Canada Guide
Ontario
Ontario, Canada's second-largest province, stretches all the way from the St Lawrence River and the Great Lakes to the frozen shores of Hudson Bay. Some two-thirds of this territory – all of the north and most of the centre – is occupied by the forests and rocky outcrops of the Canadian Shield.
Spread along the north shore of Lake Ontario is Canada's biggest city, Toronto. The steel city of Hamilton, at the western end of the lake, has one or two interesting historic sights and is also near Canada's premier tourist spot, Niagara Falls. Most of the rest of southwest Ontario is farming terrain that's as flat as a Dutch polder. Nevertheless, the car-producing town of Windsor is a lively place to spend a night, and both Goderich and Bayfield are charming little places tucked against the bluffs along the Lake Huron shoreline. For landscape, the most attractive regions of southern Ontario are the Bruce Peninsula and the adjacent Georgian Bay.
In central Ontario are the Muskoka Lakes – the epicentre of what Canadians call "cottage country". With the notable exception of several superb hotels, there is nowhere in particular to aim for and if you're after the great outdoors, you'd do best to keep going north to Algonquin Provincial Park, a vast wilderness where beavers and black bears roam and you can canoe for days without seeing a soul. Alternatively head east for the towns bordering the St Lawrence River, primarily Kingston, a handsome city with a clutch of fine colonial buildings. North of here is Ottawa, the nation's capital, but a surprisingly small city of impeccable streets and parks, high-class museums and galleries, plus a lively restaurant and bar scene.
Northern Ontario offers a natural environment stunning in its extremes, but the travelling can be hard and the specific sights too widely separated for comfort. .
Highlights
1 Niagara Falls Quite simply one of the most famous tourist attractions in North America.
2 Niagara-on-the-Lake With its antique clapboard houses and immaculate gardens, this is one of Ontario's prettiest towns.
3 Bayfield All leafy streets and elegant homes, the lakeside hamlet of Bayfield is a perfect place to unwind.
4 Fathom Five Marine Park Clear waters and shipwrecks make for some outstanding diving.
5 Georgian Bay Islands Ontario at its most beautiful – crystal waters studded with pine-dusted islands.
6 Ottawa Amiable capital city, with a lively restaurant and café scene plus a clutch of outstanding museums and galleries.