Canadian Air Museums

If you like airplanes like we do, there are a couple of Canadian Air Museums near Toronto that might call to you.

The Canadian Air and Space Museum (formerly the Toronto Aerospace Museum) is a “newcomer” on the aviation museum scene. It was founded in 1997.

It has more than history just on the inside. You’ll find the building is historical in itself. It was the original 1929 home of de Havilland Aircraft of Canada. The site contains the oldest surviving aircraft factory in Canada, and it’s the birthplace of Beaver and Otter bush planes. The field used to be Toronto’s air force base.

Their collection is a little light, but growing, and they have plans for expanding the facility. They have a couple of de Havilland planes and a Lancaster which was taken from its “airplane on a stick” display status in downtown Toronto and is now under restoration.

This museum is open Wednesdays thru Sundays. On Holiday Mondays it is also open. Check their website for hours and fees.

The other Canadian air museum is a little further from Toronto, but you need to see it if you love planes. The Canadian Warplanes Heritage Museum is in Hamilton, Ontario. It has a large collection of aircraft used by Canadians from the beginning of World War II up to the present.

Their collection includes great things like a Westland Lysander, a Hurricane, a Spitfire and an Avro Lancaster. Those all are flyable aircraft. The Lysander just came out of restoration, and we saw it along with the Lancaster and the others in Oshkosh.

There are some older planes too. How about a de Havilland Tiger Moth, a Fleet Finch, and a reliable old Stearman PT-27 Kaydet.

Airplane buffs know, and you need to remember, that some familiar planes like AT-6s that are called Texans in the U.S. (or SNJs in the Navy) are called Harvards and Yales in Canada.

Many of the Museum’s aircraft are flyable. Some visit airshows throughout the year. The museum’s website tells you to check the flying schedule to see which planes will be at the museum and which may be on tour.

The Canadian Warplanes Heritage Museum is about an hour from Toronto at Hamilton International Airport. They are open daily all year between 9 am and 5 pm. Closed only on Christmas and New Years Day.

If you become a member of the museum, you can upgrade your membership to include a ride in one of their warbirds! They offer flights in the Boeing Stearman, North American Harvard, DC3 Dakota, Beech 18, Chipmunk, Cornell, Tigermoth, PBY Canso, B-25 Mitchell, Fairey Firefly, and even the Lancaster.  Of course those big ones are going to cost you, but hey, where else can you fly in something like that? Check their website for details.

OK, we admit we’re airplane nuts, but we think it’s great to have two Canadian air museums close to a great city like Toronto.

Toronto, Canada – A Great Getaway

Toronto is a big city. If you’re the kind of traveler who loves cities, you should visit Toronto. It sits on the tip of Lake Ontario, the eastern most of the Great Lakes of North America. While the city is large, the sights you’ll probably want to see are centered fairly close around the Harbourfront.

It’s a lively, multicultural city. About half of its citizens were born outside of Canada. Waves of immigration from Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean have created an interesting patchwork of ethnic neighborhoods to explore.

Start with the CN Tower. It was at one time the world’s tallest building. It still offers spectacular views over the city from the Lookout Level or the Sky Pod. They even say that on a clear day you can see all the way to Niagara Falls! If you have nerves of steel you might want to see the view from the Glass Floor which is a mere 342 meters above the ground — that’s 148 floors if you look down! There is a cafe and a restaurant in the tower. The tower is in the heart of the Toronto Entertainment District.

Want to know about some of the neighborhoods to visit? The Distillery Historic District is a pedestrian only neighborhood full of heritage architecture. There are art galleries and boutiques here and plenty of places to eat. St. Lawrence Market is close by with lots of specialty merchants. The Chinatown is the second largest in North America. All are within a few blocks of each other and the Harbourfront.

A few blocks inland from the lake you can find Casa Loma, a castle-like mansion on a hill in the middle of the city. It was built in the early 1900s for a Canadian tycoon. Today it is owned by the city. Its gardens are open to visitors, and you can take self-guided tours with audio guides in several languages.

Canadians are hockey fans, so you should visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s more than a museum. It does house hockey’s most precious artifacts and provides a home for the Stanley Cup, but it has interactive exhibits, a replica of a dressing room and rink, and state of the art games.

Go to a game, any game. The Maple Leafs are the National Hockey League team. They also have the Marlies which are an American Hockey League team.

Like other sports? We went to see a Blue Jays baseball game. My hubby likes baseball, so we try to see different baseball stadiums when we travel. That gets you out of the museum circuit. Inquire about the sport of your choice or check local city magazines.

If shopping is your thing more than sports, visit the Eaton Center. It’s one of the city’s top tourist draws. This mall has interesting architecture as well as hundreds of stores.

There’s also the Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Center, and the Zoo. And if you really get tired of the city, you can take a day trip to Niagara Falls if you want or you can use Toronto as a start off point for a longer visit to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The summer days are long and warm. Spring and Fall are nice seasons to visit. Winters get cold, so I say visits then are only for the hardy. Whether you want to shop or see sports or just explore the city, Toronto makes for a great get away.