Toronto Guide
Toronto
Toronto Zoo
Opening time: Daily March– Sept 9am–6pm; June– Aug 9am–7.30pm; Oct– Feb 9.30am–4.30pm
Price: $19, children aged 4–12 $11
Website: www.torontozoo.com
Set on the hilly edge of the Rouge Valley, the Toronto Zoo encompasses a 710-acre site that does its best to place animals in their own environments. To this end, six pavilions representing different geographic regions are filled with indigenous plants and more than five thousand animals. Hardy species live outside in large paddocks, and an open train, the Zoomobile, zips around between the pavilions. The zoo also has an extensive breeding, recovery and reintroduction programme, which has helped a variety of threatened species back into their original environment.
Arriving by car, take Hwy 401 to Scarborough (exit 389) and drive north on Meadowvale Road, following the signs for the zoo. Via public transport – which takes about fifty minutes from downtown – catch the Sheppard East #85B bus from the Sheppard subway station. Eating at the zoo is dominated by the multi-chains, but there are picnic areas.