A new season means there’s a whole array of cultural activities to enjoy in Toronto, from annual festivals like TIFF and Oktoberfest. Autumn is also the best season in Toronto for family friendly activities like apple picking, seeing fall leaves in nature, and pumpkin patches. We’ve created a guide to the best things to do this fall in Toronto or as we like to call it, the Ultimate Fall Bucket List in Toronto.
1. Dive into this dreamy Bubble Planet experience
Get ready to jump into this pastel-hued ‘Bubble Planet’ experience coming to Toronto this November. Explore surreal landscapes with all five senses and discover 11 out-of-this-world bubble-themed rooms with all different themes for a limited time.
🛁 Tickets are selling fast–grab yours now before the experience floats away for good!
2. Oktoberfest returns to Toronto
This epic fall festival is back and better than ever. Returning to Toronto on October 6th and 7th is Oktoberfest, a nod to the Bavarian festival in Germany that’s since spanned across the world. Celebrate the start of the fall season in Toronto with all things steins, German food and beers, leiderhoses, and more. GA tickets start at $40 and can be purchased on their website.
3. Enjoy an enchanted candlelit concert
Want to enjoy a soothing concert in a stunning venue surrounded by candlelight? This fall in Toronto, you can enjoy an enchanting concert where some of the best contemporary and classic music is played by a talented string quartet. From Taylor Swift at the Paradise Theater to a night of classic composers like Mozart and Bach, there’s a concert suited for evey music taste.
4. Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland
The Halloween Haunt taking place at Canada’s Wonderland is returning in 2023 on select nights from September 22nd to October 29th. With eight mazes and multiple terrifying scare zones, plus the return of the Day of the Dead festival. Tickets are $44.99 if you buy online at the official website. Head over and cross this family friendly activity off your fall bucket list in Toronto.
5. See fall colors at Dundas Peak
Some ideas for things to do this fall in Toronto include chasing the fall foliage or doing fall hikes. Dundas Peak in Hamilton is one of the most gorgeous places in all of Ontario to catch cascading hills of fall colors. There’s even a couple of beautiful waterfalls you can hike to, where the fall time will give them a totally transformed look from the summer seasons. The 20 minute hike from Tew Falls is quite popular during Septembe and October for its gorgeous lookout at the end, with the hills swimming in olive, gold, and orange trees on Spencer Gorge.
6. Go apple picking near Toronto
This fall activity shouldn’t be missed this autumn, and is the perfect family friendly activity to cross off your bucket list. Apple picking near Toronto can be done at a variety of farms and orchards in Ontario, but a few of the best places to pick apples are [trackLink link_url="https://applewoodfarm.ca/"]Applewood Farm, Brooks Farm, Pingle’s Farm, and Organics Family Farm.
7. Downey’s Pumpkin Fest
From September 23rd to October 31st, enjoy this family friendly fall bucket list activity at Downey’s Pumpkin Fest. One of the biggest in Ontario, the PumpkinFest play area includes wagon rides, a boo barn, a huge place to pick pumpkins, farm animals, live entertainment, plus so much more. Their website shows that adult weekday tickets are $17.99 and weekend are $23.99, and you can get them online.
8. Enjoy the fall colors at the White Water Walk
Niagara Falls is amazing all-year round, and one of the best fall bucket list activities to do in Toronto is to head to the White Water Walk. Get a glimpse of how deep and narrow the Great Gorge is while admiring the changing scenery. Open from April to mid-November, make sure to head over in the autumn for a chance to walk among the raging river, changing colors of the trees and without all the cold of the falls.
9. Take a scenic train through nature
This old-fashion style of travel has become something of a trend now, and watching the beautiful nature of Ontario pass by through a window doesn’t get any better. Make sure to cross this activity off your fall bucket list this fall by booking a ticket aboard such scenic trains as the Polar Bear Express, the York Durham Heritage Railway, or Waterloo Central Railway.
10. Book your ticket to the Toronto International Festival of Authors
The 2023 Toronto International Festival of Authors takes place from September 21st to October 1st and festival passes are available now. This 11-day festival includes featured conversations by iconic writers, poets, and critics, musical performances, and workshops for aspiring writers.
11. Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival, located in Stratford, Ontario, is one of the oldest theatre companies in Canada, and in 2023, they are putting on a specific set of performances meant to examine an age-old theme that speaks to the current monet: the tension of duty and desire. On the playbill, King Lear, Richard II, A Wrinkle in Time, Rent, among others. The calendar can be viewed here on their website.
12. View an upcoming exhibit at one of these museums
With the fall season coming up, there are a lot of new exhibitions popping up in the art scene for September, October, and November. For starters, ROM will be putting on an multimedia exhibit called “Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery” that explores the universal process of life and death. MOCA has “Seeing the Invisble,” an augmente reality outdoor exhibit that explores the beautiful landscape of Toronto’s public parks. There’s so much art to see so get exploring this fall in Toronto.
13. Attend TIFF
Every year in September, the Toronto International Film Festival takes over downtown. With the current strikes going on, there won’t be a walk of the stars, but the entire schedule of films still promises to be jam-packed. Films from over 40 different countries will be represented here, making it an excellent and multi-cultural experience you wont want to miss this fall in Toronto.
14. Pull an artsy all-nighter at Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche is a unique way to experience contemporary art in Toronto. On September 23rd from 7pm to 7am, enjoy 12 hours of contemporary art throughout the different neighborhoods. The festival essentially turns the city into an all-night art gallery with installations by various artists, all with the theme of Breaking Ground, whch explores ideas about the natural world, change, and innovation.