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With a group of Travel Counsellors, I flew with Air Canada to Toronto. We were greeted by our guide Barbara Lorenzen and were taken to our first hotel Le Méridien King Edward with its very comfortable and well appointed rooms. We enjoyed lunch at Le Marche, which I highly recommend for its market style food stations.

We all agreed that we could not miss going up the present world’s largest building the CN Tower. There are spectacular views from the observation levels of Toronto and beyond. The city sits beside Lake Ontario and its blue flag beaches on Toronto Island accessed by a short ferry ride from the city.
We enjoyed dinner at the recently restored Distillery District with many restaurants and boutique shops moving into the former distillery buildings.

Early the next morning we set off on a city tour visiting the amazing Art Gallery of Ontario which was exhibiting Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting. We had our lunch at the Delta Chelsea and were shown around this great centrally located hotel that is ideal for families. It has excellent leisure facilities with a roof top pool and a play centre for families.

We visited Bloor Yorkville with its fashionable restaurants and designer boutique shops in very attractive tree lined sidewalks. Toronto is a very diverse and definitely a “shop to you drop” place to stay!

We set off in the afternoon for Niagara Falls. On arrival we had a real treat, an exciting and amazing helicopter flight over the Niagara Falls.

We stayed at one of the largest hotels here, The Sheraton on the Falls. My room had magnificent views way over to the USA side of the Falls and I could hear the deafening roar of the water from the balcony. We were whisked up to the revolving restaurant at the top of the Skylon tower. The next morning we woke to a grey, wet and windy day which was not good news for our planned Maid of the Mist boat trip. I am afraid I ducked out of this experience. My colleagues returned very wet and hadn’t seen a thing!

We set off for Niagara on the Lake. This lovely town reminded me of New England and is a complete contrast to its brash neighbour. We wandered around its quaint shops before enjoying lunch at the wonderful vintage hotel The Prince of Wales. Our next treat was to visit a Vineyard. This surprised me most of all Ontario has to offer. There are miles of vineyards producing excellent wine and now the famous and unique Icewine.

Next we set off for Algonquin National Park with its beautiful scenery, forests and hundreds of lakes. We stopped for lunch at The Rosseau, a JW Marriott resort hotel and saw its beautiful rooms and leisure facilities.

We arrived at Arowhorn Pines deep in the park not before spotting some moose at the lodge’s road side. We stayed in four bedroom cabins and enjoyed our evening meal beside a roaring log fire. The next morning we were taken out on a boat on Little Joe Lake to enjoy our tranquil surroundings. We listened to stories of the early pioneers and settlers in this region and of the artists that have settled here captivated by its region’s beauty. Here you can enjoy solitude or for the adventurous many outdoor activities and pursuits.

The next day we set off for Ottawa. We stayed at a contemporary and well located Hotel Indigo. We soon discovered that Ottawa is a pedestrian city. We were shown around the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel which is a magnificent building in the heart of Ottawa surrounded by many of its historic buildings. We dined at a great restaurant Big Daddy’s Bourbon Street Bistro & Oyster bar.
Our last day was to be a very full day of sightseeing in Ottawa. We visited Parliament Hill, Bytown Museum, Rideau Cannal, the amazing Museum of Civilisation and the Bywards market. We enjoyed a boat ride along the Ottawa River too. We had dinner at Le Café at the National Arts Centre before enjoying some music at the annual Ottawa Jazz Festival.

Sadly it was time to pick up our bags to go to the airport for our overnight flight home. It had been exhilarating and fascinating trip to see some of this incredibly diverse and captivating province of Canada. Our hosts and guides were superb sharing with us their love and knowledge of their country. I hope to return again one day soon to discover more.