Royal Ontario Museum

On a busy corner uptown, a jagged burst of glass and aluminium erupts from the side of a stately old stone museum, as if a crystal had crashed into it. This is the Royal Ontario Museum, the largest museum in the country, where natural history and world cultures meet under one much-debated roof.

The museum was founded in the early twentieth century and grew into a vast collection spanning the natural world and human cultures across the globe, from dinosaurs and minerals to the art and artefacts of many civilisations.

Its most talked-about feature is the modern addition, a striking, angular structure of glass and metal grafted onto the original building in the 2000s by a famous architect. Bold and divisive, it splits opinion sharply, and you can judge it for yourself from the street.

Inside, the natural-history galleries are a favourite, with towering dinosaur skeletons, a hall of minerals and gems that glitter in the dark, and displays on the life and landscapes of the region and the wider world.

The world-culture galleries range across the globe and across time, with art and objects from ancient civilisations, Asia, the Americas, and beyond, including mummies and antiquities that draw steady crowds.

As with other great encyclopaedic museums, the collection is enormous, far more than can be seen in a day, so it works best if you choose a few areas, the dinosaurs, the gems, a particular culture, rather than trying to see it all.

The contrast between the old stone halls and the sharp modern crystal is part of the experience, and moving between the two, from grand traditional galleries to angular new spaces, is a small architectural journey in itself.

The museum sits among the university and the smart shops of the uptown district, so it pairs with a wander through that part of the city, and it makes an excellent refuge on a cold or wet day.

It is a major draw for families, with the dinosaurs and the hands-on areas holding children, and it runs activities and special exhibitions that change through the year, so there is often something new alongside the permanent halls.

The building's modern crystal is best seen from across the street, where its angular glass catches the light and the clash with the old facade is clearest, a favourite, if controversial, photograph of the city.

A few practical notes. Entry is ticketed, with timed admission at busy times and occasional free or discounted evenings; book ahead in peak periods. Choose your galleries before you go, and allow at least a couple of hours.

Stand before a towering dinosaur or a wall of glittering gems, then step out under the sharp glass crystal, and the museum's mix of the ancient and the boldly modern comes together. When you leave onto the busy corner, the crystal still juts overhead, unmistakable on the city's skyline of facades.