Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada (just over the border from New York State) is a perfect place for a quiet vacation, especially if you love theater and wine. Famous for the annual Shaw Festival in summer, you can catch a musical or a classic play by George Bernard Shaw, and you can visit some of the 26 nearby wineries for tastings, courses, and tours.
Queen Street is the main street and is filled with historical inns and shops containing locally made art objects and foods. Because of its northerly location, this area is well-known for ice wines, and the village takes full advantage of this notoriety.
Queen Street is graced with signs for “ice wine fudge,” “ice wine coffee,” “ice wine tea,” “ice wine chocolates,” and just about anything else you can imagine. But you’ll find much more than just ice wines at the local vineyards.
I experienced a wonderful “Chicks ‘n Chocolate” class at Peller Estates Winery on John Street East, one of the closest wineries to the town. They chose their wines and chocolates very well because when we tried to switch them around, the combinations didn’t work nearly as well. In some cases, switching was downright awful. So, I learned what many wine aficionados already know: pairings are very specific.
In one case, I tasted a Chardonnay that I didn’t care for on its own, but with the chocolate that had been chosen as its mate, I was in heaven. The wine improved the chocolate, and the chocolate certainly improved the wine. It was quite an eye-opening experience for me. Peller’s expensive Cabaret Franc ice wine was my favorite of the four we tasted, however.
You’ll also find plenty of fine restaurants on Queen Street and beyond. For dinner, I ate at Zee’s Wine Bar & Grill inside the Shaw Club Hotel. I started with a Razmatazz Cocktail, a refreshing house specialty with raspberry vodka and Niagara ice wine. My Caesar salad came with toasted focaccia garlic croutons, double-smoked bacon, garlic caper dressing, and shaved parmesan.
For my main course, I tried the pan-seared Lake Erie perch on a bed of cooled fresh seasonable vegetables and couscous with roasted shallot jus dressing. The flavors were very delicate. I was tempted to try the Fettuccini carbonara with Muscovy duck, however, which also sounded very interesting.
After dinner, the Royal George Theatre was a short stroll on Queen Street for the performance of a play by George Bernard Shaw. There’s something special about being in one of these old theaters that specializes in Shaw’s work, sitting among other theater lovers in a time-honored tradition.
The next day, lunch was replaced with afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel (pictured above), the premiere place to stay in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This opulent Victorian property is filled with history and has hosted Cybil Shepherd, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Danny Devito, Clive Owen, and Ray Romano, to name a few. You really do feel as though you’ve stepped back in time in this hotel, especially the room in which high tea is served.
We had ham and cheddar sandwiches, as well as cucumber and goat cheese, salmon, and egg salad. Desserts included lemon meringue tart, chocolate mousse tarte, chai tea crème brûlée, and cookies with a mandarin orange inside. The highlight for me, however, was the Himalayan Vintage Red Roses Tea, which was nothing short of divine.
The hotel was named Prince of Wales in 1901 after the prince’s visit, and it contains 110 rooms. On one side of the building, there is a row of horse-drawn carriages, making the building even more photogenic. After high tea, I took a half-hour carriage ride through the town, which was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon.
My driver was a young woman who knew all about where films had been shot in town, and she had an amazing command over her horse, Curry, who was white with black speckles. When the ride was finished, she dropped me off at my hotel – the Oban Inn & Spa.
Oban is located slightly off Queen Street in a quiet area just across the street from the oldest golf course in North America – Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club. Surrounded my beautiful gardens, the property has a spa and restaurant, as well as a variety of rooms.
The French doors of my room opened onto a private patio that overlooked the pool, a garden, and a white gazebo. All rooms contain LCD plasma televisions, a BOSE sound system, robes, a safe, and an iron and ironing board. Room service is available, as well as a concierge. I also appreciated the complimentary bottled spring water.
To arrive at Niagara-on-the-Lake, I flew into Buffalo, New York airport and was greeted by the Niagara Airbus, which took me across the border into Canada and directly to the Oban Inn.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is also home to Fort George, a historical site where the British Army was headquartered shortly after the American Revolution. The town was a battlefield during the War of 1812, a subject that is illuminated further at the Niagara Historical Society Museum. Of course, the town is just a 15-minute drive from Niagara Falls. If you’ve never seen this spectacle of nature, it’s a must.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is an easy weekend destination for people in the northeastern U.S. or a longer leisurely vacation spot for those from farther afield. There’s plenty to do, but the pace is slow and easy.
Full disclosure: I was hosted by the city for this visit, but as always, we are dedicated to providing you with unbiased assessments of our experiences.
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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