Reviews of Mackenzie House (Museum)

Enzo Lombardi

Very nice museum. The message I brought home is that political BS hasn't changed in centuries. Bad people remain bad people and I am not referring to MacKenzie here

James Armstrong

????????

Jeroen Schokker

Great place, very authentic and exceptional staff and your!

Anon

I went here for Doors Open and I loved my experience! It was really informative and the tour guides were really friendly.

Demi

I love the history behind the Mackenzie's lives, the staff is really nice, personable, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and with a great sense of humour. Worth your while.

Glenn Dickler

Great very interesting. But couldn't find his mother's ghost. Love in smell of the wood fire.

Galvan Sophie

(Translated) Pretty discovery! The guides take pleasure in explaining this famous era with a bonus tasting of old-fashioned tea and lavender biscuits from the 1800s. (Original) Jolie découverte ! Les guides prennent du plaisir à nous expliquer cette fameuse époque avec en prime dégustation du thé à l'ancienne et biscuits à la lavande des années 1800.

Tim Rain

Great walk through history

David Flack

Great to see places like this preserved in the centre of a big city.

Anita Windisman

A small but interesting museum devoted to publisher and first mayor of Toronto William Lyon Mackenzie. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and passionate. I really love their hands on printing experience. Pro tip for Toronto residents: you can get a free pass to historic sites in Toronto from your local Toronto Public Library. Just ask for the MAP pass.

Sakal Star

I am looking forward for that historic champ MacKenzie. check "The Advocate Newspaper"

Nicoleta Negru

We went for the Irish Tour on St Patrick's this year and the tour was so successful that they had to create two separate groups. So many people! The tour was great, learned a lot about the "beginnings" of Toronto and our guide knew it all. At the end they offered us hot cider (it was such a cold day, thank you!), cookies and also a demonstration of an Irish old music instrument. Totally worth the visit at the museum as well! We were able to use their printing machine from the 1800s! It was amazing!

Ophelia Rose de Papillon

Not a long tour, but an interesting one. The hosts are really nice and go out of their way to make it a good time. It's only $8 Canadian, so it's not a big investment.

james wilson

I enjoyed the tour

Traveling SweetPea

Great little historic house tucked in behind the bustling chaos of Dundas square. A lot of beautiful features and interesting facts about both the family that lived here and the era that the house represents.

Tim Dempsey

Pretty cool. Not a whole hell of a lot in there. Better for older children. Try to go when it's not too busy, much easier to get more out of the tour guide.

JG - 05MM 833041 McClure PS

This is a great place but the fact we went there in the evening and we explored through the night for a family time and we were hearing strange noises and when i went to one of the rooms i saw something white even it was 8:00pm... it was a nice house though

Karsten Aichholz

An amazing place that gives an authentic feel, not just due to the well curated and populated place, but especially because of the outstanding guides who are genuinely passionate, knowledgeable and helpful in bringing its inhabitants and the times they lived in to live in front of your eyes.

Ani Kukreti

Vsited this museum today. Bruce and Karen were our guide for the tour and shared with us the historical facts about life and work of William Mackenzie. The 'working' printing press of the 1840s is just amazing and Bruce even let us operate it. Also, got to learn the origin of some of the common English phrases. Thank you very much Bruce, Karen. :-)

Casemiro Mior Junior

Excellent Museum containing interesting information about 19th century Toronto

Steve Steve Steve Steve

Great

Ali Saremi

Mackenzie House was the last home of Toronto’s first mayor, which is currently being used as a museum. The museum interprets urban Victorian life of the 1860s. It's a very interesting place, and I highly recommend you to visit it at least once. Make sure you check their hours of operation before your visit, as it varies through the year.

Jason

As a house museum aficionado, I can say this house is extremely well preserved. The tour guide was excellent and provided a ton of great tidbits. My favorite parts were the textiles and the working interior gas lights!

Alex Riemer

The house is very helpful to understand both the history of the Mackenzie family as well as the living situation of a typical middle class family at the time. The guides were very knowledgeable about all aspects of the house, its inhabitants and the surrounding history and it was clear that they are passionate about teaching all visitors as much as possible.

