Living Arts Centre, Mississauga, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

The Living Arts Centre is a performing and visual arts venue in the City Centre district of Mississauga, Ontario, right beside Mississauga Celebration Square and City Hall. It opened in 2006 and is home to Hammerson Hall, the main concert theatre, which makes it a focal point for the city's cultural life and a handy landmark for finding your way around downtown Mississauga.

The story behind it

Mississauga grew quickly from a collection of suburbs into one of Canada's largest cities, and for a long time it had no real downtown cultural venue. The Living Arts Centre was built to fill that gap, bringing theatre, music, exhibitions and classes together in the heart of City Centre. It opened in 2006 and sits within a few minutes' walk of Square One Shopping Centre and the civic buildings.

Its position beside Celebration Square means the building is part of a wider public space, where festivals, concerts and community events gather around the centre throughout the year.

What to look for

• The building's glass and stone exterior, which faces the open plaza of Celebration Square and is easiest to appreciate from across the square.
• The entrance area, where posters and signs show which concerts, shows and exhibitions are currently on in Hammerson Hall and the other spaces.
• The clock tower of Mississauga City Hall, just next door, which gives you a good reference point for how the civic buildings sit together.
• The Celebration Square plaza itself, which changes character with the season, from summer events to winter skating.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes if you only want to see the outside and the square; longer if you are attending a show or exhibition.
• Late afternoon and early evening are pleasant, when the glass front catches the light and the square is livelier.
• Entry to performances is by ticket, so check current opening hours and event listings before planning to go inside.
• Square One Shopping Centre, City Hall and Celebration Square are all close by, so it is easy to combine them in one walk.

See it on a quest

The Oz Escape in Mississauga brings you to the Living Arts Centre on foot as one stop on a longer route through the area. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Mississauga is a good fit if you like your sightseeing with a bit of suspense. You walk to the centre as part of a route through downtown, hear about the place on arrival and solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Mississauga Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society. also passes the Living Arts Centre. Start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join, and let the app lead you from stop to stop with a puzzle at each. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.