Ottawa The federal capital is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River facing the French-speaking city of Hull in Québec. The imposing Gothic-style Parliament Buildings overlook the confluence of the rivers Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau and are surmounted by the 92m (302ft) Peace Tower, affording a panoramic view of the city and its surroundings. Guided tours are available. The colorful Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place here daily in July and August. Confederation Square, site of the National War Memorial, is the focal point of central Ottawa. The National Arts Center,
a hexagonal complex on the banks of the Rideau Canal, houses an opera company, theaters, studios and restaurants. The Rideau Canal and the Rideau-Trent-Severn Waterway are part of a complex of recreational lakes and canals linking Ottawa to Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. Outstanding among the city’s many museums and galleries are the National Gallery of Canada, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum and the Museum of Civilization (over the bridge in nearby Hull).
Excursions Gatineau Park, an 88,000 acre (35,612 hectare) wilderness area, is only a 15-minute drive north of Parliament Hill. Southeast of the city, Upper Canada Village is a reconstructed 19th-century town consisting of historic buildings salvaged from threatened sites on the St Lawrence Seaway.
Toronto The provincial capital is Canada’s largest city. Its accelerated growth in recent years, with a huge influx of immigrants, has resulted in one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities on the continent. The city is laid out on a rectangular grid broken only by the Don River and Humber River, the banks of which provide a host of recreational amenities. The CN Tower, the world’s tallest free-standing structure, has glass-fronted elevators rising 553m (1815ft) to indoor and outdoor observation decks that afford a 120km- (75 mile-) panoramic view on a clear day. The twin gold towers of the Royal Plaza make it the most eye-catching of the many avant-garde commercial buildings in the city. Toronto’s latest attraction, SkyDome, at the foot of the CN Tower, is a multi-purpose entertainment complex and sports stadium and was the world’s first to have a retractable roof – baseball’s World Series has been played here more than once. It is home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and the Argonauts football team. It also hosts a multitude of events including rock concerts, opera, exhibitions, cricket, wrestling and motorshows. Tours of the SkyDome are available. The nearby Air Canada Center is the home of the Maple Leafs hockey team and the Raptors basketball team. Together with modern developments, the city has seen the renovation of old neighborhoods, particularly the tree-lined streets of Victorian houses characteristic of the city. Yorkeville, the hip part of town in the 1960s, now caters to the tastes of the city’s upwardly mobile, but is a good spot to go window shopping or enjoy a cup of coffee. Queen Street, further south towards the lake, attracts a younger, more style-conscious crowd. In the eastern suburbs, the spectacular Ontario Science Center and the Metro Toronto Zoo are both worth seeing. The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum are also noteworthy. Casa Loma was originally the home of Lord and Lady Pellatt. It was designed by architect Edward Lennox to Sir Henry Pellatt’s specific requirements and Scottish stone masons were hired to build it. The castle offers fantastic views of downtown Toronto from the landscaped gardens. Ferries to the Toronto Islands depart from Harbourfront, one of a group of recreational, shopping and arts complexes, including the artificial island of Ontario Place. Canada’s Wonderland is a huge theme park to the northwest of the city.
The Rest of the Province Niagara Falls provides a spectacular day’s outing from Toronto, and the storybook village of Niagara-on-the-Lake offers a tranquil environment in which to enjoy the many wines of this region. Heading west, the north shore of Lake Erie is dotted with resorts and good beaches; St Thomas and Port Stanley are particularly popular. North of this, between Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and Lake Huron, are London and Stratford, home of Canada’s annual Shakespeare festival. Kitchener-Waterloo offers the chance to see Ontario’s pioneer past in the Mennonite settlers of this region. Further north, Midland commands a spectacular view of the Georgian Bay Lake District, a popular resort area. Various minor ski resorts are located around Georgian Bay, mostly on the Niagara Escarpment. About 2.5 hours north of Toronto is the protected wilderness of Algonquin Park, Ontario’s oldest provincial park; 7600 sq km (2934 sq miles) of forest and lakeland provide the perfect environment for outdoor recreation, particularly canoeing and hiking. At the eastern end of Lake Superior, Sault Ste Marie straddles the US border and is an important commercial center. It is also a good starting point for trips to the northern and western wildernesses. A railway (Algoma) and the Trans-Canada Highway head westwards around the north shore of Lake Superior. The principal attraction here is the Lake Superior Provincial Park, a region with many beautiful ravines, lakes and waterfalls but chiefly famed for the Agawa Rock Pictographs. Nearby is the hunting and fishing resort of White River. The Highway continues to Thunder Bay, the western terminus of the St Lawrence Seaway. Fantastic canyons and rock formations can be seen between Thunder Bay and Lake Nipigon; the lake itself and the town of the same name are popular resorts in the heart of historic Native American country. The far north and west of the province is a largely uninhabited wilderness of lakes, swamps and forests. The main trans-Canadian railway crosses Ontario at about 50°N; north of that, there are very few roads and only one railway line, which follows the Moose River to Moose Factory, one of several small settlements on the shores of James and Hudson Bays.
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