Jessica Sanderson

I thought this would just be a stop on the way to something else, because why not? Now I think it may be a highlight of the trip. We were the only ones there so we got a private tour which was lovely. Our guide was very friendly and informative. Not only did we learn about Mackenzie and his family, but we learned about Toronto and Canada during the time period. It was a great experience. We even got to type set our names and use the printing press (and keep the print). Very fun and my favourite stop of the day for sure. I certainly recommend it.

Cheri Pinktrix

Enjoyed the Mackenzie House way more than we thought we would. Printing press was really immersive and it was so interesting seeing an urban historic house instead of a rural house, which most other house museums are in Canada. Worth it!

Mike Graves

Nice building lots of history

Kevin Stata

I love going to this museum, it's a fascinating look at life back in the early days of Toronto. My last visit was the best yet. From getting to make Christmas cards on the old printing press (very old), drinking apple cider, eating delicious shortbread and hearing Bruce tell a wonderful Christmas ghost story by candlelight. I highly recommend this beautiful museum of the first mayor of Toronto. It transports a person back in time.

hela hazgui

beautiful and very interesting objects in the great house. The staff is very friendly and really good at explaining the history. we have learned a lot from one excellent visit about Mr. Mackenzie's story. it's enjoyable and i would recommend it with no bout or hesitation .

Gordon Koo

We went to Mackenzie house on Halloween and did the haunted tour for fun. We didn't hear anything when we did the audio recording but when we looked back in our pictures, we saw this white shaped sleeve on the rocking chair...but there was absolutely nothing there when we were looking. It could be a trick of the light and the glare of a car passing through? >.>

Kate Blackport

Was a really enjoyable museum and tour. Learned a lot and got a glimpse into how Mackenzie would have lived. And the printing press demo was a fun way to end the tour.

Shyla Tibando

We visited the first Mayor of Toronto’s home for Doors Open. The girls enjoyed exploring the home, looking at 3D photos, trying on costumes and learning about the printing press. The staff were excellent.

Heidi Schiller

Great tour of print shop and house.

Diana Beltran Chavarria

Paris said it was haunted and I gots to knooow!

Lauren Mirecki

Fantastic field trip for a day, very affordable and fun. There is lots to see and do here, the programs are really well run and the staff are definitely into their roles.

Suhyun Choi (최수현)

I didn't expect much before coming here and, in fact, hesitated to visit this place. But it was much more than I expected! As others mentioned, the tour guides are just awesome! The lady that took us around the house was very knowledgeable and knew how to make stories interesting. I was totally absorbed in what she was saying. The man that guided us in the print shop was very nice as well! He explained all the artistic stuff and helped us to print our own souvenirs! I would definitely come back before leaving Toronto!

Cerise Fairfax

Fabulous history. Can feel the old energy in the air.

Adam Bryk

Go to the events here, always great fun and interesting history of the city and country

Gilles Saindon

Great for a quick visit.

Yahya (King Of The Goats)

I HATED IT!!!!!!!!! SO HAUNTED NEVER GO THERE -100 %

From_ Milena

A small and lovely museum. Interesting to see how early Torontonians lived.

Melony Duranovich

AMAZING programs and very friendly staff. Something for everyone year round. Highly recommend.

Mark Ebden

When I went last year the printing demonstration was one of my favourite things

Alex Du

(Translated) The history of the first printing press in the city of Toronto can be found in the former home of William Lyon Mackenzie, who was also its first mayor. An entertaining way to approach the world of newspaper, advertising and card printing. (Original) La historia de la primera imprenta en la ciudad de Toronto la podrás conocer en la antigua casa de William Lyon Mackenzie quien además fue el primer alcalde de la misma. Una manera entretenida de acercarse al mundo de la impresión de periódicos, publicidad y tarjetas.

Rob Neilly

Very interesting. Tour docents/guides are knowledgeable and fun. Inexpensive, in downtown Toronto (a bonus), and worth the visit. A little gift shop too.

Ray H

It's neat. I visited during BigDrawTO and was able to operate one of their 18th century printing presses. Not sure if that activity is available normally :) Other than that it was just an old historic house to me

Emad Nikaeen

Cool experience and very interesting plus the great tour that they provided and the excellent experience working with old printing machines.

