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St. Thomas | Ontario’s Southwest

Plan your spring getaway

Enjoy more sunny days and starry nights as temperatures rise in Ontario.

Spring is the season of sweet maple syrup, zesty new menus, vibrant hues of cherry blossoms, migrating birds, epic fly fishing and a lively lineup of music, film, theatre and family fun activities.

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Things to do in Ontario

Witness the 2024 solar eclipse in Niagara Falls and Southern Ontario

• Read more Witness the 2024 solar eclipse in Niagara Falls and Southern Ontario

Celebrate maple syrup season in Ontario

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Fly fishing lodges in Ontario

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Best Ontario tea rooms for afternoon tea or high tea

• Read more Best Ontario tea rooms for afternoon tea or high tea

Spring and summer film festivals in Ontario 2024

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Best bird watching and birding events in Ontario

• Read more Best bird watching and birding events in Ontario

Where to see cherry blossoms in Ontario this spring

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Best places for stargazing in Ontario

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What you need to know and trip planning support for your visit to Ontario.

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Trending destinations

Visit Ontario to find charming towns and dynamic cities.

The Blue Mountains

Prince Edward County

Niagara Falls

St. Jacobs and Elmira

Discover ontario’s regions.

Ontario is comprised of 15 regions, each with its own iconic experiences and off-the-beaten-path adventures.

Southwestern Ontario

Niagara Region

Hamilton, Halton and Brant

Huron, Perth, Waterloo and Wellington

Greater Toronto Area

York, Durham and Headwaters

Bruce, Grey and Simcoe

Kawarthas and Northumberland

Southeastern Ontario

Ottawa Region

Haliburton Highlands to the Ottawa Valley

Algonquin Park, Muskoka and Parry Sound

Northeastern Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma

Northwest Ontario

Last updated:  April 1, 2024

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19 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Ontario

Written by Lana Law Updated May 3, 2023 We may earn a commission from affiliate links ( )

Author Lana Law grew up in Northwestern Ontario and currently lives in Southern Ontario.

Ontario is home to the nation's largest city, Toronto, and the capital city of Ottawa, but it also encompasses vast expanses of wilderness and pristine lakes and contains one of Canada's most visited natural attractions, Niagara Falls. This huge province, about 15 times larger than the state of Texas, offers boundless opportunities for travel, adventure, and family fun.

During the hot summer months , people visit Ontario to see some of Canada's top museums and galleries; spend family time at the amusement parks; relax at lakeside resorts; paddle or fish in the lakes and rivers; camp in the parks; and see some of the country's most iconic landmarks, like the CN Tower.

In winter , while some venture outdoors to enjoy the ski hills, skating rinks, snowmobiling, and winter festivals, most turn their attention indoors to hockey games, shopping, dining, Broadway shows, and other cultural attractions.

From small towns to big cities, this province can deliver whatever you're looking for in a vacation. Plan your trip and discover the best places to visit with our list of top tourist attractions in Ontario.

1. Niagara Falls

2. toronto's cn tower, 3. parliament hill in ottawa, 4. ontario's provincial and national parks, 5. royal ontario museum (rom), 6. canada's wonderland, 7. national gallery of canada, 8. toronto international film festival (tiff), 9. art gallery of ontario, 10. thousand islands, 11. fishing in northern ontario, 12. trent-severn waterway national historic site of canada, 13. muskoka and cottage country, 14. fort william historical park, 15. lake of the woods, 16. blue mountain resort, 17. stratford festival, 18. sainte-marie among the hurons, 19. rideau canal national historic site, map of tourist attractions in ontario.

Niagara Falls is Canada's most internationally recognized attraction, visited by millions of tourists each year. While there are actually three sets of falls, the largest section, known as Horseshoe Falls , drops approximately 57 meters, creating a great wall of water that stretches between Niagara Falls, Canada , and Niagara Falls, USA . The falls are famous primarily for the large volume of water flowing over them, but combined with the huge drop, they are truly a magnificent sight.

The falls are located right in the city of Niagara Falls, making them easy to visit. It's possible to walk down the main tourist strip in Niagara Falls, an outrageous spectacle in itself, to the edge of the gorge, where you'll find great views all along the walkway overlooking the river and the falls. Day trip tours can be easily arranged from hotels or hostels in Toronto. By car, the trip from Toronto takes about 1.5 hours.

The CN Tower is one of Canada's most iconic structures, standing tall along the Toronto skyline. The 553-meter tower is lit up at night and can be seen from all over the city and surroundings at any time of day or night, but visitors will likely want to take a trip up the tower to fully experience it.

An elevator allows access to the observation deck and restaurant , located about three-quarters of the way to the top. The view is astounding, looking out over the city and Lake Ontario. On clear days, it's possible to see all the way to the plume of mist rising off Niagara Falls . In the evening, looking out over the sparkling city lights is also an impressive sight.

Thrill seekers will want to give the EdgeWalk a try. Strapped in, you'll step outside the SkyPod, and spend 30 minutes strolling around the tower, 166 stories above the ground. It's not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights but adrenaline junkies will be entirely in their element.

The tower is located in the heart of downtown Toronto, and at the base is the new Ripley's Aquarium and Rogers Centre , two of Toronto's top attractions .

Parliament Hill in the nation's capital is where most visitors begin their sightseeing in Ottawa . The buildings reside in a lovely setting on a rise above the Ottawa River. The Peace Tower is the most obvious and the most photographed structure, standing more than 90 meters high between the Senate and the House of Commons.

In front of the Parliament buildings is the Centennial Flame . During the summer, visitors can see the Changing of the Guard on the lawn in front of the Houses of Parliament, while those who are lucky enough to be visiting Ottawa on July 1 can enjoy some of the biggest Canada Day celebrations in the country.

Daily guided tours of the Parliament Buildings, including the Senate, House of Commons, and the East Block are available free of charge. Tickets are available same day, although it's strongly advised that you book well in advance online.

Ontario has many outstanding provincial and national parks that offer access to some of the most beautiful areas of the province. In these parks, you'll find Ontario's best lakes , where you can fish, swim, and go pleasure boating. If hitting the beach and laying in the sand is more your thing, the parks are also hot spots for Ontario's best beaches .

In Southern Ontario, just two hours from Toronto, Algonquin Provincial Park is one of the most popular parks and outdoor destinations, with an extensive network of hiking trails , and beautiful lakefront campgrounds . Further afield but equally beautiful, Killarney Provincial Park is another great area for hiking , canoeing, and camping .

On the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park offers its own attractions, and nearby but offshore, boaters and divers can find adventure exploring Georgian Bay Islands National Park and the Fathom Five National Marine Park .

You can also find history in some of the parks. The petroglyphs of Petroglyphs Provincial Park, just a short drive northeast of Peterborough, offer an easy and close-up look at an outstanding collection of 500 to 1,000-year-old Aboriginal rock carvings. Somewhat more difficult to access, but also impressive, are the pictographs that line the cliff walls on the shoreline of Lake Superior in Lake Superior Provincial Park .

Those who are looking for a truly remote experience will find invitingly pristine lakes and forests in Quetico Provincial Park in Northwestern Ontario. This is a popular area for backcountry canoe trips and fishing trips.

• Read More: Top-Rated Ontario Parks: Exploring Ontario's Great Outdoors

The Royal Ontario Museum in downtown Toronto is one of the premier museums in the province , featuring a broad range of collections, from natural history and science to cultural exhibits from around the world.

Commonly referred to as the ROM, this museum underwent an expansion in 2007, which saw the addition of a modern and unique extension known as the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal . The building is now a mix of old and new architecture with a striking appearance.

The Royal Ontario Museum is within walking distance of the fascinating Gardiner Museum and the tony shops of Bloor Avenue.

About 30 kilometers northwest of Toronto's city center is Canada's Wonderland , a huge theme park, which operates during the summer months . For local residents with kids, an annual visit to Canada's wonderland is one of the top things to do in summer. But, as Canada's premier amusement park, this attraction draws families from across the country.

Roller coasters and thrill rides for children of all ages, as well as a water park, dinosaur park, and live shows, are just some of the attractions. Canada's Wonderland is planning on opening two new rides in 2023: the Tundra Twister and Snoopy's Racing Railway .

Visiting Wonderland is an easy day trip from Toronto .

The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa houses some of the country's most important collections. It contains a particularly strong selection of works by Canadian artists , from the Group of Seven to Emily Carr and many other famous names. The gallery also displays important pieces by well-known international artists.

The National Gallery building is housed in an ultra-modern architectural masterpiece designed by Moshe Safdie.

After you visit this fascinating museum, continue your museum tour by heading across the bridge to the Canadian Museum of History , or stroll over to the wonderful ByWard Market for a bite.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is the most famous event on Ontario's calendar, attracting some of the biggest movie stars across North America. This 10-day festival, held in early September in Toronto, is one of the best-attended film festivals in the world , with almost a half million visitors annually.

Tourists and locals descend on the city to watch a film or catch a glimpse of some of their favorite actors, and the city is a buzz of activity. At this time of year, the weather is still hot, and evenings are pleasant. The streets are full of people, restaurants are booked well in advance, and outdoor patios in the city are crowded until late at night. If you are visiting Toronto at this time of year, make sure you book your hotel and restaurants well in advance.

In downtown Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of Canada's most prestigious art galleries. It hosts a particularly impressive collection of Canadian paintings with a focus on artists from Ontario and Toronto. It also holds Canada's largest collection of African and Oceanic Art displayed in a museum.

Other highlights include paintings and sculptures by European masters and Modern and Contemporary collections from North America and Europe. Temporary exhibitions are held throughout the year, check the AGO's website for the most current list.

Spread over an 80-kilometer stretch of the St. Lawrence River is a scenic natural area known as the Thousand Islands. The islands are on a granite shelf extending from the Canadian Shield to the Adirondack Mountains in the United States, with the US-Canada boundary actually running between the islands. It is one of the oldest and best-known holiday areas in Ontario , popular with cottagers, boaters, and those looking to get away from the cities of Southern Ontario during the hot summer months.

One of the most popular things to do in this area is a Thousand Islands Sunset Dinner Cruise through the maze of islands. Cruises run from mid-April to mid-October.

Gananoque is the principal resort town in the area and the main gateway to the Thousand Islands.

Northern Ontario is one of the best places in Canada for fishing. Walleye, pickerel, bass, northern pike, and muskies are some of the most sought-after catches, and people from all over North America come here to try their luck. And you don't have to be all that lucky if you know where to go.

Fishing lodges in Ontario range from luxury resorts to rustic cottages, but most offer everything you need to make your trip a success, including boats, guides, meals, and cabins. The best fishing is often found on remote northern lakes , and accessed by small float planes. Resorts either offer fly-in packages or, in some cases, boat pickup. You can also find a number of good drive-to resorts.

The historic Trent-Severn Canal, built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, is a system of waterways linking Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay on Lake Huron . The canal winds its way through a series of rivers and lakes, such as the Trent River and Lake Simcoe, in the east of Ontario. The changing levels are met with more than 40 locks, including the world's highest hoist , built in 1905 at Peterborough, covering a height of 20 meters.

In the past, the canal was mainly used for carrying grain and timber, but today, the Trent-Severn Waterway is a part of Parks Canada and is officially called the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site of Canada . It is used largely for tourism and recreational boaters. At some of the locks, there are camping facilities and grassy areas for picnics.

A great way to experience the Trent-Severn Waterway is on a Kawartha Voyageur Cruise. These multiday cruises allow you to see the sights and the locks at a leisurely pace, by basking on the sundeck or stopping at various ports,

One of Ontario's most famous summer hot spots is an area known as Cottage Country or Muskoka. Located north of Toronto, this region is centered around Lake Muskoka and a number of other popular lakes in the area.

