Things to do in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake sits 26 kilometres from the falls along the Niagara Parkway, about 25 minutes by car and a flatter, longer ride if you take the Niagara River Recreation Trail (56 kilometres of paved path from the falls).

This is the town at the mouth of the Niagara River, where Queen Street's storefronts, the Prince of Wales hotel and the Shaw Festival theatre (running April to December since 1962) make it worth a half-day on its own, not a 20-minute stop bolted onto a falls itinerary.

It is also the natural base for the VQA wine region that spreads out along the escarpment and lakeshore around it. Shaw tickets typically run from about 40 to well over 100 CAD depending on the show and seat, and Queen Street parking fills fast on summer weekends.