Ontario — Where to Go
Top Things to See
Ottawa
In Canada's capital city, you can admire the imposing gothic-style Parliament Buildings, Peace Tower, Confederation Square (site of the National War Memorial), and the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the city's many museums and galleries are the National Gallery of Canada, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum and the Museum of Civilization.
Toronto
Canada's largest city is also the provincial capital. The CN Tower has glass-fronted elevators rising to indoor observation decks that afford a 160km (100-mile) panoramic view on a clear day. Yorkville, the hip part of town in the 1960s, now caters to the tastes of the city's upwardly mobile, but is a good spot to go window shopping or enjoy a cup of coffee. Queen Street West attracts a younger, more style-conscious crowd. In the eastern suburbs, the spectacular Ontario Science Center and the Toronto Zoo are both worth seeing.
Niagara Falls
A must-see; Niagara Falls are a legacy of the Ice Age, gushing out half a million gallons of water every second. The city of Niagara Falls itself is stuffed with wax museums and theme restaurants, but just to the north lies the storybook village of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Southwest of the falls, the north shore of Lake Erie is dotted with small resorts and good beaches; Port Stanley is particularly popular.
Algonquin Park
Nature lovers are drawn to the protected wilderness of Algonquin Park, Ontario's oldest provincial park; 7,600 sq km (2,934 sq miles) of forest and lakeland provide the perfect environment for outdoor recreation.
Native pictographs
Lake Superior Provincial Park has many beautiful ravines, lakes and waterfalls. In particular, its Agawa Rock Pictographs are highly famed. These are one of the largest collections of Indian rock art in Ontario. The pictographs remain one of Superior's most sacred spots.
Butterfly migration
Beautiful and unique (to Ontario) monarch butterflies stop off at Point Pelee on Lake Erie in September during their annual migration. These colorful insects cover the trees, providing an amazing spectacle.
Summer theater
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival focuses mainly (but not exclusively) on the Bard's plays, while the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake highlights the works of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, and the Blyth Festival presents Canadian plays.
Top Things to Do
Canoeing
Ontario is particularly well known for canoeing, and has more canoe routes than any other region in the world - more than 5,400km (3,355 miles) of routes in northwestern Ontario alone. Good locations include Killarney and Algonquin Provincial Parks in southern Ontario, the latter being within three hours' drive of Toronto.
Hiking
From hiking trails on the Bruce Peninsula, the views are spectacular.
Maple Syrup Festival
The Sandy Flat Sugar Bush and Pancake House in Warkworth hosts the annual Maple Syrup Festival in March. Amongst the many demonstrations, races and contests is also the chance to sample lots of this sweet and sticky fluid liberally poured onto anything from pancakes to sausages. The maple trees and their sap are unique to eastern North America and Ontario is very proud of its culinary links to the syrup.
Skiing and sailing
Midland commands a spectacular view of the Muskoka-Georgian Bay lake district and is a popular resort, mainly because of the various minor ski resorts located around Georgian Bay.
CN Tower
Thrill seekers can hurtle up to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto (www.cntower.ca): Canada's national tower was until recently the world's tallest freestanding structure. From the public observation deck in its Sky Pod, 447m (1,465ft) above the ground, you can see Niagara Falls on a clear day.
