- Welcome to Kingston.
(Upbeat Music)
- We have arrived in Kingston, Ontario,
and one of the best ways to get acquainted with the city is
to get on a bus and check it out.
So we're gonna hop on the Kingston Trolley Tour
to see all of the top sites
and check out where we want to go back
to over the next few days.
A trolley tour is one of the top things to do in Kingston
and makes for a great introduction to the city.
The one hour tour takes you to all the main attractions
as you learn about Kingston's 300 year-old history.
You can pick up the trolley tour
just beside the tourist information,
which is the old train station.
And of course,
you've got the Kingston sign right behind me here,
so it's really easy to find the trolley tour.
Make sure you book it in advance though.
And you pick up your tickets farther down
at 248 Ontario Street.
(Joyful Music)
Well the number one tourist attraction here in Kingston
is to visit the Kingston penitentiary.
Probably the worst penitentiary here in Canada,
that the worst criminals went to.
The prison closed in 2013, and now they have tours
to go inside the prison.
Right now there's a big budget movie filming in there,
and there's lots of gunshots going on
and helicopters flying overhead, so we can't go in,
but when you do come to Kingston, make sure you take a tour
and go inside.
(Ethereal Music)
Kingston has four of the remaining Martello towers
in Canada.
There were only 16 built during the war of 1812,
and only six remain, four of which are in Kingston.
Two of them you can go inside and tour.
They are the Murney Tower and Fort Frederick.
Martello towers were round fortresses surrounded
by moats built to hold artillery.
The roofs were raised and designed
to be able to fire 360 degrees.
They were quite impenetrable.
The interesting thing is none of the ones
in Kingston were actually used because it was never invaded.
Another fun introduction to the city is
to take a walking tour with Arthur Milnes
who has hosted Jimmy Carter himself at his home.
He was a speech writer for prime minister Harper,
and is the local Kingston historian.
He has all the insider tips of the city
and it's fascinating to pick his brain.
He can even show you where one
of The Tragically Hip's Junos are on display.
When you're walking along the Kingston waterfront,
there is a memorial pier dedicated to Gord Downie
who was the lead singer of The Tragically Hip.
It's a beloved Canadian rock band
and Gord Downie died of cancer a few years ago,
but every Canadian knows their songs, The Tragically Hip,
they grew up here.
Gord Downie grew up just nearby here
and they performed their very last concert here
that was televised right across Canada for free on the CBC.
(Upbeat Music)
One of the must things to do here in Kingston is
to go on a 1000 Islands Cruise.
The 1000 Islands actually consists
of 1,800 islands that line the river
along the U.S. Canada border.
We took the heart of the islands cruise
that included lunch, live entertainment and commentary.
If you book a premium table you have the luxury
of a window seat as you explore the St. Lawrence river.
You'll see the military history of Canada's first capital,
as well as the Kingston skyline and luxury cottages
and retreats on this three hour journey.
- Wow, that was great.
- Well, here is a cool fact, behind me
is the oldest fire department in Canada.
Now, today it is a lone star,
but at one time it was the first fire department in Canada.
Remember, Kingston used to be Canada's first capital,
so it had everything.
Located just three hours from Toronto and Montreal,
it's right in the middle and makes for a fantastic retreat.
There's a lot of history here
being Canada's first capital city.
It's located on Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence,
and the Rideau Canal so it has a really unique setting being
on all these great bodies of water.
A visit to Kingston, Ontario is really unique because
it is a city that is filled with national historic sites
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Rideau Canal is right behind me.
If you want to come and see a really great view
of the canal, come out to the Kingston Mills Canal,
which is about 15 minutes from downtown,
and it's several lots.
I think there's three separate steps down.
So it's a real classic view of the lot system here
on the Rideau.
This is really a city of water,
so if you want to do something fun, get out
on the water, do some paddling or take a boat trip
and do a trip down the Rideau canal like we've done.
It is so much fun.
- Well, it says this way to awesome,
so we'd better go in and check it out.
(Playful Music)
- Exploring historic downtown Kingston is a must.
Many of the original buildings and alleyways
are still intact.
From the shops on Princess street,
to the buildings surrounding the beautiful historic square
at city hall, you can get lost in its' architecture.
When you visit Kingston,
make sure you seek out Martello Alley.
It's a historic alleyway that is an artist community,
and you can go inside and look
for one of a kind pieces of art.
Everyone in there is a practicing artist
and you can search for something to create memories
from your time here in Kingston.
Another fantastic alley to explore is Rochleau Alley,
which has courtyards, patios, shops
and one of Kingston's most popular restaurants Chez piggy.
No trip to Kingston would be complete
without talking about restaurants.
It has one of the most restaurants per capita
in all of Canada and everywhere you go
there's some great food.
Tonight we're eating at Wooden Head,
which is known for its wood oven pizzas.
and I'm looking forward to my spicy arrabbiata.
Explore the architecture of Queen's University campus.
Queen's is one of Canada's oldest universities and has some
of the most beautiful historic architecture in Kingston.
I just love walking through university campuses.
- Yeah, the architecture's amazing.
They usually been here for a really long time.
- {Narrator} And it's always peaceful, a peaceful part
of the city to explore.
- Let's go check out some art.
- A highlight when visiting the campus is to go
to the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, where not only one,
but four Rembrandts' are on display,
as well as other innovative exhibits
of contemporary and historical art.
It's free to enter and it's considered one
of Canada's best museums, and we agree.
We enjoyed the eclectic mix of art and highly recommended it
for an hour or two in the afternoon.
(Upbeat Music)
Come on down to the Tett on the waterfront
and have lunch at the Juniper Cafe.
It is the site of the old brewery here,
and it's a really cool building.
There's some artists, art galleries inside,
and it's just a pleasant stroll along the waterfront
and a great place for lunch.
It's a beautiful display
of modern architecture blending with the old.
The Tett is close to the historic district of Portsmouth
where the penitentiaries and old factories, mills,
and brew pubs are located.
When you're out at the Kingston penitentiary,
or if you're walking along the Kingston waterfront trail,
make sure to come into the historic town of Portsmouth.
This was a booming town in the 1800s.
There were tanneries, there were sawmills,
and there were breweries.
So once everything started building up
around the penitentiary, there was a lot going on
in this historic town
and it's now a designated historic town.
And if you want to have a beer
in a historic piece of property, head out here
to Portsmouth Tavern.
It's one of the oldest watering holes in the country.
Kingston is a city of breweries
and one of the quirkier ones we visited
was the Daft brewery.
They have some very unique flavors to sample.
There's a lot of nightlife in Kingston that you can go out
to after you've had your meal at all
of the several, many restaurants.
A great place is here, Barcadia,
where you can play some video games
or you can head for a lot of the live music venues.
One that we recommend is Musiikki.
Go into the backyard and listen to some music.
(Live Jazz Music)
- I really liked that we have a jazz band.
You know what's nice is they're
actually behind a partition
so you can actually talk.
(Upbeat Music)
- When you are ready to sleep, a popular bed
and breakfast is the Secret Garden Inn.
The downtown location makes for a great base
and the manor house setting fits perfectly
in this historic city.
We have arrived at the Secret Garden Inn,
and this is a lovely manor house
that has been completely restored.
It's walking distance to everything downtown,
and it's very charming.
And we're overlooking the pretty garden.
- So those are all the cool things to do
in Kingston, Ontario, a city that really surprised us.
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