Waymark
Attraction Toronto — Entertainment District, Canada

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Toronto's aquarium at the foot of the CN Tower: Canada's cold waters, an Indo-Pacific reef, a moving walkway beneath sharks and sawfish in Dangerous Lagoon, touch pools, jellyfish and rays.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
Photo: EuroCarGT · CC BY-SA 4.0
Duration
1 day
Distance
1.1 km
Difficulty
Easy
Best season
Year-round (best on weekday mornings or late evenings)
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Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada opened in October 2013 at the foot of the CN Tower, and it quickly became one of the city’s most popular attractions. Behind its faceted aluminium shell, designed to look like the earth’s crust peeling back to reveal the water beneath, are 5.7 million litres of marine and freshwater habitats holding more than 20,000 animals from over 450 species. The building was even shielded so that its electrical systems would not disturb the sharks.

The visit is a loop through ten galleries. It begins close to home, with the cold waters of Canada’s three oceans and the Great Lakes, then swings out to the Indo-Pacific reefs. The star is Dangerous Lagoon, the aquarium’s largest tank, where a moving walkway carries you through an acrylic tunnel as sand tiger sharks, sawfish, stingrays and green sea turtles glide overhead. After that come the touch pools of the Discovery Centre, the lionfish and seahorses of The Gallery, the colour-shifting tanks of Planet Jellies and the open pool of Ray Bay.

Most visitors take two to three hours. It is fully indoors, level and step-free, which makes it one of the best rainy-day and winter options in Toronto, and it pairs naturally with the CN Tower next door.

Getting there. The aquarium is at 288 Bremner Boulevard, between the CN Tower and Rogers Centre. From Union Station, follow the enclosed SkyWalk west and exit at the tower; the aquarium is just to the south-east. There is no on-site parking, only paid garages and lots nearby; drivers should exit the Gardiner Expressway at York Street.

Permits & tickets. Admission is by ticket, best bought online in advance, often for a specific date and time. Combination tickets with the CN Tower have been offered. Prices and hours vary by season and day, so check the official site before you go.

Good to know:

Tips & Insights for this route Planning this route? Read our practical tips before you go — 8 tips. Read the tips
Download waypoints (GPX) Points of interest in walking order — not a trail trace.

Day by day

DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time
Day 1 Hardest dayThrough the aquarium
Distance1.1 kmAscentNot recordedDescentNot recordedWalking timeNot recorded
Day 1

Through the aquarium

Aquarium entrance → Ray Bay and gift shop 1.1 km
Navigate this day Print day

From the entrance on Bremner Boulevard through Canadian Waters, Rainbow Reef, the Dangerous Lagoon tunnel, the Discovery Centre, The Gallery and Planet Jellies, to Ray Bay.

Segments

  1. Canadian Waters 0.2 km Map

    Aquarium entrance, 288 Bremner Blvd → Canadian Waters gallery

    Indoor, level

    The loop begins with Canada's own waters, from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, across 17 habitats. Look for American lobsters, wolf eels, lumpfish, rockfish and the giant Pacific octopus, which is often tucked into a corner of its tank; patience pays off. It is a good reminder that cold water is anything but empty. Allow 20 minutes.

  2. Rainbow Reef 0.1 km Map

    Canadian Waters → Rainbow Reef

    Indoor, level

    The most colourful room in the building recreates an Indo-Pacific coral reef, with Picasso triggerfish, emperor angelfish, unicorn surgeonfish and clouds of small reef fish. The tank hosts an interactive dive show at set times, when a diver answers questions from inside the water. Allow 15 minutes, longer for a show.

  3. Dangerous Lagoon 0.2 km Map

    Rainbow Reef → Dangerous Lagoon tunnel exit

    Indoor, moving walkway through an acrylic tunnel

    The aquarium's largest tank and its signature experience. A moving walkway carries you slowly through a long underwater tunnel while sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, longcomb sawfish, roughtail stingrays and green sea turtles pass overhead and alongside. Step off at the end and walk back along the edges for a second, slower look; the sawfish are easiest to see resting on the sand. Allow 20 minutes.

  4. Discovery Centre 0.2 km Map

    Dangerous Lagoon → Discovery Centre touch pools

    Indoor, level

    The hands-on heart of the aquarium. Children can crawl into viewing bubbles that pop up inside the tanks and climb into a mock research submarine. At the touch pools, with staff on hand, you can gently touch horseshoe crabs, living fossils older than the dinosaurs, as well as bamboo sharks and rays. Allow 30 minutes, much longer with young children.

  5. The Gallery and Planet Jellies 0.2 km Map

    Discovery Centre → Planet Jellies

    Indoor, level

    The Gallery, also called Mother Nature's Art Gallery, frames the aquarium's most delicate creatures in picture-like tanks: red lionfish, lined seahorses, an electric eel and archerfish, which knock insects from above the water with a jet of spit. Planet Jellies follows, with five species of jellyfish, including Pacific sea nettles and moon jellies, drifting in tanks lit with slowly changing colours. It is the most photographed room in the building. Allow 25 minutes.

  6. Ray Bay 0.2 km Map

    Planet Jellies → Ray Bay and gift shop

    Indoor, level

    Finish at Ray Bay, a wide, open pool focused on three species of stingray, including cownose rays and southern stingrays, along with bonnethead sharks. At set times divers feed the rays during interactive dive shows. Behind the scenes, the Life Support Systems gallery shows the pumps and filters that keep all this water alive. From here the exit leads out past the gift shop. Allow 20 minutes.

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