Page 62 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to Canada

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skaters (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/rideau).
Nearby, farmers’ stalls, independent
boutiques and popular nightclubs keep the
ByWard Market humming from morning to
night (www.byward-market.com).
The excellent attractions in the province’s
smaller cities range from the Art Gallery of
Hamilton (www.artgalleryofhamilton.com)
and the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre
in Sault Ste. Marie (www.bushplane.com) to
public markets such as the Kingston Public
Market (www.kingstonpublicmarket.ca)
and the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market in the heart
of Mennonite country (www.stjacobs
market.com).
Quick Fact
ONTARIO IS THE ONLY CANADIAN
PROVINCE THAT BORDERS
THE GREAT LAKES.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Whether you’re a nature novice or a
seasoned outdoor adventurer, Ontario has
wilderness space for you—and many ways to
help you enjoy it.
Unspoiled landscapes vary from the
remote lakes and rivers of fly-in fishing
camps (www.visitsunsetcountry.com) to
the quaint cottage country of Thousand
Islands National Park (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/
thousandislands).
Wherever you go, you can choose from an
incredible range of adventures. Train your
binoculars on migrating birds at the Pelee
Island Bird Observatory (pibo.ca/en). Walk
high above the forest floor in the Ganaraska
Forest (www.treetoptrekking.com). Hunt for
rare stones in Bancroft (www.hastings.ca/
rockhounding) or hike an outstanding long-
distance trail (www.ontariotrails.on.ca).
Go cross-country or downhill skiing near
Collingwood, on the scenic shores of
Georgian Bay (www.southgeorgianbay.ca).
Dive among shipwrecks at Fathom Five
National Marine Park near Tobermory
(www.parkscanada.gc.ca/fathomfive) or in
the St. Lawrence River (www.1000islands.com/
sunken-treasures-the-wrecks-of-the-
1000-islands).
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
Theatre lovers are spoiled for choice in
Ontario. Toronto alone offers blockbuster
performances by Mirvish Productions
(www.mirvish.com) and a wide range of
plays presented by other theatre companies.
In Ottawa, the National Arts Centre offers
dance, music by the National Arts Centre
Orchestra and others, and English, French
and Indigenous theatre (www.nac-
cna.ca/en). Elsewhere, noteworthy theatre
festivals include the Stratford Festival
(www.stratfordfestival.ca) and the Shaw
Festival (www.shawfest.com). Classical
music fans can revel in inspiring perform-
ances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
(www.tso.ca) and the Canadian Opera
Company (www.coc.ca), while dance
aficionados enjoy the National Ballet of
Canada (national.ballet.ca).
Fine art has many homes across the
province, including the Art Gallery of Ontario
(www.ago.ca), the McMichael Canadian Art
Collection (www.mcmichael.com) and the
National Gallery of Canada (www.gallery.ca).
Learn about Indigenous Peoples of Ontario at
Petroglyphs Provincial Park near Peterborough
(www.ontarioparks.com) and the Museum
of Ontario Archaeology in London
(www.archaeologymuseum.ca). Indigenous
history is also one of many topics covered by
the world-renowned Royal Ontario Museum
(www.rom.on.ca/en).
History buffs can choose from meticu-
lously preserved historic sites and living
history museums, including Fort Henry
(www.forthenry.com) and Upper Canada
Village (www.uppercanadavillage.com)
in Eastern Ontario; Fort George (www.parks
canada.gc.ca) and Old Fort Erie
(www.niagaraparks.com) near Niagara
Falls and Fort York (www.fortyork.ca) in
Toronto; Doon Heritage Village in Kitchener;
and the Buxton National Historic Site and
Museum in North Buxton, near Chatham
(www.buxtonmuseum.com).
MUST SEE, MUST DO
Discover an underwater wonderland of some
16,000 creatures at Ripley’s Aquarium of
Canada in downtown Toronto
(www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada).
Thrill to the thunder of North America’s
most powerful cataract, Niagara Falls, where
nearby attractions range from great
shopping and family fun to glittering
casinos (www.niagarafallstourism.com).
Or, for a different view, hover above the mist
in one of Niagara Helicopters’ flights, getting
a bird’s-eye look at the area, with the added
comfort of air conditioning, lower noise
levels and unrivalled safety (www.niagara
helicopters.com).
Revel in Ontario’s glorious fall colours
aboard the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, which
departs from Sault Ste. Marie (www.agawa
train.com). Further north, board the
seasonal Polar Bear Express from Cochrane
to Moosonee on the shores of James Bay
(www.ontarionorthland.ca/en).
Howl with wolves at the Haliburton Forest
Wolf Centre, home to one of the world’s
largest wolf enclosures of its kind
(www.haliburtonforest.com/things-
to-do/wolf-centre).
Learn about everything from the earth’s
crust to the far reaches of the galaxy at
Science North in Sudbury, which features a
planetarium, a butterfly gallery and an
IMAX theatre. Science North also runs
Dynamic Earth, where you can tour an
underground mine and visit an outdoor
science park and playground, complete with
mining equipment (www.sciencenorth.ca).
VIEW OF PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS FROM ANDAZ HOTEL, COPPER SPIRITS & SIGHTS RESTAURANT • OTTAWA TOURISM