Although you can find areas of equal beauty all over Ontario, this region's proximity to the city, just two to three hours from Toronto, has made it extremely popular. The lakes are surrounded by high-end cottages and summer homes of Torontonians. On weekends, the highways to Cottage Country are clogged with traffic as people flee the heat of the city, to relax around the lakes.

This is also a fun area to visit, with many people renting cottages here or staying at luxury resorts. There are a number of small communities in Cottage Country, although the primary town is Gravenhurst , located on the shores of Lake Muskoka. From here, visitors can hop on historical steamships for a short cruise and tour of the lake.

Fort William Historical Park is the reconstruction of the inland headquarters operated by the Northwest Company of the Canadian fur trade from 1803 to 1821. Situated on the banks of the Kaministiquia River in south Thunder Bay , the Fort comprises 57 buildings on 250 acres.

Each summer, fur traders, voyageurs, and first nations people would converge upon the Fort for the annual "rendezvous," which saw the transfer of tons of furs coming in from western posts with trade goods coming from Montreal, all conveyed by birch bark canoes within one season. This system enabled the Nor'Westers to emerge as a dominant force in the fur trade.

The Fort offers a fascinating looking at fur trade life, touching upon themes from furs and food to muskets and medicine, and highlighting a cultural mosaic of Scottish fur traders, French Canadian voyageurs, farmers and artisans, and aboriginals and Métis.

The park is not all about the fur trade, though. On the same grounds is the David Thompson Astronomical Observatory (DTAO) . The observatory is home to one of Canada's largest public telescopes.

To discover Ontario's remote wilderness landscapes, one of the best places to visit is Lake of the Woods and the surrounding areas. This huge body of water lies on the lightly populated provincial borders of Manitoba and Ontario and also dips into the state of Minnesota . This beautiful lake provides an incredibly scenic setting and pristine wilderness experience for those interested in venturing into the backcountry.

Many people have cottages on Lake of the Woods, but its distance from major cities and the size of the lake mean cottages are few and far between. It is also a prime destination for tourists who come to Canada to go on fishing trips .

Lake of the Woods provides excellent opportunities for boating, fishing, and simply escaping into the Canadian wilderness . Islands fringe the heavily indented Canadian north shore, while the south shore is flat, sandy, and marshy in places. Beginning in 1688, the lake provided trappers and voyageurs with a passage westwards.

The main town on Lake of the Woods is Kenora , Ontario. This is where you can find lodging, plan charter flights, hire fishing guides, and get supplies.

Blue Mountain Resort , just outside the town of Collingwood , on the shores of Georgian Bay, is one of the most popular ski resorts in Ontario. Blue Mountain Village, at the base of the hill, features fine-dining restaurants, top-end shops, and first-class accommodations. The hill itself is family oriented and extremely popular with Torontonians.

The resort is open year-round and almost as busy in summer as it is in winter, with activities that range from rock climbing and ziplining to mountain biking and hiking.

William Shakespeare would be proud of the fine folks who live in Stratford who, each summer, put on an incredible internationally renowned summer festival celebrating his works. Stratford is just 60 kilometers northeast of London , Ontario, and draws particularly large crowds from the Toronto area.

The 2,250-seat Festival Theatre has been staging plays between May and October since 1953, with pride of place going to Shakespeare. There are now four theater venues, and plays by other famous writers, along with up-and-coming playwrights, are also presented. Most seasons, at least 12 productions are performed at the Stratford Festival .

The reconstruction of the mission station of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is about five kilometers east of Midland on the Wye River. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1639 and served as a mainstay for 10 years for Europeans in "Wendat," the land of the Huron. As time went by, there was constant conflict with the Hurons, who were also decimated by diseases imported by the Europeans. In 1649, the Jesuits abandoned their settlement and returned to Québec.

The mission was reconstructed in the 1960s and was later designated a national monument. Today, it's open to visitors daily from May to October, and provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the history of the station and pioneer life in Canada.

Nearby and also worth visiting for more period history is Discovery Harbour. Here, you'll see two restored sailing ships: The H.M.S. Bee and the H.M.S. Tecumseth . In addition to the ships, historical maritime homes can be toured. These include the Sailor's Barracks, the Commander's Home, the Assistant Surgeon's House, the Surveyor's Home, the Keating House, and the Officer's Quarters.

One of Canada's most famous man-made waterways, the Rideau Canal is a must-see when visiting Ottawa. This UNESCO World Heritage Site dates from the early 19th century and has been meticulously maintained over the years and appears much as it did when it was first built.

Stroll along the pathways on either side and watch the boats pass through the locks. A popular thing to do in Ottawa is to take a Rideau Canal cruise . This 90-minute tour takes place on a 100 percent electric-powered passenger vessel and passes all the city's top sights, including the Château Laurier , National Arts Centre , and the Canadian Museum of Nature .

If you find yourself in Ottawa in the winter, be sure to rent some skates and try out the world's largest skating rink. Each winter, in January, the Rideau Canal is transformed into a 7.8-kilometer-long skating route. Along the way are warming huts and food vendors selling the iconic (and super tasty!) Beavertails.

More Related Articles on PlanetWare.com

Canada Adventures: Make Ontario part of your larger trip through Canada. For ideas on how to incorporate Ontario into your plans, see our Canadian itineraries . Another great resource is our list of best places to visit in Canada , which gives a good overview of cities and destinations across the country.

More on Canada

Ontario Tourism Information

Why visit ontario.

A third of Canada’s population lives in Ontario , and the city of Toronto — the country’s largest — contains most of Canada’s world-class attractions, entertainment, and shopping. The national capital of Ottawa is home to many interesting sights involving Canadian history and government , while the more rural “ cottage country ” regions are where locals go to enjoy the great outdoors.

Orientation

Northern Ontario is largely uninhabited, and most of the province’s major population centers, including Toronto , are located in the southeastern corner, around the massive Lake Ontario . Despite the name, so-called  Central Ontario  — the scenic, nature-filled region — can be found by driving only a few hours in any direction outside greater Toronto. Ottawa is about a four hour drive northeast of Toronto, and sits on Ontario’s border with Quebec .

A view of the Toronto skyline from the Toronto Islands. Andy.M/Shutterstock

In the centre of downtown is Toronto's enormous city hall, surrounded by a large open plaza known as Nathan Phillips Square . Named after a former mayor, it's a popular gathering place for concerts, festivals, and protests.

Toronto Tourism

Canada’s largest city.

Toronto is a sprawling city bordered on the south by the coast of Lake Ontario , with the downtown core located in a wide column of neighborhoods that extend perpendicular from Bloor Street in the north all the way to the coast of the lake (the Waterfront ). Downtown Toronto is divided into dozens of distinctive neighborhoods, many of which are defined by their strong ethnic identities, such as Little Italy , Greek Town ,  Little Portugal , and Chinatown . Toronto’s answer to New York’s Times Square is Yonge and Dundas Square , a famously busy downtown intersection awash in garish billboard advertisements and flashing signs.

Canada’s largest building, the CN Tower , looms over Toronto and is one of the country’s busiest tourist attractions. For $35 you can go to the top and check out the city below from various lookout points or dine at an exceedingly expensive restaurant. In recent years, an insane new feature called the “ Edgewalk ” has been added, allowing thrill-seekers to literally walk along the outside edge of the tower while attached to a safety harness.

The far east end of the greater downtown area is bordered by the sprawling High Park , which contains the sort of amenities one generally expects from a large city park, including walking trails and sports fields. Much of the city’s other attractive parklands are located outside the city altogether, on the so-called Toronto Islands which sit in Lake Ontario and can be accessed by car tunnel or passenger ferry. The larger islands are all tightly packed together and connected by small bridges. Along with ample green space, they’re home to a children’s amusement park, restaurants, and some small beaches popular in the summer.

The Toronto Zoo is the fifth largest on earth, with an incredible assortment of exotic animals from every continent, including two Canadian-born pandas. It is about a 45 minute drive from downtown.

• Official Website, Tourism Toronto
• 10 Top Tourist Attractions in Toronto, Touropia

The Royal Ontario museum was expanded in 2007 with a distinctive metallic annex, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind (b. 1946).

Museums and Galleries

Housed in two equally imposing buildings, Toronto has two major museums, the Art Gallery of Ontario ( AGO ) and the Royal Ontario Museum ( ROM ). The AGO, as the name suggests, is a gallery of art — mostly paintings — spanning a diverse array of styles, eras, and nationalities, including a large assortment of Canadian art. The ROM is a more generalized museum with exhibits on art, history, geography, nature, animals, dinosaurs, and more. Both feature touring special exhibits from other countries.

The official museum of the National Hockey League, the Hockey Hall of Fame ,   is a colorful, modern museum focused on professional hockey greats past and present, with showcases of artifacts and many interactive, computer-based activities for kids. For an additional $10 you can get your photograph taken with the Stanley Cup .

The Ontario parliament buildings are located in the middle of a green area in the northern part of downtown known as Queen’s Park . Given how much Canadian history revolves around Ontario, the provincial parliament doubles as a thorough museum of Canada’s political past.

Eaton Centre mall in downtown Toronto. Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Toronto has many malls, but the grandest is the enormous Eaton Centre , located on Yonge Street — the centre of downtown shopping. Higher end stores can be found many blocks north, in the elite Bloor Yorkville neighborhood. The long Queen Street is home to trendy and unique boutique-style stores. An even bigger, grander mall, the Yorkdale Shopping Centre , is about a 30 minute drive from downtown. It also has its own subway stop.

Kensington Market is an eccentric and bohemian downtown shopping district full of quirky independent stores and restaurants. Way on the other end of town is the indoor St. Lawerence Market , a historic marketplace with dozens of artisanal vendors selling fresh goods like meat, fish, cheeses, baked goods, candy, and more.

Benedict Cumberbatch (b. 1976) signs autographs at the 2013 TIFF .

Toronto has an entire neighborhood south of Richmond Street West known as the Entertainment District that’s home to an assortment of popular bars and nightclubs. Toronto’s large gay scene makes its home in an area around northern Church Street known as Church-Wellesley Village .

The Canadian National Exhibition , better known as the CNE or simply “ the Ex ,” is a large outdoor fair that’s been hosted by Toronto every year since 1879. Held during the final three weeks of summer, the CNE features rides, animal shows, shopping pavilions, live music, and plenty of things to eat.

Toronto Pride is one of the biggest LGBT celebrations anywhere on earth. It now consumes the entire month of July, though most of the partying still revolves around the massive Pride Parade held on the month’s first weekend.

The Toronto International Film Festival takes over the city every fall. Many Hollywood blockbusters make their debut here, along with numerous indie films. Movies are shown all over the city, though the ease of getting tickets will greatly vary. Directors and actors often show up for post-movie Q and A sessions.

Spectator Sports

Toronto is home to Canada’s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors , who play in the Air Canada Centre , as well as the country’s only MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays , who play in Rogers Centre   (formerly known as the SkyDome ).

Toronto’s long-suffering NHL team, the infamous Toronto Maple Leafs , play in the Air Canada Centre when the Raptors don’t.

The Rogers Centre arena during a Blue Jays game. Stephen Staley

Relaxing Adirondack chairs are a common symbol of Ontario cottage country, seen here on the shore of Lake of Two Rivers in the Haliburton Highlands .

Ontario Tourism Outside Toronto

Located in the city of  Vaughan ,   Canada’s Wonderland is the biggest amusement park in Canada with giant roller coasters, a water slide park, acrobat shows, and more. Fun for the whole family!

