Thousands of people dream about living in Canada, and every year more than 22 million people travel to Canada. The country attracts visitors and migrants because of high living standards, job possibilities, beautiful nature, sightseeing places, and more. In this blog, we would like to give ten reasons why you should travel to St. Catharines, Canada, and answer questions such as where is St. Catharines, how is the weather St. Catharines, which are the best cities to travel to in Canada, which are the best hotels in St. Catharines Ontario Canada, etc.
1. St. Catherine's Cathedral
Firstly, we should answer where is St. Catharines. St. Catharines is one of the best cities to travel to in Canada and the largest city (96.13 square kilometres) of the Niagara region, Ontario province. There are many churches in St. Catharines, and St. Catharines church is one of the most popular ones. The cathedral has an attractive interior and exterior design. Especially, paintings and illustrations inside of the church are masterpieces. There are some restrictions in St. Catharines church because of restoration. Before visiting, check out the website for more information.
2. Niagara Falls
If we talk about travel to Canada, and things to do in St. Catharines Ontario, we have to mention one of the world's famous falls. Niagara Falls is so close to the city, and you will have several options to reach the destination. One of the options is a train, but you also can travel by bus, taxi, and private car. Depending on the transport, you will reach Niagara in just 15-40 minutes. How much does it cost? Again depending on the vehicle, you will pay something around 2-55 USD. Niagara Falls comprises three waterfalls: Horseshoe Falls (on the Canadian side), the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls (the last two are in the USA). Every year more than 30 million people visit this place to see the Instagrammable view of Niagara.
3. Weather in St. Catharines
There is a thought that it is always winter in Canada. Of course, it is not right. Yes, Canada is one of the countries with harsh winters, but it doesn't mean that you will never see the sun. When it comes to weather in St. Catharines, we can say that summers are warm, and winters are freezing and dry in the city. If winter activities are attractive for you, spending the vacation in St. Catherines and other parts of Canada will be an unforgettable experience. For example, you can travel to Canada, St Catharines on Christmas Eve, or you can go skating, hiking, sledging, and more. If you prefer hot weather, you will still have plenty of chances to enjoy it, and you can visit some places that we will mention soon.
4. Regency Towers St. Catharines
Regency Towers St. Catharines is a property of the company that offers luxurious accommodation in various parts of the world. Towers are next to shopping centres, major roads, public transports, entertainment centres, etc. Regency Towers St. Catharines offer fully equipped (air conditioner, central heating, dishwasher, and more) apartments with high quality. Another advantage of the towers is, being pet friendly. Also, there is an outdoor swimming pool and a beautiful courtyard for relaxing the year around. If you have a lot of friends in the city, you can invite them to Regency Towers. There is a social room to host larger groups. Where is St. Catharines Regency Towers? It is at 610 Lake Street St. Catharines ON L2N 5T1.
5. Delicious Canadian cuisine
Probably, you have heard about the most popular meal of Canadian cuisine, Poutine. If it sounds new to you, it is a mix of crispy fries, cheese, and gravy. Also, there are some other versions of Poutine with pork, bacon, and smoked meat. Besides Poutine, we can give Bannock, Butter tarts, Nova Scotian lobster rolls, Montreal's bagels, Saskatoon berry pie, Montreal-style Smoked Meat, Peameal Bacon, Beavertails, and more. Among these meals, Bannock was a traditional meal of aboriginal Canadian people, but we can see many versions of Bannock in recent years. There are two well-known versions of this meal. The first one is baked, dense, and the fried one, which is more crispy and fluffy. When it comes to drinks, the Caesar Cocktail wins the race with a large gap. It is made from vodka, clamato juice, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. In recent years bars and restaurants have begun to improvise and add some other ingredients such as burgers, hot dogs, sliders, onion rings, and more.
6. Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Catharines Conference Center
St. Catharines offers a wide range of hotels and hostels but the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Catharines Conference Center has a special place among all hotels in St. Catharines Ontario Canada. It has more than 50 rooms,11 dining rooms, a swimming pool, bar, restaurant, free parking area, game room, gym, bowling room, and more. All rooms have WiFi, air conditioner, heating, cold and hot water, refrigerator, tv, etc. Room types in the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Catharines Conference Center are bridal suites, suites, family rooms, non-smoking rooms. How much does it cost to stay in this hotel? The price changes between 76-100 EURO. When evaluating the hotel's quality, we consider four characteristics (location, cleanliness, service, value). The hotel can get four out of five. The address of the hotel is 327 Ontario St, St. Catharines, ON L2R 5L3. Other St. Catharines hotels, that we can recommend are Hampton Inn St. Catharines Niagara, Capri Inn, Harbour Heights B&B, etc.
7. Beautiful parks in Canada
One of the best things to do in St. Catharines Ontario is going to walk in parks. St. Catharines is very lucky in this matter because there are many spots where you can hike, have picnics, play volleyball or table games outside with your friends, and more. Lakeside Park, Lester B. Pearson Park, Montebello Park are only some of them. There are many parks so we can't give detailed information about all parks, but I would like to mention Lakeside Park. Lakeside Park offers plenty of attractions, games, and enjoyable moments to you. It is the next beach, and you can swim in the sea, relax on the beach, and play beach volleyball with your friends. Also, there is a picnic area, and there you can have a picnic under the tree, or you may prefer picnic tables. Also, in some natural parks, you may have boat trips.
8. Enjoy the camping
Sleeping under the open sky and stars sounds great. Canada is one of the few countries where people can camp almost everywhere. For local Canadian people, such kinds of opportunities are thousands, but it is a little bit limited for visitors. In most cases, you will be obliged to pay some amount of money(depending on the province). After giving the payment, you can enjoy nature and calmness. There are plenty of spots in St. Catharines, for instance, Big Valley Camping Resort, Shangri-La Niagara Family Campground, Jordan Valley Campground, Burgoyne Woods, Short Hills Provincial Park, and more. All of them offer plenty of activities for you and your family. The price range is so extensive, but we can see that most of them start from 20-30 USD when we search on the internet. Undoubtedly, it is possible to find much cheaper and expensive options. Also, keep in mind some rules: pay attention to icons (some places close to camping), respect nature, keep the fire under control.
9. Yates Street Heritage District
One of the best things to do in St. Catharines Ontario is visiting Yates Street Heritage District. William Hamilton Merritt once lived here. The construction works of the district date back to 1800. Originally, Yates Street Heritage District was an area of mills, but after several years mills owners began to build their homes here, and the district grew day by day. Nowadays, there are not any mills, but houses are well preserved. Walking in the street and observing the tree-lined streets will make you feel as you are in the 1800s. Remember to take a couple of photos as a memory and for sharing on Instagram.
10. Enjoy the festivals
It is always fun to participate in local festivals. It gives you a chance to enjoy, but also understand the culture and traditions of Canada. The most exciting for us is The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival, which covers the whole region. St. Catherines host some of the world-class vineyards. The most well-known wine types of the city are white wine and ice wines. Further, if you are interested in art and music, you may participate in The Folk Arts Festival, The Art of Peace Festival, S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival, etc. The Folk Arts Festival is one of the most popular festivals in the city and has been held for more than 35 years. In the end, I would like to mention some other best cities to travel to in Canada after visiting St. Catherines: Quebec City, Banff, Halifax, Whitehorse, Saskatoon, Charlottetown, Ottawa, and Calgary.
