Visiting Niagara Falls? Don't miss this charming Canadian town

Fifteen miles north of the eponymous waterfall, Niagara-on-the-Lake has a unique position on the Niagara Peninsula. Peaches, cherries and grape vines flourish in an ecosystem left fertile by glaciers and kept warm by Lake Ontario to the north. Close enough to the US that you could swim there, the town’s location on the banks of the Niagara River also made it a key site during the American War of Independence and an essential link in the chain of safe houses used by enslaved people to find their freedom. These days, its ornate Old Town — home to one of the best-preserved Victorian streetscapes in Canada — attracts culinary enthusiasts and history buffs alike.

If you’re visiting the Falls first, Niagara-on-the-Lake is easy to reach by bike or bus using the Niagara River Parkway — a scenic, tree-hugged road. Stop at the Niagara Glen, a gorge where Indigenous nations have gathered for millennia. You can take a walk through it with an audio guide, descending into the ancient forest past boulders the size of houses. The Parkway ends at the lawns where British troops built Fort George to counter US expansion after the American War of Independence, although it was mostly destroyed during the War of 1812. The battles are reenacted each July.

From here, the road is lined with pretty riverfront cottages. It ends at Queen’s Royal Park, where in warmer months families picnic next to Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes. Tim Bala, of Paddle Niagara, rents out kayaks from a small dock on the public beach. From June to September, his hour-long private tours paddle around Mississauga Point and Fort Mississauga, the latter built to shore up defences after the War of 1812 between Britain and the US.

The streets in Niagara-on-the-Lake’s historic centre are great for a saunter, with most people converging on Queen Street, its shops and houses fronted by wooden verandahs. Pantry-sized The Maple Syrup Store carries all varieties of the famous regional nectar — golden, amber and dark — as well as hand-churned maple butter. Budapest Bakeshop, meanwhile, is famous for its chimney cakes: cylindrical pastries that are often rolled in cinnamon and sugar, chocolate-hazelnut spread and ground walnuts, and occasionally more exotic ingredients, like savoury pizza toppings. There are Broadway-calibre shows at Shaw Festival Theatre. Founded in 1962 to champion the work of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, this theatre is now run by renowned artistic director Tim Carroll. Alongside crowd-pleasers and more challenging shows, Bernard Shaw’s 1898 Candida is always in the mix.

With the US just across the river, Niagara-on-the-Lake was a terminus on the Underground Railroad in the 19th century. Thousands of freedom-seeking enslaved Americans migrated here, many using the escape route to join forces with the British. You can learn about their lives at Voices of Freedom Park: Underground Railroad ‘conductor’ Harriet Tubman was based near this park, along with other former enslaved people, soldiers and Black settlers. Plaques explore their lives and a free app has a map of safe houses, memorials and a burial ground on site. Then, retreat to The Olde Angel Inn, a drinking hole set in a heritage clapboard cottage.

The Niagara Peninsula has its own wine appellation; around 100 wineries produce cold-weather vintages here like Riesling and Cabernet Franc. Run by Two Sisters Vineyards, restaurant 11th Post on Queen carries some fine bottles behind the bar. The former peach farm turned vineyard has so many fans that it now also runs another winery across town and has a hotel in the pipeline. It’s known for its quality Sauvignon Blancs and Cabernet Francs. Vine to Wine tours include a five-glass tasting. Ditto the farm-to-table restaurant Treadwell Cuisine, where they’re served alongside house-made charcuterie and Chardonnay-steamed mussels.

But the reservation to nab is for two-Michelin-star Pearl Morissette. Set within the Pearl Morissette Estate Winery, it serves dishes made using native ingredients grown on site — verbena replaces citrus, sweetgrass stands in for vanilla, and eggs come from free-roaming hens. ‘Chef de farm’ Shane Harper leads tours of the gardens. Dinner is a blind tasting menu, starting with the house-label fizz and ending with hogweed ice cream.

Round off the day at Niagara Oast House Brewers, set in a refurbished 19th-century barn on the road back into town. The hayloft and shed host tastings of house ales, brewed with peaches picked across the road, while the indoor-outdoor bar stays open until 11pm on weekends. A live band plays rock anthems most Fridays.