Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – A small, deep blue pillow emblazoned with 124 Q in big, gold letters sits just below the pillows, setting off the crisp, white linens and light grey headboard. On the wall to the left, wide swaths of blue swirl across a pale canvas. There are two grey-blue area rugs, but what you mostly see are medium-dark wood flooring, which offers a clean, modern look that you might see in a fancy, midtown Toronto condo. There are plenty of places in this quaint little village with overstuffed furniture and chintz pillows and images of British royalty. The 124 Read more
Niagara on the Lake
Niagara Falls is a destination that could easily rest on its laurels. Instead, its constantly evolving to keep up with the times, with new things to do and fresh twists on old favourites. A group of Canadian travel writers visited for a couple of days this fall, and we found tons of great activities and tours. One of the best additions to the region is the restoration of the old Niagara Parks Power Station, which opened in 1905 and features truly glorious industrial architecture; spacious and airy and crafted with tremendous pride. If you take a tour, they’ll show you how Read more
TONGARIKI, EASTER ISLAND – The hour of 7 a.m. is still a nasty rumour. To the east, in a distant sky, the sun is rising over a deserted Pacific Ocean. I’m carefully making my way through a thick field of grass wedged with bits of lava rock, my iPhone flashlight helping point the way in the pre-dawn darkness. Horses that appear to come from a nearby ranch nibble noiselessly in the black morning. I get too close to what looks like a chestnut-coloured colt and it bounds skittishly to its mother a few metres away. The horses aren’t aware of Read more
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE – Alan Doyle is mugging for the audience at the Jackson-Triggs Ampitheatre on a warm summer night under a full moon. “I started playing this one when I was touring with Great Big Sea, back in 1951,” he says with a laugh. His new band, The Beautiful Gypsies, immediately launches into a frenzied, Newfoundland-meets-Nashville tune with powerful guitars, a splendid violin and a swirling accordion backed by drums and bass. Doyle has perfected the “aw shucks” Canadian approach, and it suits him well. Toss in a generous dash of Maritimes/Newfoundland music with lyrics about lost fishermen signing their goodbyes Read more
A new report released today says wine tourism is a growing and important part of Canada’s tourism industry. That’s not really news, but the report from the Canadian Vintners Association (CVA) and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) finds that wine tourism attracts a whopping 3 million visitors a year and drives $1.2 billion in spending a year for the critical national tourism sector. Canadian wine regions are world-class, not only because of the great wine, but also the hospitality, infrastructure and natural beauty, which we believe can be further promoted to would-be international visitors,” said Dan Paszkowski, President Read more