Jana

I came here with my class and it was fun! It was cool learning about the history of William Lyon Mackenzie and that we got to use the printing press. Definitely recommend to visit for the history!

Carla Salazar

Beautiful!

Michael Ouimet

Great for a 1 day getaway

Lou Yi

Haunted

Marie-Caroline T

(Translated) Museum very interesting, the guides are passionate and offer us a unique point of view on a part of the local history of which we speak little. And as a bonus, everyone can leave with a little memory! (Original) Musée très intéressant, les guides sont passionnés et nous offrent un point de vue unique sur une partie de l'histoire locale dont on parle peu. Et en prime, chacun peut repartir avec un petit souvenir !

Russell Blinch

Great experience, with very knowledgeable guides. Mackenzie is Canada's unsung hero.

Jim Patterson

None of us had been to Mackenzie House before and didn't know what to expect. We had come to see the exhibit about employees from Eaton's who had served in WW1. The six of us were the only ones in the museum so we were basically given a private tour by Bruce who I can only describe as a walking encyclopedia about the history of Mackenzie and the history of early Ontario. The house has three floors (including basement kitchen) and they are all covered in the tour. After the tour of the house we spent some time in the print shop which is a recreation of a what Mackenzie's shop would have looked like. The guide in this area was also really well informed and engaging. Everyone got to set up up some type and then print off a small one sheet memento of the visit. We all had a great time. Well worth a visit. Admission was $7 each. We found street parking on Bond Street and there is also a parking lot nearby. This was on a Saturday morning so I'm not sure what it would be like on weekdays.

Peter Rukavina

An excellent interpretation of Toronto's middle class past and the life of William Lyon Mackenzie and his family.

Alexia Merrington

This is a fantastic little piece of Toronto history to visit. Great tour by friendly & knowledgeable staff, highly recommend.

Lester Leonida

A must visit place while it still there as the area is already surrounded big tall buildings

Tieja MacLaughlin

Amazing event programming! The staff were extremely friendly, knowledgeable and truly cared about the guests’ experience. Well done.

Demi

I love the history behind the Mackenzie's lives, the staff is really nice, personable, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and with a great sense of humour. Worth your while.

Mustafa Anas

It was really fun to attend. They also have a tour given by a very nice woman and a historical printing machine. You get to experience how classis newspaper printing and publishing was done.

Jessica Stowe

We learned so much in the tour of MacKenzie House. The kids had fun work in the printing press and doing typesetting.

Marc Bernstein

Really a wonderful & historic heritage museum in downtown Toronto. Historic former home of Toronto's first great Mayor: circa 1858 in Toronto. Worth seeing.

cassie frazer

Really enjoyable experience. The hot apple cider and shortbread were a nice touch. Learned a fair bit about Toronto's first mayor and Scottish traditions. Enjoyed making a card at the print shop too. Dynamic volunteers assisting along the way - well done! Thank you!

Stephanie Lee

The tour was amazing!!!! They limit the size of the tour group. At the time of our tour, only my friend and I were in the group! So we had a very personalized tour with 2 tour guides. They were extremely informative and sought feedback throughout the tour. They also updated us on what new information they had discovered. Also- the really cool thing about this tour is that it's super interactive. So they demonstrated how people would print newspaper back in the days etc. Apparently, back when it was pre-covid, the tour guides even used the food stoves to cook food for the people in the tour! I would definitely highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Toronto!

Sara McDermott

Bruce was our guide and provided extraordinary storytelling of life in the 19th century. The hot cider and cookies were a great treat. Go and enjoy a few hours in Toronto and Canada's past.

Natalia Restrepo Coupe

Great place to go with kids. Love the hands on experience with the printing machine and the excellent guides.

abiya biju

this was a very historic and consequential place which gives us a good amount of information and if you are a person who is obsessed with history and all that stuff then this is a place for you

Christina Burger

Absolutely incredible Museum! There was a tour of the house that ended with a home made cookie and warm cider! And then we go to make a souvenir on the authentic 19th century printing press. Well worth the visit.

Valliappan Palaniappan

Residency of the first mayor of Toronto

J B

It was a very interesting tour. The guy who works there is very knowledgeable and a great actor too! We learned how they used to print news paper and used gas instead of electricity. Beautiful house.

