Guelph Civic Museum - Guelph, Ontario

Prehistoric T.

A charming museum that is situated inside a former Loretto Convent. It showcases the history of Guelph really nicely with charming displays and unique artifacts. Would strongly recommend visiting it when visiting Guelph for a look into the history of the city.

Amy P.

Great place for adults! I brought my early teen here, but she didn't really enjoy herself very much. The exhibits aren't very interactive. However, she did enjoy it when I gave her the highlights of what I read. Ideally, if you bring a teen here, you would have read though everything yourself first, and then bring your teen in and point out the interesting pieces. My daughter was also disappointed that there wasn't any science in the museum (except the kids' section).

They do have a cute kids' section for young children (8 and under would be the ages my kids would have enjoyed this section). The kids' section has some similarities to the old Ontario Science Center's KidSpark. It has a market with a grocery store that kids can put play food in their carts and drive around. Kids absolutely love that! They were running a camp in the children's section of the Guelph Civic Museum at the time we came, but it wasn't noisy for everyone else. Also, after paying for the tickets for this museum, they gave us 2 free passes to the McCrae House in Guelph!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Civic Museum! It tied together pieces of Guelph's history that I didn't understand before. For example, I had never realized that the OVC (which I saw many times listed at College Royal) was one of the 3 colleges that became the University of Guelph. I also found the information about the history of Victor Davis very interesting because there is a pool in Guelph that is named after that man. The Homewood's history is also represented. There is also an art room with interesting pieces.

Time: We spent around 1.5 hours there. However, I could easily have spent 2-3 hours there if I read everything, but my teen didn't want to stay that long.

Water bottle filling station: Yes.

Gift shop: Yes.

Food: None. However, there are 4 awesome bakeries nearby; check their hours first though! Killer Cupcakes' Money Cakes and her chocolate cupcakes are out of this world!! Decadently Yours makes some amazing Vanilla Latte cupcakes, and Wellington Cakes makes some incredible, freshly made pecan butter tarts!! Eric the Baker makes a delectable brownie!

Washrooms: Yes. Most floors had them.

EV charging station: Yes, there is one in the parking lot.

Parking: There is a small parking lot with free parking.

Wheelchair accessibility: Yes, there is a wheelchair accessible parking spot and elevators throughout the building.

Ben I.

This is a wonderful place to visit. It’s a beautiful old stone building with a glass extension as the entrance and an open stairway. Since it’s located on a hill, the view from the top floor of the glass part has an amazing view of the City of Guelph.

I love bringing my kids here to play in the family gallery. It’s so nice to have a fun place for them to play and learn about new things that it so inexpensive. They absolutely LOVE coming here.

I highly recommend visiting here if you have kids, or if you would just like to learn about the history of Guelph. It’s a lovely place and a gem right in the centre of Guelph.

YY P.

The area for families and children is really cool. I recommended this museum for families with little children.

Skair

Lovely place with all the Guelph history and stories you could possibly want. Well organized by floor. If you live in Guelph you should definitely visit. They have an amazing display related to COVID-19 including paintings, writing and a knitted tapestry which I found really cool.

There's also a kids-specific exhibit which is great.

Chiao H.

It’s my first time to visit Guelph. This museum introduces a very interesting history of Guelph town. It’s nice to bring kids there to get such useful knowledge. Also, there are some facilities for children to discover some fun there. Give it a chance to visit. 🙂

Arielle L.

If you’re into Guelph history, boy oh boy this is the place for you. The 3rd floor is the main part of the civic museum - lots of detail on how Guelph came to be over the last two centuries. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The second floor (which also connects to the third) is more of a playground, with a somewhat Guelph-centric flavour. Depending on when you visit, there are assorted arts and crafts available as part of exhibits. The second floor also has a “programming room” full of board games and toys of all kinds. There’s a bit of everything for each person in the family.

There’s a free unmanned coat check after you pass the admissions desk. Abundant parking.

Vivek J.

This heritage place is Guelph's biggest treasure for arts, diversity, culture and traditions. Incredible art collection's. Highly recommend visiting Guelph Civic Museum when you visit The City of Guelph.

Everyone at the museum friendly and welcoming. Museum staff really care about your experience.

Please do check Museum's official website or Instagram page for upcoming events!! Fourth Friday is on of my favorite event! 🎼🎤🎊🎉💐🍻🎭🎥👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇨🇦🎂🥳🙌🙌🎨🥁