Royal Ontario Museum

Weekday mornings outside school holidays are the quietest; school groups tend to arrive mid-morning and leave by early afternoon. Weekends and rainy summer days are busiest. It is an ideal plan for a cold or wet day.

Book general admission online, and add any special exhibition at the same time, since some sell timed slots. Check the official site before you go for current prices, opening days and any free or reduced-price programmes.

Being at the door when it opens gets you into the dinosaur galleries before the crowds. If you arrive mid-morning, start at the far end of the building, such as the Chinese or Egyptian galleries, and work back.

The dinosaur halls and the Bat Cave are the reliable winners, and the museum has had hands-on discovery rooms for younger children; check what is open. Plan breaks: the building is big and the galleries are dense.

The museum has on-site cafe options; check what is open during the renovation. Yorkville, a few minutes’ walk north-east, and the Annex, to the west along Bloor Street, have plenty of cafes and restaurants at every price.

Yorkville has the city’s luxury hotels, including the Park Hyatt Toronto across Avenue Road from the museum and the Four Seasons. The Annex, west along Bloor, has smaller inns and bed and breakfasts in Victorian houses. Line 1 and Line 2 both stop nearby.

The Bata Shoe Museum, at 327 Bloor Street West, covers thousands of years of footwear in a building designed as a shoebox, and the Gardiner Museum, across Queen’s Park from the ROM, is devoted to ceramics. Both are small enough to add to a ROM visit.

If you plan more than one visit, an annual membership can pay for itself quickly. City attraction passes have included the ROM; compare before buying. Check the official site before you go.