Laurier House (https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/laurier)

335 Laurier Avenue East, $4.50 Adult, $4.00 Senior, Free Under 17

1 May to 1 September, Daily, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Open Thursdays and Fridays for high tea in September.

This summer I went to Laurier House and toured the mansion before having high tea on the veranda.  The house itself is a beautiful building and an opportunity to see the house of two former prime ministers: Sir Wilfred Laurier (pm 1896-1911) and William Lyon Mackenzie King (pm 1921-30; 35-48).  Like a lot of the old mansions in Sandy Hill, it’s a Second Empire style building, and was interesting to see the prime ministers and their families lived 

The museum next door was something that would really only appeal to a die-hard Canadian history fan, so if this is you, I would suggest against bringing any casuals along for the trip.

The mansion itself was a thing of beauty.  I brought my wife who doesn’t care about politics or history but was impressed by the building. There’s an old elevator that isn’t running anymore, and furniture, wood paneling, and lighting that made me feel like I was in a movie. 

For myself, the most interesting was the third floor, which was the de facto cabinet room for much of the Second World War, and also where King held his seances. 

One hour is enough time to see the whole thing.

We then had high tea on the veranda (a whopping $68 per person, plus tip), but it was a fantastic experience, worth doing once.  Working Title Kitchen who caters the high tea from their restaurant across the street is a great bakery, but for that price, you might want to cross the street and have something there for a fraction of the cost.