Canada’s most famous tourist attraction of all, the epic waterfalls of Niagara Falls are located about 90 minutes from downtown Toronto along the bank of the Niagara River , which also serves as a US-Canadian border. The two falls, Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls , can be viewed up close by special boat tours, while the area around them, known as Clifton Hill , has grown into a sprawling, Las Vegas-like tourist trap complete with casinos, arcades, wax museums, a ferris wheel, haunted houses, buffets and bars galore. A short drive from the falls is Marineland , an aquarium park famous for its whales, dolphins, and seals. The greater Niagara Falls area is home to Ontario’s wine country , with ample vineyards for tours and tastings.

During the summer months, Ontarians love to run away to their so-called “ cottage country ,” the term for the south-central, wooded region of the province where many families rent a second home. The most popular area is the city of  Muskoka , located on the coast of Lake Huron’s   Georgian Bay , though the  Haliburton Highlands , near the Quebec border, and the Kawarthas  region, on the eastern coast of Lake Ontario are hot spots as well.

Parliament Hill

Parliament's Peace Tower is illuminated as part of festivities to commemorate Canada's 150th birthday. On important dates, colorful lights and projections transform Parliament into the centerpiece of a dramatic light show.

Ottawa Tourism

The capital city of Canada.

Ottawa sits on the bank of the Ottawa River , which functions as a border between Ontario and  Quebec . Many of the city’s most famous sights are clustered around the coast, and the city on the Quebec side, Gatineau (previously known as, and still often called, Hull ) — which is easily reached by multiple bridges — is considered part of “Greater Ottawa.” The Rideau Canal and the larger Rideau River both flow from the Ottawa River and cut through the eastern part of the city. In the winter, the frozen Canal is popular for skating.

Ottawa’s skyline is dominated by Parliament Hill , and the grand, gothic Parliament Buildings that serve as the seat of Canada’s  government . The enormous Peace Tower clock rises from the middle of a building known as Centre Block , which contains the chambers of the House of Commons and Senate , as well as the offices of many senior politicians. Unfortunately, the entire Centre Block is currently under renovation and cannot be visited by the public until at least 2029. Temporary chambers of parliament have been set up in adjacent office buildings to the east and west of Centre Block, known as East Block and West Block , respectively. These buildings, which also feature historic recreations of offices of famous figures from Canadian history can be visited by the public.

• Visit Canada’s Parliament

Downtown Ottawa contains numerous monuments of significance, chiefly the massive National War Memorial arch, which commemorates Canada’s war dead, and the new National Holocaust Monument , which honours those murdered by Germany’s Nazi regime (1933-1945). Smaller monuments include the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights and the National Peacekeeping Monument , which honour Canada’s commitment to peace.

• Official website, Tourism Ottawa
• Top 10 Things to Do in Ottawa, TripAdvisor

A Chief Wakas Totem Pole in the Canadian Museum of History .

Most of Canada’s greatest museums are located in Ottawa, and for anyone interested in learning more about Canadian art, history, science, and culture the city offers an endless bounty. Leading attractions include the Canadian Museum of History , the Canadian War Museum , the National Gallery of Canada , the Canadian Museum of Nature , the Canada Science and Technology Museum , the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum , and the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum . All are large, well-funded and contain some of Canada’s top artifacts and exhibits.

Many major institutions of the Canadian federal government also offer tours and museum-like exhibitions, including the Supreme Court of Canada , the Bank of Canada , the Royal Canadian Mint , and Rideau Hall (the official residence of Canada’s Governor General ).

Inside the halls of the Byward Covered Market .

Ottawa’s most iconic shopping area is the  ByWard Market , a collection of open-air vendors selling fresh produce, meats, baked goods and more, surrounded by various shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Despite the name, the Sparks Street Mall is actually another outdoor shopping district, known for its independent shops and lively street performers. The city’s biggest actual mall is the Rideau Centre , with over 160 stores.

As the nation’s capital, Ottawa is home to the country’s grandest celebrations of Canada’s patriotic holidays . Canada Day festivities consume the city every July 1, with outdoor concerts, food carts, and fireworks. Remembrance Day on November 11 is a massive event of a decidedly different tone, as enormous crowds gather around the National War Memorial to watch the prime minister, governor general, and other important people lay wreaths and give speeches in honour of Canada’s war dead.

Winterlude , which is held the first three weekends of February, brings some cheer to Ottawa’s notoriously grim winters. The area around the frozen Rideau Canal is transformed into a sprawl of ice sports, ice sculptures, and children’s playgrounds.

In May, the city is enveloped by the Canadian Tulip Festival , another family-friendly celebration featuring live music, cultural pavilions, and fireworks, held amid vast gardens of tulips that spring up all over the city.

Ottawa has an NHL team called the Ottawa Senators who play at the Canadian Tire Centre . The city’s CFL team, is the Ottawa Redblacks (previously called the Rough Riders ) who play at TD Place .

An ice sculpture at Winterlude 2014. Vlad G./Shutterstock

Ontario tourism resources.

• Official Ontario Tourism Website
• Ontario, Lonely Planet
• Ontario Travel Guide, Fodor's

• Weekend Getaways
• Romantic Trips
• Last Minute

25 Best Places to Visit in Ontario, Canada

Last Updated By VacationIdea Staff on March 15, 2024

The capital of Canada, Ottawa is located in southeast Ontario, near the U.S. border and neighboring city of Montreal. Situated along the shimmering Ottawa River, the city boasts marvelous Victorian architecture and world-renowned museums that include the National Gallery of Canada. During the summer, the park-lined Rideau Canal is overflowing with boats; during the winter however, visitors will find plenty of ice-skaters taking advantage of the frozen conditions. One of Ottawa’s top attractions is its legislature complex, better known as Parliament Hill. Located on Crown land, The Hill is a magnificent display of Gothic revival architecture. From Winterlude to the Canadian Tulip Festival to Canada Day, Ottawa is a vibrant city with much to celebrate.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is a regional municipality of Southeastern Ontario, Canada. The city serves as a central port along the Niagara River, opposite its United States counterpart, New York. The city also overlooks the Horseshoe, sometimes referred to as the Canadian Falls; a crescent-shaped cataract measuring 177 feet in height. This portion of the falls carries approximately nine times the amount of water that the United States side does. The two countries are connected by several bridges that include the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, and the Rainbow Bridge. Niagara Falls offers a myriad of fascinating attractions, such as Queen Victoria Park, the Skylon Tower, and Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.

Hamilton is an industrialized port city located along the west end of Lake Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It boasts impressive dramatic architecture, gorgeous parks, and several magnificent historical sites. This includes the Royal Botanical Gardens, the HMCS Haida National Historic Site, Dunduen Castle and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Popular attractions include the African Lion Safari Park, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and the Cathedral of Christ the King. It is home to several also home charming and vibrant neighborhoods as well as several natural areas such as Sam Lawrence Park, Bayfront Park, and Webster’s Falls.

Kingston is a small city located halfway between Montreal and Toronto, situated along the stunning shores of Lake Ontario. Established in 1673, this charming, old city originally served as a French trading post. Today, it is known for its rich history and culture and acts as the gateway to the UNESCO-designated Rideau Canal and the legendary 1000 Islands. Often referred to as the Limestone City, downtown Kingston is home to several of its extraordinary limestone historic buildings such as Hendry House, Westbourne Terrace, and Parkview House. The city also features several art galleries, museums, and historical sites like Fort Henry, used during the War of 1812.

Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is a waterfront city situated along one of North America’s Great Lakes – Lake Superior, in the northwestern region of Ontario, Canada. Thunder Bay offers an exciting variety of active and urban lifestyles. The city is set against a marvelous backdrop of lush boreal forest, pristine rivers and lakes, the rugged Canadian Shield, and countless trail systems. Visitors will enjoy breathtakingly serene surroundings with opportunities for outdoor recreation at every turn. Some of the fun and exciting activities to enjoy around Thunder Bay include fishing, hiking, mountain-biking, boating, jet-skiing, and horseback riding. The Terry Fox Monument, Fort Williams Historical Park, and Hillcrest Park, are just a few of the city’s top attractions for visitors to explore.

Burlington is situated between Niagara Falls and Toronto along the edge of Lake Ontario. A magnificent city that often gets overlooked, Burlington boasts an exquisite gastronomy, gorgeous gardens, a thriving art scene, historic architecture, and several famed natural areas. The latter includes the Niagara Encarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the Mount Nemo Conservation Area, and Spencer Smith Park. It is home to several unique attractions including the Brant Street Pier, a nearly 450-foot, S-shaped pier extending out over Lake Ontario and the legendary Discovery Landing, a 14,200-square-foot landmark building. It boasts an observatory outfitted with grand, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the picturesque Royal Centennial Pond.

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Georgian Bay

Often considered the sixth Great Lake, Georgian Bay boasts 1,242 miles of gorgeous shoreline and is home to over 30,000 islands. The area consists of majestic towering cliffs, windswept pines, and endless beaches with crystal clear blue waters creating a serene beauty. It is a freshwater playground for anglers, boaters, and kayakers during the summer and a white wonderland for snowshoers, snowmobilers, and skiers in the winter. Georgian Bay’s 30,000 islands and 32 historic lighthouses makes up the biggest freshest archipelago in the world as well as Georgian Bay Islands National Park. This area can be explore by canoe using a local outfitter such as White Squall.

Greater Sudbury

Greater Sudbury is located in the heart of Northeast Ontario. Known as the city of lakes, its home to 330 lakes including its largest, Lake Wanapitei. As the largest municipality in the providence, Greater Sudbury offers urban comforts, world-renowned attractions, and natural areas. The latter includes Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, Fairbank Provincial Park, Wanapitei Provincial Park, Fielding Bird Sanctuary, and Kivi Park. These Parks are popular for a wide variety of outdoor recreation adventures like hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, camping, bird-watching, swimming, and boating. Several interactive museums can be found throughout the city such as science museums Science North and Dynamic Earth and history museums Anderson Farm Museum and the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum.

Algonquin Provincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park consists of nearly 3,000 square miles situated between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay in Ontario. Its home to rocky ridges, maple hills, thousands of lakes, and over 750 miles of rivers and streams as well as various plant and wildlife like wolves, moose, deer, and beaver. The park provides visitors with an array of outdoor activities year-round including camping, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and day hiking. There are 19 interpretive trails throughout the park ranging in length and difficulty from 0.62 to 7.21 miles. Each trail is equipped with a trail guide and is designed to introduce visitors to a particular aspect of Algonquin’s history of ecology.

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Located on a section of UNESCO’s Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve, Bruce Peninsula National Park boasts 97 square miles of beautiful and varied landscape. Dramatic cliff sides dotted with ancient cedar trees jut out above the magnificent turquoise waters of Georgian Bay. The park is home to large expanses of mixed-wood forests, clear-water lakes, diverse wetlands, limestone coasts, and vibrant orchids. It is the traditional home for the people of the Saugeen Ojibway First Nations, and serves as a protected preserve for over 200 species of birds, amphibians, mammals both large and small and a few rare reptiles. The park is a captivating outdoor playground providing year-round activities including hiking, scrambling, swimming, camping, and cross-country skiing.

Lake Erie is one part of the five Great Lakes located in North America. It is nestled along the International Boundary between the United States and Canada with its northern shore occupying the Canadian province of Ontario. The lake is believed to have anywhere from 1,400 to 8,000 shipwrecks making a popular destination for divers. However, there are only 270 confirmed shipwreck locations to date. Several public parks surround the lake including UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve, Long Point Provincial Park and Sand Hill Park. Lake Erie is also home to several diverse islands. The popular, Pelee Island boasts a unique and dynamic ecosystem with rare plant and wildlife, it’s reachable via a ferry from Leamington, Ontario.

