Royal Ontario Museum

Lonely Planet review

The multidisciplinary Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is Canada's biggest natural history museum. The main building involves a magnificent explosion of architectural crystals on Bloor St, housing an array of new galleries, including the new 'Renaissance ROM' building.

ROM's collections bounce between natural science, ancient civilization and art exhibits. The Chinese temple sculptures, Gallery of Korean Art and costumery and textile collections are some of the best in the world. Kids file out of yellow school buses chugging by the sidewalk and rush to the dinosaur rooms, Egyptian mummies and Jamaican bat cave replica. Don't miss the cedar crest poles carved by First Nations tribes in British Columbia; the largest pole (85m) was shipped from the West Coast by train, then lowered through the museum roof, leaving only centimeters to spare. The on-site Institute of Contemporary Culture explores current issues through art, architecture, lectures and moving image. There are free museum tours daily - call or check the website for times.