Regardless of your economic circumstance if you can get something for free while others are paying it makes you feel good. So here are some things to do on a free day out in Toronto.

Royal Ontario Museum
Take the Royal Ontario Museum affectionately called the ROM. Pronounced like you would the sound of a car when you rev it. Explore the world at the ROM with almost six million objects in its collections, the ROM is Canada’s leading international museum. Located in the heart of Toronto, the ROM’s collections span both world cultures and natural history. Cost for an adult $15. Your cost is $0. Why, because once a week they allow the public in for free because of the ROM’s belief that it should be accessible to all of the public as part of the mandate. You just have to know when. Here’s the scoop. The time is every Friday, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. when you can roam the halls. You can explore more information at www.rom.on.ca

Art Gallery of Ontario
Not to be outdone the Art Gallery of Ontario also know by the three letters each pronounced separately as A.G.O. As one of Canada’s most distinguished art museums, the AGO organizes and hosts a wide spectrum of major exhibitions. The AGO currently has more than 40,000 works in its collection, spanning 100 AD to present day. They also have an evening sans charge, when adults are usually charged $8 however every Wednesday evening it is free from 6 to 9 pm (Surcharged exhibitions and ticketed events such as Catherine the Great excepted.) You’ll love the Henry Moore collection. Want to paint the picture fuller? Then go to the ROM web site at www.ago.net

Bata Shoe Museum
Here’s one that is not be overlook the Bata Shoe Museum. Sounds pretty dull with no soul. Soul it has and hundreds of soles it has as well. Discover the treasures of North America’s unique shoe museum. Over 10,000 shoes are housed in architect Raymond Moriyama’s award-winning four-storey structure. The Museum celebrates the style and function of footwear in four impressive galleries. Artifacts on exhibit range from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut crushing clogs and glamourous platforms. Over 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th century celebrity shoes are reflected in the semi-permanent exhibition, All About Shoes. Three other galleries feature special exhibitions. If you want to put your foot down and pay the charge it is $8. If you want to hop, skip and jump pass the admission door then show up any Thursday evening when it is free from 5 to 8 p.m. Let your fingers do the walking and check out further details at www.batashoemuseum.ca

Toronto’s Casa Loma
Toronto’s Casa Loma is a step back in time to a period of European elegance and splendour. The former home of Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt, Canada’s foremost castle is complete with decorated suites, secret passages, an 800-foot tunnel, towers, stables, and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens. To take a tour your cost would be $12. However half a loaf is better then none so here’s a way to visit part of Casa Loma for free. If you like to tip toe through the tulips and other flowers then you may enjoy a tour of the five acre estate Gardens of Casa Loma. Pardon the pun, but you would have to be a blooming idiot not to enjoy the flora in this supreme location. During the summer Casa Loma wants you to see our fabulous gardens and by telling you about it here you will have the opportunity to do so for free. The dates you can smell the roses are from May through October: Every Tuesday evening from 4:00 p.m. to dusk: May through October. Six Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11 and October 2. Free access to gardens, does not include entrance to the Estate buildings. If you want to smell out further details then check out their web site at www.castleloma.org

Bill Genova is a Toronto tour guide, and CraveCanada’s Toronto Correspondent.
Visit Bill’s own website Genova Tours