Lake Ontario

Bounded by New York on the south and Ontario on the north, Lake Ontario is the most easterly and smallest of the Great Lakes. Many of Ontario’s most popular cities are located along the lakes northern and western shores, this includes Hamilton and its capital city Toronto. It is the home of several islands, the Toronto islands as well as islands, Wolfe, Association, Amherst, Simcoe, Waupoos, Big, and Garden situated in Ontario. Several lighthouses are scattered along its shores such as Gibraltar Point and Presqu’ile. The lake features over 100 beaches and houses the second oldest shipwreck of the Great Lakes.

London is located in southwestern Ontario just a two-hour drive away from Niagara Falls and Toronto as well as the United Stated border at Michigan and New York. It is surrounded by the largest freshwater lakes in the world and is known as the Forest City with more than 200 parks. It is home to Budweiser Gardens, a premier sports entertainment center, The Grand Theatre, Canada’s oldest professional theatre, Museum London, and The London Children’s Museum. The city features a thriving arts scene, charming famers markets, and a vibrant nightlife. It is also known for its rich historic roots, impressive architecture, and diverse culture including 175 churches, cathedrals, temples, synagogues, and mosques.

Mississauga

The sixth largest city in Canada, Mississauga is a corporate capital and home to the largest airport in the country, Toronto Pearson International servicing 32 million passengers a day. Ranked as the safest city in the nation for eight years straight, Mississauga is home to several family-oriented attractions and activities with an emphasis on the arts, outdoor recreation, history, and sports. The city features over 480 parks and more than 20 primary trail systems including a waterfront trail that runs from the Quebec border to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Visitors can also explore several of Mississauga’s charming historic villages like Port Credit situated along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

A regional municipality of Central Ontario, Canada, Muskoka has a variety of fun things for visitors to see and do year-round. Muskoka has several pristine, shimmering lakes that are ideal for a day of boating and water recreation; visitors will be able to enjoy fishing, tubing, wakeboarding, and waterskiing. The lakes are also perfect for boat tours and dinner cruises, paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. The area’s beautiful, natural surroundings can be explored by ATVs, mountain bike trails, zip line, aerial parks, and picturesque hiking trails. Santa’s Village Family Entertainment Park has been one of Muskoka’s top attractions for more than 60 years now, and is a must visit when in the province of Ontario.

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake is a charming waterfront town situated in the southern part of Ontario, Canada, along Lake Ontario’s picturesque shores. The small town is known for its summer Shaw Festival and award-winning wineries. The tree-lined, flower-filled old town features several 19th-century buildings, many of them located along Queen Street. Visitors will find several points of interest to explore around town, including the Fort George National Historic Site of Canada, Queenston Heights Park, and the McFarland House. Lake Ontario is the perfect playground for boating, jet-skiing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, fishing, paddle-boarding, canoeing, kayaking, and so much more. The town’s visitors will be just a short 15-minute drive from one of Canada’s biggest attractions, Horseshoe Falls – Niagara Falls.

Peterborough

The perfect city for outdoor enthusiasts, Peterborough is situated along the beautiful Otonabee River in Central Ontario, Canada. The river offers an idyllic setting for enjoying water activities such as jet-skiing, boating, fishing, waterskiing, paddle-boarding, wakeboarding, swimming, and tubing. Apart from river activities, visitors can partake in a variety of outdoor adventures that include spelunking through glacier formed caves, hiking the area’s picturesque trails, or golfing at one of the city’s championship courses. Peterborough has many attractions and points of interest to explore, including Petroglyphs Provincial Park, the Peterborough Lift Lock, Riverview Park and Zoo, and Canadian Canoe Museum. Visitors will appreciate the city’s plentiful wilderness areas, sparkling waters, and lush forests.

Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie is city situated along St. Marys River, Lake Superior, and the United States border in Ontario, Canada. The city is famous for its 19th-century Sault Ste. Marie Canal – a National Historic Site that’s also part of the country’s national park system. The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre has a vast collection of flight simulators and aircraft for visitors to explore. Some of the city’s other attractions include the Art Gallery of Algoma, the Sault Ste. Marie Museum, Hiawatha Highlands, and Kinsmen Park. Sault Ste. Marie is perfect for outdoor recreation all year-round, including hiking, kayaking, ice climbing, mountain biking, zip-lining, and rock climbing.

The Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains is a small, charming town situated along the shimmering Nottawasaga Bay in Ontario, Canada. From families to groups of friends to couples seeking a romantic getaway, this little town has the perfect activity or adventure for everyone. Thrill-seekers will appreciate the town’s bike park and rugged mountain-biking trails during the summer, and freshly powdered ski slopes in the winter. The bay offers up plenty of opportunity for fun water activities, such as sailing tours, boating, fishing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and jet-skiing. Visitors will enjoy unique shopping experiences, sensational waterfront dining, world-class attractions, and breathtaking scenery around every corner.

Thousand Islands

Thousand Islands is a North American Archipelago, or group of islands, located in the St. Lawrence River near Ontario, Canada. Comprised of over 1,800 unique islands, Thousand Islands offers plenty of opportunity for outdoor recreation, and provides an idyllic setting for a peaceful vacation. Located along the United States and Canada borders, the region features rich history, unique culture, and endless, picturesque shorelines. Visitors will have several fun and interesting activities to choose from, including guided boat tours, fishing tours, wakeboarding, and jet-skiing. Visitors will have the chance to explore some of the region’s more popular attractions, like the Kingston Waterfront, Brockville Railway Tunnel, and Fort Henry National Historic Site.

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Tobermory is a charming harbor village located on the Bruce Peninsula of Canada’s Ontario province. The land around Tobermory is renowned for its marvelous natural setting, truly a photographer’s paradise. The region features miles of lush forest with tall cedars and pines, majestic cliffs, and beautiful turquoise waters. Tobermory proudly serves as the home to North America’s greatest concentration of native orchid flowers. Visitors hiking along the area’s magnificent trail system may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a gorgeous Showy Lady’s Slipper Orchid, or rare Calypso Orchid. The village is situated near Fathom Five National Marine Park, the site of 19th-century lighthouses, the Flowerpot Island sea stacks, and a number of shipwreck dive sites.

Wasaga Beach

Recognized as one of Ontario, Canada’s, premier tourist destinations, Wasaga Beach is a 14-kilometer beach that stretches along the shimmering Nottawasaga Bay. Visitors will enjoy a pristine, white sand beach, clean warm waters, and breathtaking, panoramic mountain views. Wasaga Beach offers a tremendous variety of excellent restaurant and accommodation options. One of the area’s best kept secrets is the recreation trail system. The picturesque trails are perfect for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, mountain-biking, and hiking. Wasaga Beach also provides plenty of opportunity for exciting water activities, such as boating, jet-skiing, fishing, tubing, wakeboarding, kayaking, and waterskiing. Thrill seekers can go skydiving over the beach, giving them the chance to admire its beauty from a one-of-a-kind perspective.

An International Gateway between the United States of America and Canada, Windsor is a city in Ontario that offers fascinating cultural and historical landmarks, unparalleled waterfront gardens and parks, and world-class entertainment. Visitors will enjoy a city that is committed to being one of the most vibrant and creative destinations, where artistic expression is encouraged, and cultural diversity is celebrated. Whether visitors are interested in artistic and intellectual experiences, or some of the best recreational and heritage sites around, the city has it all. Some top attractions include Windsor Sculpture Park, the Art Gallery of Windsor, and the Chimczuk Museum.

• 2. Niagara Falls
• 3. Hamilton
• 4. Kingston
• 5. Thunder Bay
• 6. Burlington
• 7. Casa Loma
• 8. Georgian Bay
• 9. Greater Sudbury
• 10. Algonquin Provincial Park
• 11. Bruce Peninsula National Park
• 12. Lake Erie
• 13. Lake Ontario
• 15. Mississauga
• 16. Muskoka
• 17. Niagara-on-the-Lake
• 18. Peterborough
• 19. Sault Ste. Marie
• 20. The Blue Mountains
• 21. Thousand Islands
• 22. Toronto
• 23. Tobermory
• 24. Wasaga Beach
• 25. Windsor

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Big buildings, big festivals and big adventure fill one of Canada’s biggest provinces. No wonder so many people come to visit. 

Niagara Falls

You might think that if you've seen Niagara Falls External Link Title once, you've seen it all. But the sound of the water as you approach it, the mist you feel on your face as you look up 165 feet at a true natural wonder, and the sheer power of the falls that you can feel to your bones... those things never really get old. Either way, there are a bunch of different ways to experience Niagara Falls. Taking a boat cruise for an up-close and soggy view might be the most classic approach. But you can also Journey Behind the Falls, travelling through tunnels until you're literally behind a wall of water. Or maybe you want to take them in from above in a helicopter, or wait until nightfall when the Falls light up in color. Throw in all the attractions and entertainment in the surrounding neighborhood, and you start to realize why a classic stays a classic. 

Algonquin Park

If you were to make a general list of all the outdoor activities you can think of, you could probably find a solid 90 percent of them in Algonquin Park External Link Title . Ontario's very first provincial park is overflowing with activities for every taste and preference. In the warmer seasons, you've got backcountry camping, backpacking, biking, boating, fishing, picnicking, swimming, whitewater canoeing and wildlife watching (say that five times fast). Then in the winter, you can add on skiing, snowmobiling and dog sledding. Over 1,500 lakes and nearly 750 miles of streams and rivers are located within the park, and you'll find over 1,200 campsites along their shores. In other words, there's no shortage of reasons to visit.

Stratford Festival

It isn't always easy to time your travel to the exact dates of a particular festival you want to visit. This isn't really an issue when it comes to The Stratford Festival External Link Title , the leading classic theatre festival in North America which runs for seven months every year. Between April and October, you see a multitude of high-quality theatre productions, crossing genres and generations. From Shakespeare to Moli?re, tragedy to comedy, choreographed musicals to one-person shows, the Stratford Festival is really the best place in the country to put on your Sunday best and take in a play. 

The CN Tower's EdgeWalk

The CN Tower External Link Title is one of Canada's most well-known landmarks. But a visit to the 1,815-foot building isn't just about seeing the sights. Those who feel a bit bold can walk across the glass floor, only 2.5 inches thick, 113 stories above the ground. Those who are feeling even more bold might travel up another 33 stories to the SkyPod observation platform for the best views of the city. But the real draw, the attraction unlike anything else in the world, is the EdgeWalk. Strap on a harness, head outside the tower and walk along the building's edge with nothing but air between you and the ground. This is not for those with a fear of heights or the faint-of-heart. It is for those who want a serious adrenaline rush, and the ability to tell their friends they did the highest hands-free walk in the world.

Parliament Hill

Canada's Parliament Hill External Link Title isn't just home to the country's government; it's also a cultural and community hub whose activities are hosted in a really incredible setting. You can, for example, do yoga on Parliament Hill. Every Wednesday at noon during the summer, hundreds of people flood the hill with mats and yoga pants to stretch out in front of the iconic buildings. You can also take the Sound and Light show, which for 30-minutes projects a beautiful, engaging story onto the Parliament Buildings themselves. And then there are the more traditional activities. Visit the historic Peace Tower for a 360-degree view of the city and take in the Changing of the Guards, before heading inside for a building tour.

Ottawa River Rafting

Northwest of the nation’s capital, the Ottawa River surges through the Canadian Shield. This waterway, once crossed by First Nations and fur traders, is now home to pure whitewater adventure. In fact, the Ottawa Valley is known as the Whitewater Capital of Canada. Choose one of the local rafting companies and, with experienced guides at the helm, safely splash and roll through one of the world’s great whitewater routes. The difficulty and force of the river varies, so you don’t need to be an experienced paddler to enjoy being on the water. Just hop in the boat and enjoy yourself.

