I try my best not to pick favourites… but between you and me, fall is truly my favourite season of the year. I mean, what’s not to love? The beautifully vibrant foliage, the crisp chill in the air, the crunch of leaves underfoot, cozy sweaters, cute decorations, pumpkin everything…
I may be partial, but here in Ontario, we happen to have especially gorgeous autumns. The trees are bursting with glorious colours, the sunshine is abundant, and the local farm markets are overflowing with freshly picked apples and pumpkins. There are several places in Ontario that do fall especially well – whether you’re getting your spook on at Elora’s annual Monster Month, taking a scenic chairlift ride in Milton, or doing a fall colours hike in Caledon – but one of my favourite autumn haunts is the beautiful historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
In This Post
- About Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Queen Street & the Memorial Clock Tower
- Niagara-on-the-Lake Hotels
- Shops of Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Cafés, Bakeries & Sweet Shops of Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Restaurants of Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Heritage Homes of Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Queen’s Royal Park
Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, north of Niagara Falls and northeast of St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake is a charming town known for its storied history, beautiful heritage homes, award-winning wineries, world-class Shaw Festival Theatre, and quaint downtown core. Niagara-on-the-Lake (or NOTL for short) has always held a special place in my heart, because it’s where my late grandmother lived. She came to NOTL after decades in Toronto and fell in love immediately. Its peaceful, tree-lined streets and slow pace of living were a welcome change from the busy, traffic-filled thoroughfare of Weston Road she’d called home for so many years. She always told me how lucky she felt to live there – and as a kid, I felt even luckier to visit! She’d take me for walks along the Niagara River and for picnics at Kurtz Orchards. We’d admire the paintings at the old Trisha Romance gallery and indulge in ice cream cones at The Nutty Chocolatier, and we’d always come home with a treat or two – whether it was a chotchke from a local gift shop or just a beautiful rock we’d found by the water.
My beautiful grandma Alisa, in the beautiful town she loved so much:
The streets of old town NOTL, with their colonial buildings and horse-drawn carriages, felt like a storybook – and they still do to this day! NOTL is a fabulous place to visit anytime of year, but it’s especially beautiful in the fall.
Queen Street is the main thoroughfare of old town NOTL. It’s home to the Shaw Festival Theatre, restaurants, pubs, bakeries, shops and more. Queen Street’s most recognizable landmark is its Memorial Clock Tower, built in 1922 in memory of NOTL’s residents who were killed in service during WWI. The tower was designed by Toronto architect Charles M. Wilmott.
As a popular destination for local and international tourists alike, NOTL has more than its fair share of hotels. Two hotel groups reign supreme in the area: Vintage Hotels and Niagara’s Finest Hotels. Both groups specialize in historic boutique inns. Niagara’s Finest runs Harbour House, which wouldn’t look out of place in Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard…
Also in their portfolio: The Charles Hotel, which is currently dressed to the nines in full autumn splendour.
Another hotel that goes all out for fall: The Prince Of Wales. Owned by the Vintage Hotels group, this regal establishment is known for their Victorian decor and elegant afternoon teas.
Vintage Hotels also owns the nearby Pillar & Post, which is home to one of my favourite spas. Check out this post to read all about our experience at their 100 Fountain Spa.
Check out booking.com for exclusive offers and great deals on the above accommodations:
Queen Street (and intersecting King Street) are lined with dozens of boutiques selling clothing, home decor, gifts and souvenirs. Some of my favourites that you won’t want to miss:
- Just Christmas – The name says it all: this festive favourite is all Christmas, all the time!
- Beau Chapeau – This hat shop has over 10,000 hats in stock at any given time (no, I didn’t accidentally type an extra zero!)
- Greaves Jams & Marmalades – Greaves has been making their old-fashioned jams, jellies and marmalades right here in NOTL since 1927.
- The Scottish Loft – Anglophiles will love this shop that specializes in all things English and Scottish: from cult-fave British chocolates to Scottish clan tartans.
- Cheese Secrets – Good friends don’t keep good cheese a secret! This gourmet fromagerie offers a wide selection of Canadian cheeses and offers in-store tastings. You can even join their Cheese Club to receive monthly subscription boxes!
