Kingston, Ontario

Birthplace of the rock singer Bryan Adams but prouder of its handsome limestone buildings, the city of KINGSTON, a fast 260km east of Toronto along Hwy 401, is the largest and most enticing of the communities along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The town occupies an attractive and strategically important position where the lake narrows into the St Lawrence River.

Central Kingston's medley of old buildings displays every architectural foible admired by the Victorians, from neo– Gothic mansions with high gables and perky dormer windows to elegant Italianate villas. Yet, the cream of the stylistic crop are the city's Neoclassical limestone buildings, especially City Hall and the Cathedral of St George. Kingston also holds the first-rate Agnes Etherington Art Centre gallery and Bellevue House, once the home of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Add to this several delicious B&Bs, a cluster of good restaurants and scenic boat trips round the Thousand Islands just offshore, and you have a city that is well worth a couple of days.