Great Spirit Circle Trail

The Great Spirit Circle Trail External Link Title is a real cultural experience, exposing visitors to the lives of the Anishinaabe people of Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater lake island in the world. From waterfalls to breathtaking views, the natural beauty of the island is only surpassed by the culture and tradition that it houses. Seven First Nations reserves can be found on Manitoulin, and the rich Aboriginal history is extremely important to all of its residents. The Great Spirit Circle Trail puts you in the hands of a local guide, who will walk you through the history of the island, its nature and its peoples. Hear their stories, share in their food and even take part in a traditional ceremony.

Agawa Canyon Tour Train

Riding the rails isn't what it used to be. On the Agawa Canyon Tour Train External Link Title , you'll spend one day in the total comfort of a modern train while traveling through the heart of the Canadian wilderness. Explore the province's western edge, seeing its lakes and rivers, Canadian Shield forests, and granite rock formations through the big windows of your train car. Listen to an audio tour as it points out interesting landmarks and explains the history of the region, from Ojibwe origins through modern explorers. Best of all, travel 500 feet down to the floor of the Agawa Canyon, and marvel at the power of the last ice age as you step off the train and explore the canyon from its base or from the lookout 250-feet above.

Fort William Historical Park

Travel 200 years back in time and live the life of a voyageur at Fort William Historical Park External Link Title . The park was headquarters of the North West Company's inland fur trade during the early 1800s, trade which played a key role in the foundations of Canada. Feel as though you've stepped back in time as you walk among 42 historic buildings, painstakingly reproduced based on archeological evidence and research. Interact with members of 19th-century fur trade society - Scottish fur traders, French voyageurs, artisans, farmers, First Nations Ojibwe and M?tis - and hear their personal stories. Witness demonstrations such as canoe building, blacksmithing and tinsmithing. Be part of an era gone by, and come away with a keen understanding of how fur traders lived their lives.

1000 Islands

Located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, close to the Ontario border with the United States, the 1000 Islands External Link Title region offers an island getaway not too far from home. Most people will hop on a boat tour and learn about the region's history, from real pirates and bootleggers to the politicians who lived and traveled there. You'll marvel at the castles and mansions where the rich and famous came to play on the weekend. You're also going to want to take advantage of all the opportunities for outdoor adventure. Scuba dive among the 200 shipwrecks in the region or go fishing for the big one. There are also 30 public golf courses in the area and plenty of kayaking and canoeing opportunities. Or you might just want to relax and enjoy the beautiful setting with some local food and drinks.

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Ontario Travel Guide

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Ontario may not have the tourist profile of the Rockies out west, but the province still boasts many of Canada’s top attractions: Niagara Falls is the country’s most visited sight; Ottawa makes an engaging capital, while Toronto is one of the most visited cities in North America; and Algonquin Park is an especially fine tract of pristine wilderness. It’s also very, very big – a giant slab of land, Canada’s second-largest province, stretching all the way from the St Lawrence River and the Great Lakes to the frozen shores of Hudson Bay, a landscape studded with thousands of lakes from which Ontario gets its name – literally “glittering waters” – given by its earliest inhabitants, the Iroquois.

Algonquin Provincial Park

The bruce peninsula, moosonee and moose factory island, sault ste marie, thunder bay.

Spreading along the northern shore of Lake Ontario to either side of Toronto is a chain of towns that are often lumped together as the Golden Horseshoe , a misleadingly evocative name that refers solely to the area’s geographic shape and economic success. This is Ontario’s manufacturing heartland, a built-up strip whose most notable attraction is the Royal Botanical Gardens , close to steel-town Hamilton . Further round the lake are the famous Niagara Falls , easily Ontario’s most popular attraction, and Niagara-on-the-Lake , one of the province’s quaintest towns. West of the Golden Horseshoe, much of Southwest Ontario is profoundly rural, an expanse of farmland sandwiched between lakes Huron and Erie. High points here include Goderich and Bayfield , two charming little towns tucked tight against Lake Huron; Stratford , with its much-vaunted theatre festival; and Georgian Bay , whose Severn Sound is the location of the astoundingly beautiful Georgian Bay Islands National Park , an elegiac land and waterscape of rocky, pine-dotted islets and crystal-blue lake. The national park – and its campsites – are best approached by boat from tiny Honey Harbour, but you can sample the scenery on a variety of island cruises from Penetanguishene, Midland and the dinky little port of Parry Sound . Also here on Severn Sound are a pair of top-notch historical reconstructions, the one-time British naval base at Discovery Harbour and the former Jesuit mission at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons .

Central Ontario, inland from the coastal strip bordering Georgian Bay, is largely defined by the Canadian Shield , whose endless forests, myriad lakes and thin soils dip down from the north in a giant wedge. This hostile terrain has kept settlement down to a minimum, though latterly the very wildness of the land has attracted Canadian holidaymakers, who come here to hunker down in their lakeside cottages – hence the moniker “cottage country”. The centre of this is the Muskoka Lakes , a skein of narrow lakes and rivers, and their main supply towns, Gravenhurst and Bracebridge . The Muskoka Lakes may be relatively domesticated, but neighbouring Algonquin Provincial Park is certainly not, comprising a wilderness tract with abundant wildlife and a mind-bogglingly large network of canoe routes.

The implacability of the Shield breaks up as it approaches the St Lawrence River at the east end of Lake Ontario, and it’s here you’ll find a string of historic towns and villages. The pick is Kingston , renowned for its fine limestone buildings and a pleasant stepping stone on the road east to either Montréal or Ottawa , Canada’s appealing capital city, which boasts some of the country’s finest museums and a first-rate restaurant and bar scene.

Stretching north from the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior, northern Ontario is almost entirely flat, give or take the odd ridge and chasm, an endless expanse of forest and lake pouring over the mineral-rich rocks of the Canadian Shield. It was the north which once produced the furs that launched Canada’s economy, but the travelling is hard and time-consuming and, unless you’re after some hunting and fishing , the region’s charms are limited. Two main roads cross this immense, sparsely populated region, Hwy-11 in the north and the much more enjoyable Hwy-17 to the south. Highlights of Hwy-17 begin with Sault Ste Marie , the terminus for a splendid wilderness train trip on the Algoma Central Railway , and continue with the string of parks bordering Lake Superior , notably the extravagantly wild Lake Superior Provincial Park and Pukaskwa National Park . Beyond lies the inland port of Thunder Bay , the last place of much appeal before Winnipeg, a further 680km to the west. Hwy-11 , on the other hand, links a series of far-flung mining towns and has little to offer with the possible exception of the Polar Bear Express train , which strikes north from Cochrane beyond the road network to Moosonee on the frozen shores of James Bay – though to be frank, the rail journey across these northern wastes can seem interminable, the mosquitoes infuriating the moment you disembark.

Brief history

The first Europeans to make regular contact with the region’s Aboriginal Iroquois and Algonquin peoples were the French explorers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most famously Étienne Brûlé and Samuel de Champlain. These early visitors were preoccupied with the fur trade , and it wasn’t until the end of the American War of Independence and the immigration of the United Empire Loyalists from New England that mass settlement began. Between 1820 and 1850 a further wave of migrants, mostly English, Irish and Scots, made Upper Canada , as Ontario was known until Confederation, the most populous and prosperous part of Canada. This pre-eminence was reinforced towards the end of the nineteenth century by the industrialization of the region’s larger towns, a process underpinned by the discovery of some of the world’s richest mineral deposits: in the space of twenty years, nickel was found near Sudbury, silver at Cobalt, gold in Red Lake and iron ore at Wawa.

In 1943, the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) took control of the provincial government and remained in power for over forty years. The PCs followed a right-of-centre, pro-business agenda and their skill in handling the popular vote earned them the nickname the “Big Blue Machine”. Nevertheless, the PCs did move with the times, passing a string of progressive acts such as, for example, Canada’s first Fair Employment Practices Act against discrimination and the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act, both in 1951. In 1985, the PCs finally lost a provincial election, but returned to power ten years later with a flinty right-wing agenda that owed much to Britain’s Margaret Thatcher. The PCs were much taken up with privatization and tax cuts (plus endless carping about welfare scroungers), but this did not play well with a sizeable chunk of the population and, much to the relief of the Left, the Liberals have defeated them in the last four elections, with 2014 seeing Kathleen Wynne elected as the first female leader of the majority winner.

Economically , Ontario’s timber and mining industries, massive hydroelectric schemes and myriad factories have kept the province at or near the top of the economic ladder for decades. The province’s industrial success has also created massive environmental problems , most noticeable in the wounded landscapes around Sudbury and the polluted waters of lakes Erie and Ontario – problems which the provincial government has started to tackle, albeit somewhat tardily.

Created in 1893 at the behest of logging companies keen to keep farmers out, Algonquin Provincial Park is Ontario’s oldest and largest provincial park and for many it comprises the quintessential Canadian landscape. Located on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, the park straddles a transitional zone , with the hilly two-thirds to the west covered in a hardwood forest of sugar maple, beech and yellow birch, while in the drier eastern part jack pine, white pine and red pine predominate. Throughout the park, the lakes and rocky rounded hills are interspersed with black spruce bogs, a type of vegetation typical of areas far further north. Canoeing is very popular here and with an astounding 1600km of routes there’s a good chance of avoiding all contact for days on end. Wildlife is as varied as the flora – any trip to Algonquin is characterized by the echo of birdsong, from the loons’ ghostly call to the screech of ravens. Beavers, moose, black bears and raccoons are all resident, as are white-tailed deer, whose population thrives on the young shoots that replace the trees felled by the park’s loggers. Public “howling parties” – which can attract up to two thousand people – set off into the wilderness during August in search of timber wolves , or rather their howls: many of the rangers are so good at howling that they can get the animals to reply.

Whether you’re after the full wilderness experience or just a quick dabble, access to Algonquin’s backcountry is via the 56km Parkway Corridor – also known as the Frank McDougall Parkway (Hwy-60) – the park’s only significant road linking the West Gate, 45km east of Hwy-11, and the East Gate, on the long road to and from Ottawa.

The beaver is Canada’s national animal: it appeared on the first postage stamp issued by the colony in 1851, and now features on the back of the 5¢ piece. There was nothing sentimental about this choice – beaver pelts kick-started the colonial economy – and only recently has the beaver been treated with some restraint and protected from being indiscriminately polished off.

Beavers are aquatic rodents, growing to around 75cm in length and weighing about 35kg. Aboriginal peoples hunted the beaver for its thick, soft pelt , composed of long guard hairs and a dense undercoat, to use for clothing. In the seventeenth century. European fur traders realized the value of beaver pelts, particularly in the manufacture of the all-weather, all-purpose hat worn by every man of any substance. To keep up with demand the beaver was extensively trapped, and the French voyageurs pushed further and further west along the lake and river systems in pursuit of the animal, thereby opening up much of the interior. The beaver was hunted to the point of extinction in much of eastern Canada, but had a reprieve when the beaver hat went out of fashion in the late nineteenth century; today beavers are comparatively commonplace.

Beavers start to build their dams , which can be up to 700m wide, by strategically felling one tree across a stream. This catches silt and driftwood and the beaver then reinforces the barrier with sticks and stones plus grass and mud, which is laboriously smoothed-in as a binding element. The lodge is constructed simultaneously; sometimes it forms part of the dam and sometimes it is fixed to the shore or an island in the pond. It is about 2m in diameter and has two entrances – one accessible from land and one from underwater – both for its own convenience and to be able to escape predators in any emergency, along with a lot of tail slapping to give the alarm. Lodges are topped with grass thatch and a good layer of mud, which freezes in winter, making them virtually impenetrable. During the autumn, the beaver stocks its pond with the soft-bark trees and saplings that make up its diet. It drags them below the water line and anchors them to the mud at the bottom before retiring to the lodge for the winter, only emerging to get food from the pond or repair the dam. Beaver lakes are not the tree-fringed paradises portrayed by some nature-film makers; nearer the mark is a mud-banked pond, surrounded by untidily felled trees and with a bedraggled-looking domed heap of sticks and sludge somewhere along its banks.

