Niagara Falls
Home to spectacular natural beauty and spectacularly tacky man-made attractions. The US side is apparently worse, though its hard to believe how that could be possible. Worthwhile day trip from Toronto, less than 3 hours by train, though beware that the most direct route from the station to the falls goes through some fairly interesting parts of town.
Ottawa
Canada’s capital was far better than I was expecting, though there’s little to trouble you for more than a day or two between Toronto and Montreal. Parliament is the main attraction in town, if understandably rather similar to the parliament buildings in Westminster and Wellington. Impressive gothic revival architecture and there are great views over the city from the Peace Tower.
Byward Market is a pretty funky indoor market, while the National Gallery is home to a great collection, particularly the Group of Seven whose work I loved. They really captured the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, not somewhere I’ve really explored, but living in New Zealand gives me an idea.
Quebec City
Perhaps unfair but felt like a North American version of France for North American tourists. There is however plenty of beautiful architecture, in particularly the imposing Château Frontenac Hotel looking over the Saint Lawrence river, and the Musée de la Civilisation museum is fascinating and worth the trip alone.
What a lovely travel post! I really enjoy your use of photos – it gives such a graphic insight into your descriptions!