107 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Ontario - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Ontario

Toronto, Ontario

The Monkey's Paw

A book collector's dream, The Monkey's Paw in Toronto has the world's first "Biblio-Mat", a random book vending machine.

Toronto, Ontario

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

One of Canada's most incredible rare book collections holds hundreds of thousands of gorgeous tomes that the general public can touch.

Toronto, Ontario

Winter Garden Theatre

A botanically themed auditorium blooms within the world’s last operating double-decker theater.

Toronto, Ontario

Casa Loma

A 98-room castle in the middle of Toronto that bankrupted a 19th century electricity multimillionaire.

Toronto, Ontario

Sewers of Toronto

A well-preserved network of cavernous tunnels have spent silent centuries removing Toronto's waste.

Toronto, Ontario

Allan Gardens Conservatory

The Victorian-era greenhouse is stuffed with tropical plants, and open 365 days a year.

Tobermory, Ontario

The Bruce Peninsula Grotto

This natural sea cave hides a small wonderland of natural turquoise beauty.

Toronto, Ontario

Leslieville's Crazy Doll House

This Toronto garden collects stares and tchotchkes in equal measure.

See All 107 Things to Do in Ontario See All 107 Places

Unique Food & Drink in Ontario

Tiger Tail Ice Cream

This orange and black licorice flavor is kind of a big deal in Canada.

Moon Mist

The Nova Scotia ice cream flavor is so beloved, women dye their hair to match its pastel swirl.

Beaver Tails

No rodents were harmed in the making of this fried Canadian treat.

Coffee Crisp

This candy rarely ventures beyond Canada's borders.

See all 10 things to eat in Ontario See all 10 things to eat in Ontario

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Stories About Ontario

Canoes are the traditional vehicles for gathering wild rice.

The Cross-Border Indigenous Battle for Wild Rice

In the Great Lakes region, what some consider a weed is actually a sacred seed.

February 12, 2020

At the Experimental Lakes Area, scientists study the effects of oil on lake organisms.

Meet the Scientists Who Pollute Lakes on Purpose

For half a century, researchers have been spilling chemicals in the waters of northwestern Ontario.

by Chloe Williams

Kate Crooks, among the wildflowers.

In Ontario, a Quest to Rediscover the Work of a Groundbreaking 19th-Century Botanist

Who is Catharine McGill Crooks, and what happened to her specimen collection?

Listen up!

The Bat-Loving Naturalists Translating the Silent Language of the Night

Listen in as they swat away mosquitoes and brave a dark forest to eavesdrop on echolocation.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

August 20, 2018

Mukund Shukla, a research associate at the Gosling Research Institute for Plant Preservation, shows off a wall of micropropagated seedlings.

One of 2017’s Most Exciting Plant Conservation Moments

In Ontario this year, researchers propagated a rare species and released it back into the wild.

December 20, 2017

Samples of John A. Bruce seed catalogs from the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s.

The Treasures Blooming in Canada's Largest Seed Catalog Archive

They were once considered disposable, but the Royal Botanical Gardens is putting 30,000 horticultural periodicals to good use.

November 22, 2017

Just an Unsettlingly Large Chicken Egg

It's almost a half of a pound.

by Erik Shilling