Next year, it will be 100 years since businessman Sir Edmund Walker and artist George Reid decided that Toronto needed a museum of art. Torontonians are grateful they did. Although the Art Gallery of Ontario--called the AGO by locals--is not one of the best-known landmarks in the world, it is one of the best known, and loved, in Canada. It's also the eighth largest art museum in North America. The AGO's collection has more than 24,000 works representing 1,000 years of European, Canadian, Inuit, modern and contemporary art, both inside the building and out. Outside, at the northeast corner of the gallery, there's a giant Henry Moore sculpture that is often crawling with children playing hide-and-seek. Inside, you will find more of Moore's creations, 20th century Canadian works by the Group of Seven, and world-renowned travelling shows, such as the recent Michelangelo to Picasso collection from the Albertina in Vienna. You can purchase reproductions of most of these works, and others, in the gallery's massive, meandering store. The gallery opens at 10 am weekends and 11 on weekdays, but stays closed on Mondays. The easiest way to get to there is to take city transit. Catch the southbound Dundas streetcar from in front of the Eaton Centre and tell the driver to let you off at the gallery. It's smack in the middle of Toronto's vibrant China Town, so save time to have a wander around. The address is 317 Dundas Street West. The cost is 'pay what you can,' but they suggest $6 per person, and you'll have to shell out more for special exhibitions. If you have a passion for Canadian art, then you'll find it's worth the 30 km drive north to see the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. It has a large display of works by the Group of Seven, as well as First Nations and Inuit artists. Admission is $7, which also gives you access to the gallery's forested land (100 acres) where you can discover for yourself what inspired the Canadian artist's in the first place.
If you're driving, take Hwy. 401, then Hwy. 400 north to Major Mackenzie Drive. Turn left (west) on Major Mackenzie to Islington Avenue. Turn right (north) on Islington to the village of Kleinburg. The address is 10365 Islington Avenue. If you don't have a car: at Islington subway station transfer to TTC #37 bus northbound on Islington to Steeles Avenue. At Steeles & Islington transfer to the Vaughan #3 bus, continuing north on Islington. Vaughan #3 does not stop at the gallery entrance. Get off at Nashville Road and Islington Avenue and walk south on Islington for 15 minutes. The gallery is on the east side of the road. To return to Toronto, take the #3 bus south on Islington to Steeles Avenue and double back.
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