Ontario Taster

Ten nights by hire car across Ontario, starting in Ottawa rather than Toronto, which gives the trip a better shape than the usual loop.

Ottawa gets three nights and deserves them. Seven of Canada’s national museums are there, the Rideau Canal can be walked or taken by boat, and the ByWard Market has been trading since 1826. Kingston follows via a scenic cruise through Thousand Islands National Park, with the waterfront promenade, the city hall and Fort Henry, where the Fort Henry Guard drill daily in nineteenth-century uniform.

Huntsville comes next near Algonquin, with a canoe for hire or a guided trip, and moose, black bear and loon all resident in the park. The drive on to Niagara goes through Elora, which has been voted the most beautiful village in Ontario and sits above a limestone gorge that can be tubed or kayaked.

Niagara Falls follows, with Queen Victoria Park for the view or the Voyage to the Falls boat for the full soaking. Niagara-on-the-Lake comes next, a preserved nineteenth-century village at the centre of the Wine Route, with an icewine tasting at Inniskillin, the producer that effectively invented the category in Canada, and a horse-drawn carriage tour. Toronto closes the trip with two nights, Old Toronto, the Distillery District and the CN Tower. Canadian Affair include the flights, the hire car, the hotels, the cruise and the listed attractions, with fuel, insurance and meals separate. The price is per person. Ten nights makes this the shortest eastern fly-drive they sell and a sensible first visit.