BRANTFORD , a quick 40km west of Hamilton on Hwy-403, takes its name from Joseph Brant , an Iroquois chieftain who was one of the most intriguing figures of colonial Canada. Brant helped the British during the American War of Independence and, after their defeat, he and his followers were obliged to make a hasty exit from New York State before the Americans could take their revenge. The British stayed loyal to their ally (just about) and in 1784 Brant was ceded a large tract of land beside the Grand River on the site of what is today Brantford. European settlers reached the area in numbers in the 1850s and subsequently Brantford developed as a manufacturing centre churning out agricultural equipment by the wagon load. By the 1980s, however, the town was in decline as many of its factories and foundries went bust or relocated. Brantford still bears the scars of this de-industrialization, but a concerted effort has been made to breathe new life into the centre and, for the most part, this has been a success with a batch of new leisure facilities and shopping malls. For Canadians, Brantford is most famous as the home town of Wayne Gretzky , probably the greatest ice-hockey player of all time; for everyone else, the town is best known as being the one-time home of the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell .

The Mennonites of Kitchener–Waterloo and St Jacobs

The twin industrial cities of Kitchener and Waterloo hog a slab of flatland to the west of the Grand River. They have a distinctive pedigree, as the first white settlers to arrive in the area in numbers were the Mennonites, a tightly knit Protestant sect who migrated here in the 1790s from the US, where their pacifist beliefs had incurred the wrath of their neighbours during the American Revolution. Over the years, the Mennonites gradually drifted out of the twin cities and now own much of the farmland immediately to the north.

They are unmistakeable, with the men wearing traditional black suits and broad-brimmed hats, or deep-blue shirts and braces, the women ankle-length dresses and matching bonnets, and many navigate the roads in black, horse-drawn buggies. Despite appearances, however, the Ontario Mennonites are far from a homogeneous sect. Over twenty different groups are affiliated to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). They all share certain religious beliefs reflecting their Anabaptist origins – the sole validity of adult baptism being crucial – but precise practices and dress codes vary from group to group: for instance, members of the traditional wing of the movement, called Old Order Mennonite, own property communally and shun all modern machinery.

To explain their history and faith, the MCC runs a small but intriguing interpretation centre, The Mennonite Story, at 1406 King St North in the village of St Jacobs, just north of Waterloo via Hwy-85. Also in St Jacobs, along the short main street, are several Mennonite stores selling home-made farm produce – the maple syrup is simply magnificent. Mennonite traders are also prominent at the much-lauded Farmers’ Market, back in the centre of Kitchener on King Street East (Sat 7am–2pm; kitchenermarket.ca ).

Separating the main body of Lake Huron from Georgian Bay, the Bruce Peninsula holds two of Ontario’s national parks. The more distinctive is the Fathom Five National Marine Park , at the northern tip of the peninsula, which provides wonderful sport for divers. The second is the Bruce Peninsula National Park , comprising two slabs of forested wilderness on either side of Hwy-6, its northern portion offering magnificent coastal hiking on a small section of the Bruce Trail. There’s camping at both parks and a reasonable choice of hotel and motel accommodation at lively Tobermory , from where you catch the car ferry over to Manitoulin Island.

Fathom Five National Marine Park

Fathom Five National Marine Park comprises a scattering of uninhabited islands and the waters that surround them at the end of the Bruce Peninsula, offshore from Tobermory. To protect the natural habitat, only Flowerpot Island , 4km from the mainland, has any amenities, with limited space for camping – six sites only – and a couple of short hiking trails that explore its eastern reaches. A delightful spot, Flowerpot takes its name from two pink-and-grey rock pillars that have been eroded away from its eastern shore – and these are readily seen on the islet’s hiking trails.

Fathom Five is known across Canada for its excellent diving – the waters are clear, there are extraordinary rock formations and a handful of shipwrecks. Prospective divers must register in person at the national park office. Diving gear can be rented down by Tobermory harbour at G&S Watersports (519 596 2200, gswatersports.net ), who also offer diving lessons and kayak rental.

With a population of around 500,000, HAMILTON lies at the extreme western end of Lake Ontario, about 70km from Toronto. The city takes its name from George Hamilton, a storekeeper-turned-landowner, who surveyed the area after he moved here following the destruction of his homestead during the War of 1812. By the early 1900s, Hamilton had become a major steel producer and today its mills churn out about half the country’s output, though the city’s industrial heyday has faded and in recent years it has struggled to keep itself afloat. Industrial cities are rarely high on tourist itineraries and Hamilton is no exception, but it does have one or two quality attractions, most notably the sprawling Royal Botanical Gardens . Other than the gardens, all the city’s key attractions are in – or within comfortable walking distance of – a surprisingly compact downtown core . This runs east to west parallel to the lake shore along King Street West and Main Street West, between Bay Street North and James Street North. Beyond here, Hamilton becomes a large and sprawling city with a confusing one-way street system.

The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG)

The delightful

Royal Botanical Gardens

cover some twelve square kilometres just across Burlington Bay from downtown Hamilton, its several sections spread over 15km of wooded shoreline. The flower displays here are simply gorgeous with highlights including

Hendrie Park’s Rose Gardens

(best June–Oct) and nearby

Laking Garden

with its irises and peonies (May & June). Hendrie Park adjoins the main

RBG Visitor Centre

, where there’s a shop, café and several inside areas featuring forced bulbs, orchids and cacti. Wilder parts of the RBG are round to the west with the 800-hectare

Cootes Paradise Sanctuary

latticed with hiking trails.

Birthplace of the rock singer Bryan Adams but prouder of its handsome limestone buildings, the city of KINGSTON , a fast 260km east of Toronto along Hwy-401, is the largest and most enticing of the communities along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The town occupies an attractive and strategically important position where the lake narrows into the St Lawrence River, its potential first recognized by the French who built a fortified fur-trading post, Fort Frontenac , here in 1673. It was not a success, but struggled on until 1758 when it fell to a combined force of British, Americans and Iroquois, a victory soon followed by an influx of United Empire Loyalists, who promptly developed Kingston – as they renamed it – into a major shipbuilding centre and naval base. The money rolled in and the future looked rosy when the completion of the Rideau Canal, linking Kingston with Ottawa in 1832, opened up its hinterland. Kingston became Canada’s capital in 1841 and although it lost this distinction just three years later it remained the region’s most important town until the end of the nineteenth century. In recent years, Kingston – and its 160,000 inhabitants – has had as many economic downs as ups, but it does benefit from the presence of Queen’s University , one of Canada’s most prestigious academic institutions, and of the Royal Military College , the country’s answer to Sandhurst and West Point.

Central Kingston’s medley of old houses and offices displays every architectural foible admired by the Victorians, from neo-Gothic mansions with high gables to elegant Italianate villas, but the cream of the architectural crop are the city’s Neoclassical limestone buildings, especially City Hall and the Cathedral of St George . Kingston also holds the first-rate Agnes Etherington Art Centre gallery and Bellevue House , once the home of prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Add to this several superb B&Bs, a cluster of good restaurants and scenic boat trips round the Thousand Islands just offshore, and you have a city that is well worth a couple of days.

Kingston’s elongated centre slopes up from Lake Ontario. Most of the key sights and the pick of the city’s bars and restaurants nudge together along the first few blocks of the main commercial drag, Princess Street .

A watery detour: the Rideau canal

If you’re travelling from Kingston to Ottawa , the obvious route is east along Hwy-401 and then north up Hwy-416, a journey of 175km. With more time, however, it’s worth considering a slower route along two country roads – Hwy-15 and then Hwy-7 . En route, you’ll pass a battery of signs to the 24 lock stations of the 202km-long Rideau Canal ( t 613 283 5170, w pc.gc.ca ), which cuts through the slab of coniferous and deciduous forest, bogs, limestone plains and granite ridges that separate Ottawa and Kingston. Completed in 1832 after a mere six years’ work, the canal was built to provide safe inland transport at a time of poor Anglo-American relations, but after the political situation improved it developed as an important route for regional commerce. The canal’s construction led to the development of Bytown , renamed Ottawa in 1855, but in the second half of the nineteenth century the railways made the canal obsolete and today it’s plied by holiday boats. For the motorist, one of the more impressive lock stations is Kingston Mills (Locks 46–49), 12km inland from Kingston on Hwy-15, where a steep flight of locks negotiates a wooded ravine overlooked by a blockhouse and lock offices. It’s a lovely spot and there’s more of the same, albeit in a wilder setting, at Jones Falls (Locks 39–42), 3km off Hwy-15 and about 40km from Kingston. Here, a huddle of old timber buildings is a prelude to a rickety footbridge that leads over a lake to a steep flight of locks guarded by several old stone buildings. By boat it takes five days to get from Kingston to Ottawa on the Rideau Canal with Ontario Waterways ( t 705 327 5767, t 1 800 561 5767, w ontariowaterwaycruises.com ); there are between three and six cruises monthly from mid-May to mid-September, the cost is $1951, and reservations are essential.

The Crees have been hunting and fishing James Bay, a southerly extension of Hudson Bay, for several thousand years and they make up the majority of the population of MOOSONEE , which occupies an incredibly remote and solitary bayside location well to the north of the road network. A French fur-trading company, Révillon Frères, founded Moosonee in 1903 and the Révillon Frères Museum (late June to early Sept daily 10am–6pm; free; t 705 336 1209), in one of the original company buildings, traces the history of the settlement and its largely unsuccessful attempt to challenge the local monopoly of the Hudson’s Bay Company . The latter had established the trading post of Moose Factory Island , just offshore, in 1673, which makes it the oldest English-speaking community in Ontario. Water taxis ($10 one way) zip travellers from the jetty at Moosonee to the island, where the Moose Factory Centennial Museum Park (late June to early Sept daily 9am–5pm; free; t 705 658 2733) holds the original blacksmith’s shop, graveyard, powder magazine (the island’s only stone building) and a teepee where the locals sell bannock (freshly baked bread). South of here, St Thomas Anglican Church , built in 1860, has an altar cloth of beaded moose hide, prayer books written in Cree and removable floor plugs to prevent the church floating away in floods.

OWEN SOUND , just under 200km northwest of Toronto and 130km north of Goderich, occupies the ravine around the mouth of the Sydenham River, at the foot of the Bruce Peninsula. In its heyday, Owen Sound was a rough and violent port packed with brothels and bars, prompting the Americans to establish a consulate whose main function was to bail out drunk and disorderly sailors. For the majority it was an unpleasant place to live, and the violence spawned an especially active branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Organization, whose success was such that an alcohol ban was imposed in 1906 and only lifted in 1972. The town was in decline long before the return of the bars, its port facilities undercut by the railways from the 1920s, but it’s managed to reinvent itself and is now an amiable sort of place well worth at least a pit stop, though navigation can be confusing: avenues run north–south and streets east–west, while the river, which bisects the town centre, separates avenues and streets East from those marked West.

Blue Mountain ski resort

The small-time port of Collingwood , 65km east of Owen Sound on Nottawasaga Bay, is the gateway to the Blue Mountain , a segment of the Niagara Escarpment whose steepish slopes are now a major winter sports area, mainly for alpine skiing though several cross-country trails have also been developed. To get there from Collingwood, take the Blue Mountain Road (Hwy-19) which reaches – after about 10km – the downhill ski slopes at the Blue Mountain Resort ( t 705 445 0231, t 1 877 445 0231, w bluemountain.ca ), a large and modern sprawl comprising hotels, shops, restaurants and cafés. In total, the Blue Mountain ski area has 36 downhill ski slopes of varying difficulty with a maximum vertical drop of 219m. The prime season is from mid-December to mid-March.

