Posts by: ClaireB

Toronto is Canada’s largest city so it can feel crowded, especially when you add in the thousands of tourists who visit every day! Finding a place that you can get away from it all may seem like a challenge, but if you catch a ferry and head out to the Toronto Islands the relaxing atmosphere of this family friendly place feels like a different world! What and Where are the Toronto Islands? The Toronto Islands is a small chain of islands just a little way off the shore of downtown Toronto. Covering an area of about 570 acres between them, […]

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Beautiful and breathtaking are just two of the words used to describe Niagara Falls; one of the world’s greatest scenic destinations, and one of the most popular because of its easy accessibility. Set on the Niagara River, the falls are shared between Canada and the United States though as many a Canadian will tell you, the views are much better on our side of the river! The Facts About Niagara Falls! While there are higher and wider waterfalls in the world, Niagara is spectacular for its own points – it has the highest combined flow rate of any waterfall in […]

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There’s a place in Toronto that’s now quite inconspicuous and easy to miss from the street, yet it’s where the city of Toronto began in the year 1793. This place is Fort York and it’s situated just west of downtown Toronto, beneath the elevated Gardiner Expressway, in a location that was once, believe it or not, the lakefront! Today several hundred metres separate Fort York from Lake Ontario thanks to land reclamation, and that’s why this important historic site seems to be in such an odd location! History of Fort York The famous Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe, gave the […]

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If you visit Niagara Falls today you may be surprised at just how much there is to see and do here. On the Canadian side of the falls the City of Niagara Falls has really grown into a major tourist destination, and like it or loath it, it provides accommodation, restaurants, and many attractions in addition to the falls themselves. I personally was quite surprised at how touristy the city has become because, after all, I came to see Niagara Falls the natural attraction, not a glitzy tourist destination that reminded me of a seaside resort in England! Maybe I’m […]

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You’ll probably know it better as the CN Tower though it’s fondly referred to as Canada’s National Tower and was originally named after its benefactors, the Canadian National Railway. Either way, the CN Tower is one attraction in Toronto that you can’t miss; in more ways than one! The CN Tower is iconic – it’s Canada’s equivalent to the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty and us Canadians are very proud of it! It was, after all, the world’s tallest tower for 34 years and remains one of the tallest structures in the world. It’s not just tall though, […]

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Ottawa‘s most prominent landmark and one of the top tourist attractions of the city is Parliament Hill; home to the Parliament of Canada, and host to about 3 million visitors every year. Development of Parliament Hill started in 1859 when Ottawa was chosen to be the capital of the Province of Canada by Queen Victoria. The slightly elevated position of the hill, overlooking the Ottawa River, set the scene for this to be an impressive site, and they began building it in the popular (for the time) Gothic Revival architectural style. The original Centre Block was destroyed by fire in […]

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Having visited the nation’s capital on several occasions I can safely say that I am very fond of Ottawa. There are many things that I like about it, but overall I like the fact that it’s such a calm place; almost peaceful and serene despite the fact that it’s home to close to a million people. Maybe it’s because Ottawa has been ranked highly in some of the world’s most renowned surveys – ranked second highest quality of living of any large city in the Americas by Mercer, and 14th highest in the world; or second cleanest city in Canada, […]

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In Eastern Ontario, where the Saint Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario, there’s a region with beautiful scenery that’s divided between Canada and the United States. Stretching downstream from the City of Kingston for approximately 80 km (50 mi.) you’ll come across island after island that make up the archipelago called The Thousand Islands. Now you may think that there couldn’t possibly be one thousand islands here, though in fact this is an understatement – there are actually a total of 1,864! Many very small islands are only large enough to support one tree, and there are many that can hold […]

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With a population of around 9,000 people the town of Smiths Falls is only a small town, but it’s big on charm! During the summer months in particular this becomes a hive of activity as boats come and go along the famous Rideau Canal, and visitors stop to check out the historic appeal of this Eastern Ontario town. Smiths Falls is the kind of place that makes you want to stop, get out of your car, and spend some time relaxing, and if you want to stay the night you may be able to find a room in one of […]

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The first time I visited Ottawa with my husband we stumbled upon the Fish Market Restaurant in the Byward Market district of the city. Both of us are fans of fish and seafood so this restaurant looked like a great choice, and judging by the number of tables that were occupied we weren’t the only ones who thought so! From the outside the Fish Market Restaurant has a friendly feel, and its styling seems somewhere between posh pub and bistro, mixed with heritage building! Having had a day of drizzling rain for sightseeing around Ottawa we both looked worse for […]

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