. He ran through the greenhouse fascinated and didn’t want to sit in the stroller for a minute. While I had to watch him a bit to make sure he didn’t damage any plants he never made too many tries. He loved watching the waterwheel by the turtles.
After the gardens we like to go the playground nearby. It is a very new playground and one of the best in the city. It has the new rubber turf so the ground is soft and has some bounce. It was a bit rainy on our last visit so we weren’t out for long but it’s definitely worth checking out.
