Date Night: Closing out the summer at the city’s lesser known attractions

Though Labour Day weekend is not technically the end of the summer, it always feels like it is. Kids are heading back to school, colleagues are squeezing in one last vacation, and every time the temperature dips below 20, we suddenly panic and think it’s all over. 

The panic is obviously for no reason, summer is still here for a solid two weeks, but this is the last long weekend, before family holidays take over. 

A seasoned Torontonian knows that if you haven’t already made it to the Ex, you will have to endure massive crowds all weekend long as many people tend to save their CNE adventures for this weekend. 

So venture out to different parts of our city. Parts that you probably haven’t ventured to before, but you really should. For example, hit up our local zoos. 

No, I don’t mean the massive Toronto Zoo with the adorable pandas, I mean the smaller High Park Zoo and Riverdale Farm, both of which are free. 

At High Park you can catch glimpses of bison, llamas, reindeer and a baby yak. While over at Riverdale, there are more traditional farm animals. 

If you’re not into animals, soak in some of the city’s history. Two of T.O.’s historic sites are open Labour Day Monday. 

The Fort York National Historic Site is Canada’s largest collection of military structures from the 1812 era. There are six exhibitions currently running that span from a collection of Canadian uniforms and weaponry from the First World War to an Indigenous mural project spanning 80 feet. 

The second site that will be open on Monday is the Spadina Museum which will be hosting tours themed on the Austin family who lived in the house for over a century. James Austin, the first of three Austin generations to own the house, was the founder of The Dominion Bank and Consumers’ Gas Company. This is also Toronto’s only museum with a focus on the 1920s and 30s.

Both museums will be charging their regular admission on the holiday. 

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