Strategically situated beside St Mary’s River, the tortuous link between lakes Superior and Huron, industrial SAULT STE MARIE – more popularly The Soo – sits opposite the Michigan town of the same name and sees constant two-way traffic, with two sets of tourists keen to see how the other lot lives. The Soo, 300km from Sudbury, is northern Ontario’s oldest community, originally settled by Ojibwa fishing parties. The French called these Ojibwa Saulteux (“people of the falls”) and the Jesuit missionaries who followed added the Christian sobriquet to give the town its present name. Initially, The Soo flourished as a gateway to the fur-rich regions inland, but it was the construction of a lock and canal in the nineteenth century that launched its career as a Great Lakes port and industrial centre, churning out pulp, paper and steel. Too industrial to be pretty,

Some 2km long and three blocks wide, The Soo’s downtown core runs parallel to the waterfront to either side of the main drag, Queen Street East . All the principal sights and most visitor facilities are located here, the pick of which stretch along the waterfront , but its real appeal is as the starting point for a splendid wilderness train ride on the Algoma Central Railway .

The Algoma Central Railway

The 476km-long Algoma Central Railway (ACR) was constructed in 1901 to link the Soo’s timber plants with the forests of the interior. the first recreational users were members of the group of Seven, who shunted up and down the track in a converted boxcar, stopping to paint whenever the mood took them. the ACr’s timber days are long gone, but today the railway offers one of Ontario’s finest excursions, with the train snaking through a wonderful wilderness of deep ravines, secluded lakes and plunging gorges. to see it all, sit on the left-hand side – otherwise you’ll end up looking at an awful lot of rock. there are several tours to choose from, though only two stand out, and all depart from the Algoma Central railway terminal, in downtown Soo at 129 Bay St and dennis (t 705 946 7300, t 1 800 242 9287, w agawacanyontourtrain.com).

The Agawa Canyon Tour Train takes a day to cover the first 200km of track and back (late June to mid-Oct departs daily at 8am, returns 6pm; $84; $102 in autumn). Reservations are strongly advised and essential in the autumn, when the leaves turn. A two-hour stop within the canyon’s 180m-high walls allows for a lunch break and a wander around the well-marked nature trails, which include a lookout post from where the rail line appears as a thin silver thread far below. Unless you are properly equipped don’t miss the train back – the canyon gets very cold at night, even during the summer, and the blackflies are merciless.

A regular passenger train service from The Soo to the remote francophone township of Hearst three times weekly was suspended in the summer of 2015. Previously passengers on this train could get off and on at various points along the line; check w algomapassengerrail.com for the latest on the ongoing efforts to get this service reinstated.

STRATFORD , some 150km west of Toronto, is a likeable country town of thirty thousand people, which rises head and shoulders above its neighbours as the host of the Stratford Festival , originating in 1953 and now one of the most prestigious theatrical occasions in North America, attracting no fewer than half a million visitors every year. It only takes an hour or so to work out what is where in Stratford, beginning with the town’s downtown core, on and around the junction of Ontario and Downie streets, where a handsome set of nineteenth-century brick facades reach an idiosyncratic hiatus in the grandiose city hall , a brown-brick fiesta of cupolas, towers and limestone trimmings. The town is also bisected by the meandering Avon River , whose leafy banks are lined with immaculately maintained footpaths and overlooked by the largest of the town’s four theatres, the Festival Theatre .

The Stratford Festival

Each year, North America’s largest classical repertory company puts on the Stratford Festival ( t 519 273 1600, t 1 800 567 1600, w stratfordfestival.ca ), featuring two of Shakespeare’s tragedies and one of his comedies; this programme is augmented by other classical staples – Molière, Chekhov, Jonson and so forth – as well as by the best of modern and musical theatre. The festival also hosts a lecture series, various tours (of backstage and a costume warehouse, for example), music concerts, an author reading series and meet-and-greet sessions with the actors. The festival runs from mid-April to late October and there are performances in four downtown theatres – the Festival, the Tom Patterson, the Avon and the Studio. Regular tickets cost between $50 and $80 depending on the performance and seat category, though there are all sorts of discount deals for students, seniors, same-day performances and previews; many plays are sold out months in advance. Call or check the website to book.

The Lake Superior port of THUNDER BAY , some 110km from Nipigon, is much closer to Winnipeg than to any other city in Ontario, and consequently its 120,000 inhabitants are prone to see themselves as Westerners. Economics as well as geography define this self-image, for this was until recently a booming grain-handling port – for grain harvested in the Prairies. Some grain still arrives here by rail to be stored in the town’s gigantic grain elevators on its way to the Atlantic, but since the 1990s the economics of the trade have favoured Canada’s Pacific ports and many of the elevators that dominate the harbourfront are now literally rotting away.

Scarred by industrial complexes and crisscrossed by rail lines, Thunder Bay is not immediately enticing, but it does have enough of interest to make a pleasant stopover on the long journey to or from Winnipeg and points west. The most agreeable part of town is the few blocks stretching inland from behind the marina in Thunder Bay North , north of Central Avenue, where you’ll also find several good cafés and restaurants. Thunder Bay South is much less appealing, but on its outskirts is the city’s star turn, the replica fur-trading post of Fort William Historical Park .

Thunder Bay was created in 1970 when the two existing towns of Fort William and Port Arthur were brought together under one municipal roof. Fort William was the older of the two, established in 1789 as a fur-trading post and then becoming the upcountry headquarters of the North West Company. It lost its pre-eminent position when the North West and Hudson’s Bay companies merged, but it remained a fur-trading post until the end of the nineteenth century. In the middle of the nineteenth century, rumours of a huge silver lode brought prospectors to the Lake Superior shoreline just north of Fort William, where Port Arthur was established. The silver didn’t last and the Port Arthur, Duluth & Western Railway (PD&W), which had laid the lines to the mines, was soon nicknamed “the Poverty, Distress & Welfare”. The Canadian Northern Railway, which took over the abandoned PD&W lines, did much to rescue the local economy, but did not bring Fort William and Port Arthur closer together. Rudyard Kipling noted that, “The twin cities hate each other with the pure, passionate, poisonous hatred that makes cities grow. If Providence wiped out one of them, the other would pine away and die.” Fortunately, the 1970 amalgamation bypassed Kipling’s prediction and nowadays these parochial rivalries have all but vanished.

West from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg

Heading west from Thunder Bay, it’s almost 700km to Winnipeg in Manitoba. The logical place to break your journey is Kenora , almost 500km away along Hwy-17, through the interminable pine forests of the Canadian Shield. Remember to put your watch back one hour when you cross into the Central time zone , about 60km west of Thunder Bay.

Discover more places in Canada

• The Lake Huron shoreline
• Lake Superior’s north shore
• Manitoulin Island
• The Muskoka Lakes
• Niagara Falls and the Niagara River
• Severn Sound
• The upper St Lawrence River

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updated 12.05.2021

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Are you a nudist? Knitter? Golden Girls fan? There’s a cruise for that.

Whether you’re a swinger or just want to practice your golf swing, theme cruises have something for everyone.

Kaity Talley saw the announcement and knew she had to get on board: A cruise exclusively for Hallmark Christmas movie fans? With cookie decorating, tree lighting, movie marathons and karaoke ?

“I got super lucky,” said Talley, 36, of Ontario, Calif. She landed a booking time that got her a spot on the cruise that turned out to be Taylor-Swift-concert- level popular. After it sold out quickly, organizers added a second voyage, which also sold out.

Talley, a Costco manager who also makes TikToks about cruises, expects to bring an entire Christmas wardrobe, ugly sweaters and all: “I’m going to be very corny on this cruise.”

The Hallmark cruise will make its maiden voyage in November, but it’s hardly the first event to gather an extremely niche community of fans and send them out to sea. Theme cruises have catered to groups as diverse as cat lovers , headbangers , Trekkies , conservative activists and zombie aficionados .

There are clothing-optional cruises, faith-based cruises, swingers cruises and cruises for people who want to practice their golf swing .

“If there’s something out there that people like to do, there’s probably a cruise about it,” said Chris Gray Faust, executive director of the news and review site Cruise Critic .

Theme cruises can take many forms, from a small group tucked into a larger sailing to a full-ship takeover. Some are put on by the cruise lines, but most are organized by a travel agency or production company that blocks rooms and venues or charters the entire ship. Those sailings must be purchased through that third party.

Trips are often scheduled during off-peak times, such as January through March or October and November. Prices are higher than a standard cruise, generally reflecting the extra programming or additional perks that passengers get.

Experts say specialty sailings have exploded in recent years as cruise lines have expanded and consumers have sought out more meaningful ways to travel.

“Overall, the travel industry is getting so much more experiential in a number of ways, and theme cruises are the ultimate experiential vacation,” said Chris Hearing, a partner and executive director at Entertainment Cruise Productions , a major organizer of theme cruises. “You get immersed, in our case, in week-long theme cruises where from the moment you walk on the ship, you are surrounded by people that are completely into Star Trek or Comic-Con or motorcycles or ’80s or ’90s music.”

Another producer, Sixthman , got its start in 2001 with a rock-themed event featuring Sister Hazel. This year, the group will pull off 23 cruise events, and the schedule calls for 27 next year, said CEO Jeff Cuellar.

A gateway for cruise newcomers

As the cruise industry builds more ships and tries to cultivate new audiences to fill them, Gray Faust said theme cruises often serve as an entry point.

“It brings a lot of first-time cruisers into the fold,” she said. “They’re fans of whatever the theme is. The fact that it’s on a cruise is almost secondary.”

Howard Moses, a travel adviser, created a site called themecruisefinder with a business partner several years ago and said there are more than 700 cruises listed at any given time, from small groups to full-ship charters.

“It has blossomed in the last I would say 10 to 12 years,” he said.

Talley, who booked the Hallmark Christmas cruise, said theme cruises got her hooked on sailing. She spoke to The Washington Post from Miami after departing a chef-focused cruise and right before boarding a regular sailing on another cruise line. She has been on the Sail Across the Sun cruise, featuring Train and several other acts, four times.

“There’s just concerts happening the entire time,” she said.

Swifties, Trekkies and crafters

Some event production companies sell the opportunity to be in close quarters with the objects of fan affection. Sixthman, which is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, pitches the events to singers, chefs and others as a way to interact with their die-hard fans who will follow and support them anywhere. And for those fans, it’s a tough chance to pass up.

“You’re not just spending an afternoon, you’re spending your vacation with them from breakfast to lunch to dinner to cocktails and activities,” Cuellar said.

Even though the Hallmark Christmas cruise — which is being put on by Sixthman — hasn’t named the stars who will sail, Cuellar said the event was the fastest sellout in the company history.

“Within like 48 hours of the first sellout, there were people already putting mugs on Etsy that said, ‘I survived the Hallmark presale,’” he said. “You talk about a passionate audience.”

Other cruises are entirely fan-driven, without the presence of any stars.

Jessica Malerman and two friends and fellow travel agents came up with the “In My Cruise Era” trip in October during another group cruise with their agency, Marvelous Mouse Travels . There’s no affiliation with the Taylor Swift empire, but the trip has already sold the maximum 199 staterooms it reserved on megaship Allure of the Seas in October 2024.

Events will include dance parties, trivia, cocktail parties, friendship bracelet swapping and karaoke.

“What people want is the connection and they want to make friends and they want to go on vacation and have a sense of community,” Malerman said.

