Overview of Ontario by Rail: Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston

With a vacuum cleaner strapped to his back and pedaling, the scoundrel was surprised on an open hill when he was spotted running between cars.

Welcome to Canada: not a day, in fact, an hour passed without a colorful encounter in the capital, and when he arrived in the country, a drunken, silent cyclist did not leave the road at all – no. trust the marketing material. Expect the unexpected.

After packing up for the Great White North and landing in the country's beautiful south – 26 degrees Celsius in September – after a more than seven-hour flight from Glasgow to Toronto Pearson, a 25-minute train ride whisked us into the city centre.

It would be the first of many train trips – we embarked on a week-long journey by rail in Ontario, a great way to not miss any of the breath-taking views of the province's many routes. Niagara, Ottawa, and Kingston await, but first Toronto (or Toron'o, if you're a local, explaining that the second “T” is for tourists). More specifically, the Chelsea Hotel, where a 25-story tall room gave us a great view of the city skyline and a sense of the size of the place.

The buzzing and vibrant downtown rivals anything its border cousins ​​have to offer, and even more so when you consider that it's the most diverse city on the planet, with 49 percent of residents born outside of Canada. Japanese sellers of Portuguese chicken, Orthodox Jews carry posters of Cameroonian basketball players to synagogue in Koreatown.

We've heard many times that Torontonians prefer the term “cultural mosaic” to melting pot. Instead of mixing everything together into one big amorphous stew, every ingredient is available in Toronto and adds color and flavor—in other words, it's a salad, not a soup.

It's not just everywhere you look—everywhere you taste. You can enjoy everything from authentic street food on Kensington Avenue or the Assembly Chef's Hall to the tourist-friendly offerings of the famous Lawrence St Market, which is said to sell the best bean and bacon sandwiches in town.

After a calorie-laden breakfast at Canadian institution Tim Horton's and lunch at the markets, we took the subway to Dunlop, a quaint but charming neighborhood on the west side of the city.

After spending some time watching the Toronto Blue Jays lose a postseason playoff game (not for the first time, according to fans holding up the bar), we then headed to Fat Pasha, a cozy diner, for dinner. A wonderful combination of Middle Eastern and European Jewish cuisine. Then there were the not-yet-used slots in my belt as shawarma, brisket, and the most amazing fried shredded potatoes took up every visible inch of the table. And labneh is dear God, labneh. The Blue Jays could have brought in a full roster and they wouldn't have been upset. If I took the dish to Glasgow it would qualify as a small munro.

If you're more into culture than hummus, the city has plenty to get your teeth into. Stroll through the leafy campus of the University of Toronto and you won't miss the emerald-shaped ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) soaring into the sky. Once dubbed “Canada's Most Hated Building,” its crystalline corners are certainly eye-catching, and its interior is even more impressive, with world-leading collections of ancient Chinese artifacts and Egyptian art elegantly housed in the sprawling building.

A visit to Casa Loma can conjure up deja vu for Scots. A grand Gothic Revival mansion modeled after his father Sir Henry Pellatt's Highland mansion of Glasgow, its gardens remain a spectacular sight for the Toronto skyline. He may also be familiar to moviegoers, having starred in X-Men, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and most recently the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

If you have half an hour to spare, it's also worth a visit to The Monkey's Paw Bookstore. This unassuming shop specializes in rare titles – I spotted a page-turner called Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Prevention, Weekday Widows: A Sensational Novel About Promiscuous Parents, and a big red tome with initials on the front. It is called “SUICIDE”. Probably not one for lounging by the pool.

Our dinner was a few miles from downtown, or rather 136 feet above it, at the CN Tower restaurant. The eerie needle, once the tallest building on earth, boasts an unparalleled view of the city, and sitting down to an all-Canadian dinner at a restaurant that circles the nation's one-time capital (one full revolution every 72 minutes) makes for a romantic experience. – for example, seeing the hat of an unsuspecting customer pass by the window, or finding out where that toilet turned.

A day trip to Niagara Falls is not to be missed. The train takes two and a half hours and we took a curve around Lake Ontario. The falls themselves need no introduction, although the town itself impressed me – less a quiet nature reserve and more a mini-Vegas within a mini-Vegas of casinos and chain restaurants. A Niagara cruise is a major part of the experience, with the boat dropping you over the edge of the cliff, delivering up to 2.8 million liters per second and for a short time. It goes without saying, but the dress code is amphibious-casual.

And to Ottawa. Traveling in business class with ViaRail means that five hours will pass in total comfort, while also allowing you to get a decent fare with some shut-eye on board the carriage. Located in the capital on Parliament Hill, our magnificent hotel is a short walk from Lord Elgin. Many of downtown Ottawa's residents are public servants, and with fingers crossed that the temperature will drop enough for the river that will bisect the city over the next two weeks, thousands can be shed and skated to work.

Canada's Scottish connections were on full display in Ottawa. Take a look at the map and you'll see a few familiar names, including Abingdon, Crieff and Hamilton, as the military divers play outside the Houses of Parliament to signal the end of the clock each day. On a late night run to a local diner, I found a fried mars bar on the menu.

We spent most of our time in Kensington Market, an eclectic community of vintage shops, quirky boutiques and cozy pubs. The signature Caesar cocktail—basically a bloody mary with celery and tomato juice—is a hangover cure, a full meal, and the first drink of the next night all in one.

After a couple of nights in Ottawa, our trip ended in sleepy Kingston, two hours away. Lovely place, it was a great place to relax after the pedometer we had been doing all week. Stormy weather and Canada's Thanksgiving threw a wrench into our schedule, canceling our planned tour of the Thousand Islands (the archipelago home to many of Canada's richest people as second homes… and yes, the place where clothes were invented). Fortunately, the Prince George Hotel on the northeastern tip of Lake Ontario was the fanciest of the lot, and we had no trouble relaxing, except for going out into town for candlelit ghost tours and listening to spooky tales from years gone by. mass burial sites for lost sailors, grave robbers and monks.

Turns out ignorance isn't bliss at all – I'd always thought of Canada as the cold USA with less glamour. Toronto blew me away on both sides, Niagara gave great excursions, Ottawa covered the history and culture of the place, and Kingston gave us a chance to breathe in style – and how relaxing it was to do it by rail. All aboard…

Travel facts

A seven-night rail tour across Canada is priced from £1,995 pp based on two adults sharing a double room on a mixed board basis. starts from This includes three nights at Chelsea Toronto; Two nights at Lord Elgin Ottawa and two nights at Delta Hotels By Marriott Kingston Waterfront, International flights from Glasgow with Air Trasat, Standard Class VIA Rail trains from Toronto to Ottawa, Ottawa to Kingston and Kingston to Toronto, Toronto Hop-on. Hop-off excursion, day trip to Niagara Falls and lunch cruise around the Thousand Islands from Kingston.