- The Owl & The Pussycat – This women’s apparel boutique has one of the prettiest storefronts on Queen Street.
- Serendipity – This “little French shoppe” sells elegant European home decor and entertaining essentials – from block-printed table linens to exquisite home fragrances.
- Niagara Apothecary – Not a shop per se (though they have a small selection of fragrances and other beauty products for sale) but an authentic museum restoration of an 1869 pharmacy.
- Viking Shop – A kitschy wonderland of lawn ornaments, windchimes, funny signs, and various other chotchkes for the home and yard.
If shopping works up an appetite, stop into one of downtown NOTL’s various cafés, bakeries or sweet shops. Some of my personal favourites:
- Balzac’s – My favourite local coffee chain never disappoints. Their salted caramel latte hits just right in the fall!
- Victoria’s – This gourmet tea and coffee shop always has fun seasonal drinks – Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai, anyone?
- Niagara Home Bakery – An old-fashioned bake shoppe serving classic cookies, butter tarts and cinnamon rolls.
- COWS – The quintessentially Canadian ice cream parlour: flavours inlude PEI Blueberry, Cownadian Maple and Nanaimoo Bar.
- Il Gelato Di Carlotta – If your ice cream tastes lean more Italian than Canadiana, check out this chic gelateria. I LOVE their pistachio popsicles!
- Budapest Bakeshop – Hungarian-Canadian couple Anett and Todd Kane brought their traditional chimney cake recipe all the way from Budapest to Canada. From sweet iced chimney cakes to savoury chimney sandwiches, there’s something to delight every palate.
- Maple Leaf Fudge – My grandma could never resist a stop at Maple Leaf Fudge, and let’s just say the sweet tooth is genetic! Their fall flavours include pumpkin spice and butter pecan.
If you’re hungry for something more substantial than fudge and ice cream, downtown NOTL also has several wonderful restaurants. One of my favourite fine dining restaurants is the award-winning Treadwell Cuisine. They catered our wedding and we couldn’t have been more impressed! It’s a bit of a splurge, but well worth it for a date night or special occasion.
Another favourite restaurant I just discovered is Revé, which just opened a couple of months ago. It’s just a 3-minute drive from downtown NOTL and the food is incredible! By night, Revé is a fine dining restaurant, and during the day, their Aperitivo Bistro offers casual Italian favourites for dine-in and takeout. My top picks: the pear-sausage-onion flatbread and the cheesy rice casserole. Don’t forget to save room for cannoli! Check out my Instagram reel of our visit here.
One of my favourite things to do in NOTL is simply walk around and admire the beautiful houses. The heritage homes in Old Town share a mix of architectural styles – Georgian, Victorian, Colonial – and come in all shapes and sizes, from extravagant mansions to fairy tale cottages. Each one has its own unique charm. I’ve never left NOTL without a browse through realtor.ca on the drive home…
End your day on a view-tiful note with a visit to Queen’s Royal Park. This idyllic lakefront park is famous for its quaint gazebo, a popular locale for wedding ceremonies and engagement photos. Although the gazebo looks like it could be centuries old, it was actually built in 1983 as a prop for the Christopher Walken movie The Dead Zone. Perfect for Halloween photos too, perhaps!
On that note… I hope everyone has a bewitching and boo-tiful Halloween! Our house is all ready to welcome the trick-or-treaters…
…and we’re planning a cozy evening in at home eating jack-o’-lantern pizza and watching spooky movies. If you need some watch-list inspo, I created a graphic below with some of my favourite Halloween movies. That said, it very well could turn into a full American Horror Story: Coven rewatch (happens every year…) or divert to the Blue Jays game. Go Jays Go!!!
Thanks for reading, and for joining me on this tour through Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you haven’t yet been, I promise: one visit and you’ll be falling for it too! Looking to make the most out of your NOTL day trip? Check out Viator’s Niagara tours and experiences – they combine all the best NOTL highlights in convenient guided tours, and hey… some of them even have wine! Now that sounds like my kind of tour.
Happy fall, happy Halloween and as always, happy exploring!
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