Chad Kampe, the owner of Flip Phone Productions, put on the first — and second — Golden Fans at Sea cruises in early 2020 after organizing a “Golden Girls”-themed bar crawl several years before. The company produces drag shows across the country.

The sailings have included themed dances, costume contests, caftan welcome parties, scavenger hunts, performances from the Golden Gays drag troupe, appearances from people with ties to the show and some very competitive trivia sessions.

“The ‘Golden Girls’ trivia is the most intense trivia you’ve ever seen,” Kampe said.

The events take place on regular voyages, meaning passengers might end up surprised by the surplus of Blanches, Dorothys, Roses and Sophias. In year one, Kampe said a biker group was also on board.

“They loved us,” he said.

Many theme cruises are organized around hobbies or other special interests.

Melissa Gower, founder of Craft Cruises , organizes an average of 10 knitting cruises a year. The knitters and their needles don’t take over the whole ship, but the sailings include instructors, social gatherings and “private fiber-related tours,” she said.

“I have people who traveled with me in 1999,” Gower said. “They’ve been on 30-plus knitting cruises, and they’re still booking travel with us.”

How to find (or avoid) a niche cruise

The Theme Cruise Finder website allows people to search according to category for upcoming trips. Often, sales will open up during an event for the people on board, so it can be difficult to get a reservation on a popular repeating cruise.

Gray Faust said travelers will often comment on Cruise Critic forums about their surprise at being on the same ship as some kind of group. She said a friend ended up on a cruise with Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans “and she hates Tampa Bay.”

In 2016, more than 1,500 vacationers who thought they were taking a regular Bahamas cruise ended up sharing space with then-Patriots player Rob Gronkowski and fans on Gronk’s Party Ship.

Gary Bembridge, a cruise YouTuber who runs the site Tips for Travellers , recommends people search online for the name and date of a cruise they’re considering to see if a theme cruise shows up at the same time.

Moses, one of the founders of the theme cruise site, is co-president of a separate business, The Cruise & Vacation Authority , which organizes theme cruises as one of its services.

“In general, theme cruises are way more fun than a regular cruise because you’re traveling with like-minded people,” he said.

And if someone isn’t like-minded on a shared ship, he said the theme group tries to be understanding.

“We try to be very respectful of the other guests on board,” he said.

More cruise news

Living at sea: Travelers on a 9-month world cruise are going viral on social media. For some travelers, not even nine months was enough time on a ship; they sold cars, moved out of their homes and prepared to set sail for three years . That plan fell apart, but a 3.5-year version is waiting in the wings.

Passengers beware: It’s not all buffets and dance contests. Crime data reported by cruise lines show that the number of sex crimes has increased compared to previous years. And though man-overboard cases are rare, they are usually deadly .

The more you know: If you’re cruise-curious, here are six tips from a newcomer. Remember that in most cases, extra fees and add-ons will increase the seemingly cheap price of a sailing. And if you happen to get sick , know what to expect on board.

The Golden Rules of Retirement Travel

By Stacey Lastoe

This is part of a collection of stories celebrating the many shapes retirement travel can take. Read more here.

Bonni and Bob Gumport travel regularly in their retirement. Not beholden to one short vacation a year (they average seven big ones), their compounding experience has allowed them to develop a code of rules by which they abide— tips and tricks to use wherever they go. After one too many of the small rooms common in boutique hotels, for example, they’ve cut them out entirely. Also out of the question are walking tours within two days of arrival in a new destination, as they prefer to settle in. Their daughter Lauren describes them as “pros on retiree travel,” but they are not the only ones with advice to give.

There are former museum curators who have learned not to overbook themselves; solo travelers who always learn a little of the local language. Adherence to anyone’s rules will never ensure a vacation free of hiccups, where no flight is ever delayed , every tour is worth the hours put in, and every meal sublime . But learning from others may improve your chances of a good time—even when things inevitably go sideways. We’ve spoken to over 20 retired travelers to hear how their Golden Years have informed the way that they travel. Below, find some of their savviest secrets for better trips.

1. Take a ride on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour

If she’s traveling in a city that offers one of those double-decker hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours, Denver -based Heidi Burtoni, 65, who goes on multiple trips per year, is definitely stepping aboard. Burtoni says it’s a great way to figure out the rest of her itinerary, get tips from other travelers and the tour guide, and get a feel for the new city. “It’s the first thing I do to get the lay of the land,” says Burtoni. Her previous career in sales means the frequent solo traveler will “talk to anybody,” so these tours also open the door for socializing and making connections.

Know what to skip—“whether that means avoiding tourist traps, the most sweltering hours at fairs, or not putting yourself in danger by flagging a taxi when it's unsafe," says Lynn Zelevansky.

2. Figure out what to avoid

For Paul and Lynn Zelevansky (77 and 76, respectively), travel is less about hitting all the top spots and more about learning where not to go, “whether that means avoiding tourist traps, the most sweltering hours at fairs, or not putting yourself in danger by flagging a taxi when it’s unsafe.” They visit the Venice Biennale in fall, now, rather than at the opening, to avoid the worst of the crushes—it also helps them more effectively skirt the city's infamous pickpockets (Lynn's wallet was stolen on a crowded vaporetto ferry in 2022).

3. BYOTP (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper)

“Toilet paper in Europe is very scratchy … not good for sensitive parts,” says Florida native Karen Butera, an avid pickleball player who often travels with the sport in mind. Whenever overseas, she always travels with her own toilet paper. Butera, 66, is taking her granddaughter to see Taylor Swift in Paris this summer, and, yes, she will be packing TP—creature comforts are even more crucial on the road than they are at home.

4. Don’t overschedule

Packed-to-the-brim itineraries used to be J. Patrice Marandel’s MO, but these days, the former chief curator at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is more keen on scheduling “plenty of time for the unexpected.” Gone are the nonstop days with planned breakfasts, lunches, and dinners; instead, Marandel, 79, leaves room for the possibility of something unexpected and “exciting.” It often pays off.

5. Pack light

Buffalo, New York-based Lisa LaLonde, 74, and her travel companion Antoinette Judelsohn, 70, whom she’s been traveling with for over a decade, are pros at packing light . The pals can manage for a month on very little, relying on the versatility of black leggings and black tops, says LaLonde. The trick? Develop a travel uniform, bring just a few versions, and wash undergarments as necessary, says Judelsohn. Big suitcases stuffed to the brim with a ton of different outfits are more of a hassle than a luxury. “They’re a pain in the neck if you’re getting on a train or off a train … or moving from one city to another,” says LaLonde.

“Anybody and their brother with an RV travels on Sunday,” warns Jenelle Jones.

6. Don't get (too) excited

Judelsohn, a former teacher who met LaLonde when they worked together at the same school in Buffalo, has another travel rule that’s served her well: Letting go of expectations. “I never get excited about a trip,” says Judelsohn. Instead, the savvy traveler lets the excitement emerge based on what's in front of her in the moment.

7. Avoid traveling on Sundays

RVer Jenelle Jones, 64, is against traveling on Sundays. As she puts it, “anybody and their brother with an RV travels on Sunday.” Long weekend RVers who have to get back for work on Monday use Sundays to head home, so retired Jones, 64, simply avoids the day altogether. It's also, according to her, the “biggest day to get in an RV wreck”— yet another reason to sit back and relax. You have nowhere you need to be, after all. Take advantage.

8. Learn a few words of the local language

Charlotte Simpson , whose blog Traveling Black Widow documents her travels (100 countries and counting so far), says her number one travel rule is to learn a few key phrases—hello, goodbye, please, thank you—in the dominant language of the places she visits. Simpson says her efforts are always well received. “I just find, inevitably, it sort of stuns people when I even just say good morning.” Simpson, who prefers not to reveal her age, says she gets a lot out of bridging the language gap with just a few words: “It just makes people so friendly and so happy that you took this moment to learn [their language].”

9. Travel slower

When you cram too much into a single trip, “the whole experience just kind of becomes a blur,” say Gillian Batt, 43, and Stephanie Myers, 51, whose blog Our Freedom Years documents their early retirement and subsequent travels. The couple, who hail from Ontario, Canada, say staying in one place for an extended period of time helps them avoid travel burnout, keep costs low, and enjoy the whole experience more. All that rushing around on limited PTO? Well behind them.

For RVers like Norm, keeping things flexible is key.

10. Go your own way

The pandemic crystallized things for Kim Kelly Stamp , 65, and her wife Liz Schick, 62, who left it all behind and decided to travel around the country in a red 21-foot teardrop trailer. They’ve since gotten really good at going with the flow. “We know where we’re going to stay along the way, but we hold that really loosely and give ourselves the opportunity to make something else happen,” explains Stamp. This approach led them to Laurel, Mississippi, where the HGTV show Hometown —of which Stamp and Schick are big fans of, is based. Instead of following a regimented schedule, they followed their passion when the road forked, literally.

11. Keep an open heart and mind

In spite of being seasoned travelers, John and Bev Martin, 60, who started the RetirementTravelers site to share their journey with others, admit they still need to remind themselves that they can’t control everything. “We have to be patient and receptive to the lessons the world is trying to teach,” says the couple. One that keeps coming up? “Retirement is not the time to stop dreaming about new and different routes in life.”

12. Do your research

The Gumports appreciate getting a taste of the local culture wherever they are traveling, and they’re not opposed to tours or experiences that deliver on this front. But Bonni has a few words of advice: “If you’re looking at purchasing something that uses words such as ‘bespoke, artisanal, farm-to-table’ and more fluffy adjectives, make sure these experiences are as authentic as they sound.” Read reviews thoroughly and take the time to research before you buy, advises Bonni. It's fun to be spontaneous, but it's easy to be misled by clever marketing and buzzwords.

13. It’s a marathon—not a sprint

It wasn’t long before Brenda Huyhn adopted—and adapted— a popular van-lifer rule: Don’t travel more than 3 hours, get in by 3 p.m., and stay at least 3 nights. Huyhn, who at 47 retired earlier than many, is adamant about not trying to do too much in one day to avoid burnout. She and her husband take their time, prioritizing “quality over quantity” with their stops and stays. It makes the entire experience all the richer.

14. You can always head home

Diana Petterson is on track to hit the 100-country mark just in time for her 70th birthday in 2026. But as much as the Black solo traveler loves seeing the world, she’s not afraid to ditch a trip if something isn’t working out. “Wherever I am in the world, if for whatever reason I am uncomfortable, or I don't feel well … I’m going to plop down that credit card , and get home.”

15. Start the day early to avoid the crowds

Artist Simma Liebman, 76, enjoys going to museums while visiting new cities and places. But since the retiree is immunocompromised, she plans these outings a little differently. Now Liebman hits the museums “as early in the day as possible” and masks up while taking in the art "unless there are very few people inside.” Whatever your motivation, rising early is something you can be sure the hordes of 20-something backpackers won't be doing. Beat them to all the best spots.

“I like a very good hotel, but not necessarily the best,” says Betty. Focus on getting the right location.

16. Base yourself strategically

Betty, 80, an art collector who declined to share her last name, has found that mid-sized hotels (meaning about 200 rooms) in central locations, with just enough of the services she wants and needs, do the job. “I like a very good hotel, but not necessarily the best,” says Betty. As long as you have the basics covered, it's really about location, location, location.

17. Don’t wait for tomorrow

Instead of putting off travel for a later date, Chicago -based Ruthie Maldonado-Delwiche advises those interested in exploring the world to get out there and “do it now.” Because “tomorrow isn’t promised,” Maldonado-Delwiche, who’s been traveling since she retired in 2017, says. Don't wait if there’s something you want to do or a place you want to visit.

Former psychiatrist Ann Heaslett, 60, who aims to run the six major world marathons in her retirement, feels exactly the same way. “There’s no time like the present.”

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