Is Toronto family-friendly?

The Royal Ontario Museum on Bloor Street, open since 1912, has the strongest dinosaur gallery in the country. The third-floor fossil hall keeps kids 3-10 occupied for a good 90 minutes, and children under 4 get in free. Adults pay around CAD $23. Ripley's Aquarium at 288 Bremner Boulevard has a 97-metre underwater tunnel where sharks and rays drift overhead through blue-tinted glass while a slow-moving walkway carries you forward. Tickets run about CAD $43 for adults, CAD $30 for ages 6-13. Book the 4 pm slot to dodge school groups. Toronto Islands are a 15-minute ferry from the Jack Layton Terminal at Bay Street. Centreville Amusement Park on Centre Island runs over 30 rides sized for ages 2-9, and the island smells like cut grass and sunscreen on June afternoons. Paved paths there handle double strollers with room to spare.

Stroller verdict for Toronto is good, with exceptions. Sidewalks along Yonge Street and University Avenue are wide, well-paved, and cleared of snow within hours in winter. The PATH underground network, 30 km of connected walkways beneath the Financial District, is climate-controlled and flat, which makes it the best option on days below -10°C or above 30°C with a sleeping baby. The TTC subway is the weak link. Newer Line 1 stations have elevators, but several Line 2 Bloor-Danforth stations still don't. You might find yourself bumping a stroller up metal stairs at Chester or Donlands. The new Flexity streetcars on King and Spadina routes are low-floor and stroller-accessible from the curb. For the Toronto Zoo in Scarborough, about 40 minutes northeast of downtown, a taxi or rideshare is the realistic option with small kids. The zoo, open since 1974, covers 287 hectares, so bring the stroller even for 7-year-olds who insist they can walk. Rental wagons are available near the entrance for around CAD $15.

Feeding kids in Toronto tends to be straightforward. Kensington Market, west of Spadina Avenue, has CAD $4-6 empanadas from the walk-up counters on Augusta Avenue, warm and handheld. The fruit-shake stalls along the same strip give you a 5-minute reset between shops. For allergy-conscious families, Pai Northern Thai on Duncan Street lists allergens on the menu, and the pad thai there is mild enough for most kids over 5. Picky eaters can default to butter chicken and garlic naan along Gerrard Street East in Little India, where a kids' portion runs CAD $8-10. St. Lawrence Market on Front Street East, open Tuesday through Saturday, has peameal bacon sandwiches at Carousel Bakery for around CAD $10. The texture is closer to ham than crispy bacon, so most kids over 3 will eat it. Bathrooms in Toronto malls are consistently clean. The Eaton Centre on Yonge Street has family restrooms with changing tables on every level.

Mind you, Toronto's big-ticket attractions come with fine print. The CN Tower's EdgeWalk, the outdoor ledge circuit at 356 metres, requires a minimum age of 13 and a minimum height of 4 feet 6 inches. The glass floor on the observation deck at 342 metres has no age restriction, but the floor-to-nothing sensation makes some kids under 6 freeze up. The Art Gallery of Ontario, founded in 1900, is a hard sell for anyone under 10 unless you time it with their free Sunday family programming. Casa Loma, the 1914 mansion at 1 Austin Terrace, has a tunnel to the stables that kids 5-12 love, but the steep internal staircases make it a non-starter with a stroller. Leave it at Casa Loma's basement coat check. Summer weekends at the Toronto Islands ferry queue can hit 90 minutes by noon on a 28°C day with no shade in the line. Take the 9:30 am ferry or try Hanlan's Point, which boards faster.