Ontario attractions

The flashy urban scene of Toronto’s Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square) is reminiscent of New York City’s Times Square. More than 56 million people visit this iconic spot every year, making it one of the busiest intersections in Canada. This is where you find glowing billboards, Eaton Centre, Ed Mirvish Theatre, and great spots to people-watch.

Once home to the 1832 Gooderham and Worts’ mammoth distilling facility, Toronto’s charming arts and entertainment quarter is now a popular strolling spot for off-duty creatives. The cobblestone streets are lined with Victorian-era industrial buildings, which have been repurposed to serve as contemporary art galleries, third-wave coffee shops, concept boutiques, restaurants, and bars.

Separated by the Ottawa River, Gatineau and Ottawa sit on different sides of the provincial boundary between Quebec and Ontario. Visitors to Canada’s capital often hop across to Gatineau, with the Canadian Museum of History and the 139-square-mile (361-square-kilometer Gatineau Park proving especially popular among tourists.

Built between 1826 and 1832 to offer secure passage for British ships from Montreal, the Rideau Canal—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is an engineering masterpiece. It extends for 126 miles (202 kilometers) between Ottawa and Kingston. Ottawa’s most visited stretch lures boaters, cyclists, and strollers in summer, and ice skaters in winter.

A concentrated cluster of grand government buildings overlooking the Ottawa River, Parliament Hill is the centerpiece of Downtown Ottawa. At the heart of the complex is Centre Block, a neo-Gothic riot of greening copper turrets, stone-carved gargoyles, and pointed arches built around a soaring central campanile (bell tower) known as the Peace Tower. Parliament Hill is not just a pretty sight; it’s also home to Canada’s most important democratic institutions, including the Library of Parliament and the chambers of the House of Commons and the Senate.

Eclectic, diverse, and graffiti-slathered, Toronto's Kensington Market neighborhood is one of the city’s most distinctive enclaves. The district is packed with produce vendors, food sellers, vintage clothes shops, bric-a-brac boutiques, buskers, cafés, and restaurants, and attracts a steady stream of bohemian types.

Established in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is Canada’s largest museum. Housed inside a heritage-meets-modern building, it boasts a 6-million-strong collection, which focuses on objects relating to world culture and natural history. It includes everything from First Nations’ crest poles to Egyptian mummies to T-rex skeletons.

Though Toronto’s high-rise skyline is in sight, the Toronto Islands—a chain of islands scattered off the shore of Lake Ontario—feel a world away. The islands, once a narrow peninsula, were cut off from the mainland by violent storms, and now their sandy coastlines and verdant parklands serve as a peaceful escape for the city-weary.

In downtown Toronto, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada houses approximately 16,000 water-bound species from across the world. The displays are arranged by region, and visitors can explore the tropical Rainbow Reef, check out the Dangerous Lagoon shark tank, and learn more about the marine life found in the waters around Canada.

Looking more at home in Europe than it does in Ontario, Canada, this faux medieval castle was a filming location forChicago andX-Men. Built for an eccentric businessman between 1911 and 1914, Casa Loma (literally House on a Hill) features a pastiche of old-world styles that include turrets, Tudor-style chimneys, underground tunnels, and secret passages.

The family-owned Reif Estate Winery is one of the oldest wineries in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area. Located on the banks of the Niagara River, and not far from Lake Ontario, it’s in an attractive setting, with views across the river to the United States. The estate offers wine and food tastings and events, including some more unusual wine events that mix good food, drink, and fun.

New City Hall, which replaced Old City Hall in 1965 to accommodate a rapidly growing city, is the current seat of Toronto’s municipal government. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell, winner of the city’s international competition, Toronto City Hall is comprised of two curved towers as well as Nathan Phillips Square, Canada’s largest public square.

Lake Ontario, the 14th-largest lake in the world but the smallest of the five Great Lakes, is divided in half by the U.S.-Canadian border. Its shores are home to two popular Canadian destinations: Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Known for its islands, beaches, wildlife, and waterfront trails, this beautiful body of water offers something for everyone.

Toronto Harbour is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, the smallest of North America’s five Great Lakes. Protected from the lake’s tides by the Toronto Islands, the harbor offers smooth conditions for a wide range of water activities, including boat tours, ferry rides, sailing, and kayaking.