Alejandro Soifer

An interesting historical site and museum. Guided tour was amazing.

JG - 05MM 833041 McClure PS

This is a great place but the fact we went there in the evening and we explored through the night for a family time and we were hearing strange noises and when i went to one of the rooms i saw something white even it was 8:00pm... it was a nice house though

Paul Gent

Very interesting museum, the guided tour was informative and well presented.

Eliza Beckett

Looks a little bit scary but it was a good place to study history. I recommend to go there to join the Haunted Walk Tour or when the place is open for Doors Open event! :)

Carolann Naugle

Great tour.Tour guides Excellent!

brenna Aiyana

Had a very lovely time trying the printing press and learning about the histort of the Mackenzie's!

KaeeKali &Kae'C

I love that street

Mat Williams

Facinating little museum run by excellent passionate knowledgeable guides, Mckenzie is a pretty interesting character and the printing section is great as well.

Andrew Byrne

Great museum! We got to make our own newspaper which was fun.

Leo Stratton

a lot of collection , i enjoy it very much

Phillip Oelbaum

Knowledgeable and very enthusiastic reenactprs. Small museum, tight spaces. Apparently haunted

Enoch Sawa

An exciting bit of history surrounding the birth of Upper Canada and Toronto. Staff is great and give you more than your money's worth. Cheers to Alex for a great tour!

Seetha

Interesting visit to Mackenzie house. Bruce gave a detailed account of the history with an old map. The printing press was definitely the highlight. Karen gave a wonderful tour of the house - the bedrooms, parlour, kitchen. Spent about 2 hours here. A little giftshop has miniature replicas, post cards and the like. Went for Jane's walk (aboit 1.5 hrs) with Bruce where he spoke about the historical significance of many old buildings and places near Bond street.

Nurten Ekinci

(Translated) Niceeeeeee (Original) Niceeeeeeee

Mia Huang

Good experience

Diane Tyler

Great story teller.made history come alive. Amazing historical spot in the downtown.

AL

This is a wonderful museum to visit in your spare time. The entry fee is small, and the staff are so friendly. At the end of the tour, you get to try out the printing press, which is fun for kids and adults alike. Would recommend this quaint trip to learn some history.

Kelly Leung

Amazing place :)

Mélanie Beauchamp

Great historical place!

Pollyanna Rousseau

An amazing piece of toronto history plus a 150yo printing machine on which you can play. A must see!

J.P. DesLauriers

Bruce was the life of the party! Very fun class trip.

stuart nord

A great look into the social and political past of Toronto. The volunteer hosts are friendly and knowledgeable. We were there on Robbie Burns day. Celtic music and haggis!

Willowdale

Excellent tour. Very informative and well structured. One learns not only about Mackenzie's political views and his life, but also how a family such as his lived at the time. We were given the chance to make a post card using an old printing press, sampled delicious shortbread and apple cider. A wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon in the city. Note: there are many stairs in the house.

Jordan B

Great place to learn about early Toronto history.

j j

Nice experience. Guided tour was so helpful and his explanation was very easy to understand!! Printing was interesting as well!

kael finley

very easy to miss, but do not miss it! it is quite a place, very nice staff, the guided tour is very interesting and informative

Eric Goodland

There people there are very nice and know what there doing it was so much fun but I have the one friend that was being a kid the hole time but still fun

Liu Thomas

Historic place, heritage building. I had great experience there.

Sarah Irwin

The house itself is interesting. The print making presentation was neat, but the tour was a little dry. I usually love this kind of thing, but there was too much focus on the furniture pieces rather than Mackenzie's history.

Nicolae Ileshov

Absolutely amazing staff, that know their stuff. Would 100% recommend to anyone

Colleen Stewart

A hidden historical gem in the heart of downtown Toronto. Not busy at all on Saturday morning. Learned all sorts of interesting facts and fun takeaways from the print shop!

Diana Kuzmina

Very informative and fun, staff are very knowledgable.

Muhammad Kamran

It was a great experience; cozy house, polite and friendly staff, centuries old household experience with hands-on ancient style printing.

Angie Spizzirri

Was the best experience ever the staff was great and it felt really cozy in that house