Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

The AGO’s free lane is First Wednesday Night Free: general admission 6–9 p.m. the first Wednesday each month, tickets released online at 10 a.m. the Monday before (max two per transaction) on ago.ca. Ontarians under 25 also get ongoing free admission with ID. The building at 317 Dundas Street West is otherwise ticketed; special exhibitions may differ. First-timers on free night: book ahead, queue outside, travel light (large bags check for a fee). Pick one wing — Canadian/Indigenous or contemporary — instead of racing the whole Gehry envelope in three hours.