Toronto’s Entertainment District lives up to its name with a variety of performing arts venues, clubs, and live sporting events. From symphony to jazz and blues, theater, and baseball games, it’s all happening. Other options for entertainment in the area include Canada’s iconic CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada.

The Scotiabank Arena (formerly the Air Canada Centre) is Toronto’s major concert and professional sports venue. The facility clocks in at 650,000 square feet (60,387 square meters) and seats nearly 20,000 event-goers. The adjacent Maple Leaf Square hosts a variety of shops and restaurants, plus a hotel and condominiums.

Regarded as one of the most beautiful towns in Ontario, Niagara-on-the-Lake—or NOTL, as the locals call it—sits at the meeting point of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. A stone’s throw from the US–Canadian border, the lakefront town is a popular destination for day trips and weekend getaways, beloved for its striking 19th-century buildings, award-winning wineries, and the Shaw Festival theater company.

Perhaps best known as the site of the Ontario Legislative Building, Queen’s Park is a verdant oasis offering respite from the buzz of downtown Toronto. You’ll find monuments and memorials, walking paths and benches, and lawns ideal for lounging.

The CF Toronto Eaton Centre is Toronto’s most popular attraction and the busiest shopping mall in North America. At more than 2 million square feet (200,000 square meters), the Eaton Centre features a glass galleria ceiling, a food court, and 235 stores, including Hudson’s Bay flagship location.

A small recreation area in Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario, Sugar Beach is not the place for a dip as swimming is prohibited. Its sandy shores are just fine for relaxing on a sunny day under the shade of a pink patio umbrella. Visitors have views of cargo ships and the Redpath Sugar Refinery, which inspired the name.

Ottawa’s historic food-focused ByWard Market houses hundreds of vendors hawking farm-raised meat, fresh produce, and arts and crafts. Hungry visitors and locals alike flock to this social and shopping hub, where takeout vendors sell ready-to-eat goodies and sit-down eateries offer prime seats for patrons to take in all the market action.

Arching across the Niagara River gorge, the Rainbow Bridge links Niagara Falls in New York on the US side with Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. Built in 1940, the historic bridge serves as one of the most scenic border crossings between the two countries. Traverse it on foot, by bike, or by vehicle for dramatic views of Niagara Falls—just be sure to have your passport and valid travel documentation with you.

Opened in 2006, this towering Ferris wheel carries passengers up to a height of 175 feet (53 meters), far above the hubbub and neon lights of bustling Clifton Hill. From the enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas, passengers can see for miles in every direction and admire the grandeur of Horseshoe and American falls.

At 183 feet (56 meters) tall, Brock's Monument in Queenston Heights National Historic Site is the highest of its kind in Canada. It commemorates Major General Sir Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812. In Queenston, a short drive from Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, the national historic site is a fun, informative place to visit while touring the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

A leading Canadian museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario is home of more than 79,000 works of art in its collection, including First Nations and Inuit carvings, noted Canadian works, and European art from Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry designed the gallery’s latest renovation.

The oldest landmark in Toronto, the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is also one of the earliest lighthouses built on the Great Lakes. Though what was once a critical navigational beacon is no longer operational, visitors still enjoy viewing and taking photos of the 1808 lighthouse. The inside only opens for special events.

Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Ottawa’s glass-and-granite National Gallery of Canada (Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada) showcases an exquisite art collection. As well as an extensive display of European and Canadian art including an assortment of indigenous artworks, the museum also houses the reconstructed 19th-century Rideau Street Convent Chapel.

Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Peller Estates Winery is one of the oldest in the area, as it was first established in the 1920s by a Hungarian immigrant. The award-winning winery specializes in riesling, chardonnay, and ice wine, a special variety of wine produced in the harsh winter climate of this region of the Great Lakes. Wine lovers shouldn’t miss the estate while traveling to the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada.

Queen’s Quay Terminal is a residential, entertainment, and shopping center on the harborfront of Toronto, Ontario. Built as a warehouse facility in the 1920s, the terminal was revitalized in the 1980s as a multipurpose complex featuring upscale shops and restaurants. The lakeside setting offers views of the Toronto Islands.

Located in the heart of downtown and a hub for the city’s Chinese-Canadian community, Toronto's Chinatown is a bustling neighborhood lined with an appealing range of small businesses. Visitors and Toronto residents flock here to dine at the area’s popular eateries and shop for produce and imported specialty items at corner grocers.