Summer is here, and saving is easy! Here are 20 Toronto summer freebies, with a few year-round ideas, too.
Your Toronto vacation doesn’t have to be spendy. While yes, you could treat yourself to dinner at a MICHELIN-recognized restaurant or splurge on an epic CN Tower EdgeWalk, you can also feast your eyes on free art or take in mind-blowing views—and culture!—for free.
Here are 15 great ways to explore Toronto that leave money in the budget for food, souvenirs and other surprises.
Hit the beach
Visit one of Toronto’s beaches for a lake swim. Eight of the city’s 11 beaches, including Bluffer’s Park, Woodbine, and Hanlan’s Point and Gibraltar Point on the Toronto Islands, are certified Blue Flag.
This means they meet international standards for water quality, cleanliness, and environmental stewardship.
Jam out to summer jazz
With two summer jazz fests, Toronto is a hot spot for lovers of the genre. If you missed the Toronto Jazz Fest, fear not: there’s also the Beaches Jazz Festival (July 5 to 28, 2024).
Don’t miss free concerts in The Beaches neighbourhood and festivals within the main festival, such as Salsa on the Beach (July 12 to 14, 2024) and StreetFest (July 25 to 27, 2024).
Check out contemporary art at the Power Plant
Since 1987, when it first opened on the site of a former electrical generation facility, the Waterfront neighbourhood’s Power Plant has been an iconic destination for edgy contemporary art. During its operating hours, the Power Plant offers free admission to all exhibitions and events.
Step back in history at Fort York
Bone up on local history at Fort York National Historic Site, where British soldiers, First Nations warriors and Upper Canadian militia men stood together against the United States and its mission to capture Toronto in the War of 1812.
Today Fort York is a sprawling 43-acre historic park—conveniently located downtown—packed with interactive installations, exhibits, film programming and live theatre.
Visit the ROM
Fans of ancient and modern history will be thrilled to learn that Midtown’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) offers free admission on Third Tuesday Nights. Visitors can access most of the museum free of charge from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month.
Free Main Floor returns to ROM from July 2 to September 2, 2024, with live performances, educational activities for kids, and access to ROM’s expansive first floor—all for free!
Plus, performances will take place outside the Queen's Park Plaza building and Performance Terrace overlooking Philosopher’s Walk on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Catch a movie in the park…
The Toronto Outdoor Picture Show festival offers free movies in parks across Toronto. This year’s programming theme is On the Job, highlighting the role work plays in our lives and identities.
Catch cinema classics, retro hits and critically acclaimed international cinema under the stars at Koreatown’s Christie Pits, Fort York downtown and Etobicoke’s Bell Manor Park.
…or by the lake
But if lakefront breezes are more your style, head to Harbourfront Centre for its Tuesday night Free Flicks series (through August 27, 2024). Here, the focus is on feel-good romps and crowd-pleasers, from Clueless to The Last Dragon and Barbie.
Feast your eyes at the AGO
Skip admission fees when the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) offers its monthly First Wednesday Nights Free event.
Capacity is limited, though, so booking ahead is a must. You can reserve up to two tickets starting at 10 a.m. Monday for the Wednesday evening of the same week. Extend the evening with a date night in Chinatown.
Spark your imagination at the Gardiner Museum
Note: The Gardiner Museum is temporarily closed until October 2024 for the first phase of its ground-floor transformation.
Yorkville’s Gardiner Museum offers free entry every Wednesday between 4 and 9 p.m. There’s no better place to spark your imagination with eclectic porcelain and ceramics from around the world.
#DYK: Many Toronto museums and art galleries offer year-round free admission for Indigenous people, youth or students (with ID).
Soothe your soul with Summer Music in the Garden
Enjoy intimate musical performances as Lake Ontario breezes ruffle your hair. A lineup of award-winning Canadian, Indigenous and international talent provides mood music as you savour the #lakevibes.
The Toronto Music Garden is a waterfront landmark known for its native wildflowers, manicured lawn, stately willow tree and stunning skyline views. The Summer Music in the Garden series runs most Thursdays and Sundays through August 29, 2024.
Participate in local art-making
BIG on Bloor (July 20 and 21, 2024) is a weekend street festival that puts its emphasis on art and community. Expect murals, art installations, activations, concerts and hands-on workshops for all ages.
The car-free event attracts locals and arts lovers across the city to the west end’s up-and-coming Bloordale neighbourhood.
Take the kids to Riverdale Farm
Riverdale Farm is a working farm adjacent to Riverdale Park West. It is a summer must for its picnic-friendly shade zones and toddler-pleasing wading pool. (In winter, the park is home to one of Toronto’s best sled hills.)
Animal lovers can observe the farm’s cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens and explore flower gardens and ponds that offer up even more wildlife to eagle-eyed visitors.
Explore Toronto’s hives, burrows and nests
Get a sneak peek at the hidden lives of Toronto’s urban wildlife at the Museum of Toronto’s Toronto Gone Wild exhibit (through August 3, 2024), including wasps, raccoons and coyotes. Discover how universal the need for food, housing and community is—and you may never see squirrels the same way again.
Catch DJ beats at Union Summer
Old Town landmark Union Station is hosting Union Summer again (through August 25, 2024) on its buzzing Front Street Plaza. Groove to live performances and dynamic music courtesy of musicians, performers and DJs.
Admission is free, so you can splurge on the curated food and beverage providers, including local faves Gus Tacos and Bao Mama.
Snap a capybara
Go viral with adorable images of everyone’s fave rodent: the low-key charismatic capybara. High Park Zoo is home to capybaras, plus other photogenic animals like llamas, emus and an adorable highland cattle family.
High Park is also home to walking and biking trails, playgrounds, historic Colborne Lodge (a free museum) and one of the city’s largest leash-free dog parks.
