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Notes -
Any recommendations for neat stuff around Toronto? We’re already going to see the falls.
The falls are neat but the surrounding area is a bit of a tourist trap. Niagara-on-the-lake is nearby and quite a bit nicer though, with lots of wineries and picturesque scenery. Stratford is also nearby.
If you're willing to travel a bit further Algonquin Park is about a 3 hour drive north. It's a beautiful national park with amazing fall colors this time of year. I'm sure there are decent closer options as well if you don't feel like driving that far.
Toronto itself doesn't have a lot to recommend it really. It's like a worse version of Chicago. The ROM is decent and they have some art galleries I guess? Given the choice I'd visit Montreal or Quebec City over Toronto, at least the French language and culture there is distinct and interesting.
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Disclaimer: I really did not like this city when I travelled here to see my SO, it was one of my least favourite cities I have ever been to, but YMMV. My grievances with the city may all be normal and expected in the North American context, so maybe it's a good idea to not use me as a barometer for your experience.
Go see the Old City Hall and distillery district if you're already downtown, they're nothing to shout about but are decent pieces of old architecture, in addition to this it may also be worth making the trip out to Casa Loma to see the
OG McMansion"Gothic Revival" architecture. CN Tower is interesting if you've never been in a tower before. Skip Centre Island in the middle of Lake Ontario (or Lake America depending on your nationality), it's extremely underwhelming, it's just a middlingly-sized meadowy island with hokey tourist infrastructure and virtually nothing going on; if you like nature I'm told the Scarborough bluffs are a decent choice though I did not have time to go there myself. Possibly the most interesting offbeat historical spot I can think of in the entire city of Toronto is actually the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, it was inspired by European and British garden cemeteries of the 19th century and features some stately mausoleums for important figures, including but not limited to Timothy Eaton, Hart Massey, William George Barker, etc. Oh and Glenn Gould is there.Also the Group of Seven paintings, housed in the Art Gallery of Ontario, are worth seeing if you like that kind of thing. They're nicer in real life than they look in photos.
EDIT: Royal Ontario Museum is also okay for a short trip, though frankly there’s nothing all too distinctive about its collection.
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