Located right next to Canada’s Wonderland Vaughan Mills is one of Canada’s largest malls

Vaughan Mills has over 200 retail shops. There are also more than 35 places to eat in the 120,000 square metre mall.

Canada’s Wonderland is the most visited attraction in the city. The 133 hectare amusement park is split into six different areas, one of which is an eight hectare waterpark! If you are visiting with the kids, there is an area designated just for them, with rides to appeal to various ages.

Thrill seekers will not be bored here. In fact, Canada’s Wonderland is home to 15 adrenaline pumping rollercoasters. Of these, the scariest is Leviathan, which is the fastest and tallest rollercoaster in the country, having a maximum drop of 93
meters!

There are over 200 attractions in the amusement park, including games, shows and of course rides. It is open every day from May to September, and weekends in April and October.

Go back in time and visit Black Creek Pioneer Village; an open-air heritage museum.

The village recreates what life was like in the 19th-century, complete with heritage buildings, furniture and costumes. In fact, staff at Black Creek Pioneer Village are dressed in clothing from that time and demonstrate everyday activities.

There is a blacksmith, a schoolhouse, a mill, a general store and a church, as well as other buildings. Take a tour of the village and see the historical-enactments that are put on by the staff.

If you are a fan of the famous Group of Seven, then you must visit the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. This small art gallery features an extensive collection of paintings by Tom Thomson, as well as other works by other artists from this renowned group.

The art gallery is small, but it sits amongst 40 hectares of forest. In addition to the art gallery itself, there is also a sculpture garden, the historic Tom Thomson Shack and a cemetery where six of the Group of Seven are buried.

After strolling through the gallery and admiring the artwork, explore the grounds and go for a nice walk along one of its trails. The trails wind through some picturesque forest of pine, maple and oak.

Sitting right smack in the middle of Vaughan is the Kortright Centre for Conservation. The 325 hectare suburban conservation area sits in a pine and maple forest between Rutherford Road and Major Mackenzie Drive.

The main feature of the Kortright Centre for Conservation are the horses that can be ridden in the north part of the area. There are also over 30 environmental programs offered to the general public.

Over 100,000 people visit the centre each year that go horseback riding, bird watching or hiking through the woodlands. There are also family events, weekend children’s programs and sustainability tours. The Kortright Centre for Conservation will even host a private event, like a wedding, birthday party of corporate function.

Take a drive to nearby Richmond Hill to visit the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO). This large astronomical observatory is home to Canada’s largest reflector telescope, which has an aperture of 188 centimetres.

The observatory sits on a 76 hectare estate and as well as housing the massive telescope, also has several other smaller ones. Still, one of the main draws of the observatory is the stars themselves, which can be seen at night through the massive telescope.

The David Dunlap Observatory also hosts talk nights, with topics that include science fiction, space science and astronomy. You can also go on a tour of the observatory, learning about its history and its achievements in astronomy world.