Canada Trip.co.uk

The idyllic 18th-century Niagara-on-the-Lake has been called Canada’s prettiest little town. It is home to some of North America’s finest wineries, a sampling of great hotels, fine restaurants that specialise in local cuisine, eclectic shopping and the Shaw Festival.

Blossoming flowers colour the neat and orderly downtown. Beautiful stone heritage buildings have been restored to their original splendor. Old-fashioned street lights illuminate the horse-drawn carriages that parade up and down Queen Street.

Though its famous name has left it linked with one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America, the mood and pace of the charming town has little in common with the city of Niagara Falls.

And Niagara-on-the-Lake’s beauty is more substance than superficiality. The Niagara Peninsula is recognized internationally as an outstanding wine-producing locale, with a unique mesoclimate similar to that of the great wine producing regions of the world. This rich agricultural area is more southerly than Bordeaux, and the two Great Lakes, Ontario and Erie, moderate temperatures, ensuring the cool springs and long autumns that are ideal for growing grapes.

Just over an hour’s drive from Toronto and a half-hour from Buffalo, N.Y., the peninsula is home to more than 40 wineries. No longer are they simply purveyors of excellent wines, the wineries have done an outstanding job of tapping into tourism, offering visitors the complete wine country experience. Open year-round, they welcome guests with tours, tastings, special events and the opportunity to experience regional cuisine in their on-site restaurants.

The picturesque paved Wine Trail meanders along the bank of the Niagara River, past beautiful stone homes, historic inns, orchards, vineyards and wineries. The trek follows the Niagara Parkway, which Winston Churchill, during a 1943 visit, called “the prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world.”

The many historic plaques and markers remind us of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s special place in Canada’s history, as capital of Upper Canada in 1792, site of the first provincial parliament and of Upper Canada’s first newspaper.

Travel down to the waterfront to watch jet boats departing for a quick trip upriver to the famous falls, and then why not visit historic Fort George, where staff in period costume and uniform re-enact daily life in the garrison circa 1812, when the fort’s cannons faced Fort Niagara on the American side of the river.

The annual Shaw Festival, which opens in April and runs to November, features the works of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries.

There are three theatres, each with its own personality. The Royal George Theatre on Queen Street features Edwardian gilt mouldings, richly coloured red walls and golden lions. It was built as a vaudeville house to entertain troops during the First World War. The second-largest repertory theatre in North America, the Shaw stages 11 productions each season, to an international audience of some 350,000 people.

Poet William Kirby, who wrote back in 1896 that “Niagara is as near heaven as any town whatever.” If you spend even a day there, you’ll soon see things haven’t changed very much!

Niagara On The Lake, as i’ve mentioned is very close to Niagara Falls..
If you want to have a look at hotels in Niagara – there are two we would reccomend:

The Hilton in Niagara Falls

The Sheraton Fallsview Hotel and Conference Centre

Or you can Search for Hotels in Niagara at:

For more information on the chamber of commerce accommodation booking service, e-mail accomm@niagaraonthelake.com. General tourist information is available at www.niagaraonthelake.com, while details on the Shaw Festival Theatre can be found at www.shawfest.com.

Share on Facebook

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 10:10 am and is filed under Niagara Falls, Niagara Park, Niagara, ON, Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.