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People visit Toronto’s Casa Loma for two reasons. One, to bask in the grandeur of a historic Castle. Two, to geek out because you are standing in a place featured in numerous movies and television shows. As a young girl who religiously watched the show America’s Castles, I’m eager to tour a castle in person, but honestly, I am here to take a selfie in the hallway. The hallway. As I patiently wait for the crowd to thin, my inner fangirl cannot believe that I am standing in the hallway of the X-Mansion.
Getting There
Toronto’s Public Transportation System should be praised. It was clean, safe, and easy to navigate. If your visit does not include leaving the city limits, there is no need to rent a car in Toronto. The TTC offers day passes. You pay a base amount for unlimited rides from the time you take your first ride until 5 am the next day. The pass can be used for the subway and buses. Day passes can be purchased at any Subway Station or at a Shoppers Drug Mart.
*Note-Day passes cannot be used to travel to the airport. You must buy a single pass to ride that train line.
We grabbed day passes at the Shoppers Drug Mart near our hotel, had a quick breakfast at a local coffee shop, and then boarded the subway to DuPont Station. From DuPont Station, it is about a 10 minute walk to Casa Loma. Be warned: to get to the castle, you either walk the long way around up a hill, or climb 110 steps. We climbed the Baldwin Steps. They are some serious steps. My Pulmonary Hypertension required a few breaks on the way up.
The castle is enormous. It is an endless maze of floors and rooms. The higher you go, the smaller the crowd. People seem to give up after an hour or two of exploring. We were determined to see every inch of the castle. Due to its immensity it’s impossible to write about the entire abode. It would take a book, so I’ll share our highlights.
Front Exterior
I’m giddy the moment the castle comes into view. It is a true, proper castle. The stone towers and turrets loom over the flocks of tourists stepping through the main entrance.
Main Floor
After presenting our online tickets, we are set loose to wander. The moment I glimpse the giant portrait of Prince, the splendid chandeliers, and the dark wood paneled walls, I have instant fomo. The Oak Room houses Casa Loma’s BlueBlood Steakhouse. Eating at the restaurant tonight didn’t make logistical sense. One must dress up in fancy clothes. Spending hours sweating in a non-air-conditioned building wearing elegant attire did not appeal to me. There was also no time to go back to the hotel, get dressed up, and return. You get your steps in walking the floors and climbing stairs. It’s important to wear comfortable shoes at Casa Loma. Perhaps if we return to Toronto, I’ll have the chance to dine in Chicago’s Billy Flynn’s and Professor X’s office. After spending too much time perusing the library’s shelves, while playing the scene from Crimson Peak in my head, we step into the Conservatory. The Conservatory is CLUE-worthy.
Sunlight streams through the windows, making the dancing water in the fountain sparkle. I could spend the entire day in this space, but there is a famous hallway to see.
Like the CN Tower, Casa Loma is one of Toronto’s top tourist attractions. Visitors from all over the world roam the main level. It is crowded. I’m not the only fangirl/fanboy craving a picture in the hallway featured in the X-MEN movies and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. You have to pack your patience pants when visiting Casa Loma.
Read about our visit to Toronto’s CN Tower
The Second Floor
The second floor showcases the castle’s bedrooms. Lady Pellatt, one of the home’s original occupants, was a generous supporter of Canada’s Girl Guides. Girl Guides are the equivalent to the United States’ Girl Scouts. I greatly enjoyed the upstairs Girl Guides exhibit.
The house was built to include state-of-the-art amenities of the day. My favorite was the bathroom shower.
If you love tea sets, there are many tea sets on display.
The bedrooms are so ornate that if I lived there, I’d be afraid to sit on the furniture.
The Third Floor
The crowd starts to thin as we climb the stairs to the third floor. It’s clear this is where many tourists tap out. You start to realize the vastness of this 98-room domicile. An exhibit on Canadian military history awaits those who make it to the third floor. My favorite section of the third floor was the iron staircase leading to the castle tower. The stairs are open-backed, narrow, and steep. Only one person can either ascend or descend at a time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to climb to the top, so I made Shannon go first. He came down and said the stairs weren’t that bad and the view was great. I took a deep breath and grabbed the iron railing.
I’m glad I conquered the spiral stairs. The tower was worth the effort, as it provided up-close views of architectural details and spectacular views of the city.
The Basement
After visiting the top of the castle, we made our way to the bottom. The basement contains Casa Loma’s quick service café, gift shop, and restrooms. The restroom is the most elegant restroom I’ve used at a tourist attraction. A theater in the basement shows a film about the castle’s history. The movie is a bit of a downer. It’s sad to see someone’s dream destroyed by war and taxes. The history of Casa Loma is fascinating. I won’t go into it because learning about the history is part of the visit experience. I am grateful that people cared enough to preserve this architectural wonder. When the movie ends, it’s time to enter the secret tunnel. I’ve never walked through a secret tunnel, so I am riveted.
It’s dark, dank, and drippy. It smells of soil with a touch of must. Exactly what a secret tunnel should be. There was a point when we started to wonder if the tunnel actually led somewhere. Did it just continue indefinitely? Were we suddenly trapped in a weird horror movie? A group of ladies behind us gave up and turned around. Finally, we emerged at the garage. One section of the garage shows the former horse stable, while another displays a collection of antique automobiles. Cars viewed, we move to the wax museum. Yes. There is a wax museum. It’s the most trappy part of this tourist attraction. It is quite the contrast from the elegant rooms, but I’m happy it exists. The museum is made up of scenes from movies, television shows, and music videos, filmed at Casa Loma. It’s cheesy fun. I was thrilled at the sight of wax Richard Gere, wax Hugh Jackman, and wax Chris Evans. Of course, wax Patrick Stewart made my fangirl day.
The X-MEN room had a television playing the X-MEN movies. It also had seats, so you if you needed to rest your feet, you could relax while watching Professor X Cerebro-out.
The Garden
Our final venture is into the garden. There was a special event in the evening, so some of the garden sections were closed to visitors.
The paths lined with flowers and garden art were lovely.
The fountain is splendid and was as large as a swimming pool. If I grew up at the castle, I’m sure the servants would have to shoo me out of the fountain every summer day.
Conclusion
Casa Loma opens at 9:30 am and closes at 5 pm. If, like us, you want to explore every inch of the building and grounds, arrive early and settle in for a full day. It does get crowded. It seemed a lot of people were there as part of a tour group, so the crowd ebbed and flowed. The building is heated in winter, but there is no air-conditioning in summer. Whether you are a cinephile, a comic book nerd, a lover of architecture, or a history enthusiast, you will love visiting Casa Loma. It felt like touring Canadian Downton Abbey. My favorite part of visiting historic sites is learning about everyday life, and this site provides every detail of what it was like to live in a grand Canadian Castle.
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