The best way to get to know Kingston    

All for a Beaver Hat?

Our main tour, Introduction to Kingston is meant to give a compact, inexpensive, look at the past and present of Kingston. It will acquaint you with our beginnings, our fortifications, and the powerful influence of the refugees from the American Revolution -- their homes, their ideas and their influence on the structure of Canada.

The junction of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario was the key to Kingston and Canadian development. Fort Frontenac (1673) was built here by the French to divert furs from the English. Later, the decaying fort became a staging area for the settlement of the United Empire Loyalists. No introduction to Kingston would be complete without an introduction to Kingston's Sir John A. Macdonald. His influence was formative to Kingston.
Costumed guides will present the fur trade, the loyalists, Sir John A. and City Hall. Where to eat and where to shop will be indicated as well.

For information on additional tours see Tour Information.

This is your guide wearing a hoop skirt. They make walking very difficult and therefore would only be used by the very rich or on special occasions.

This is your guide wearing the more relaxed, and down market, cotton dress of the early 19th century. This would have been worn by working women There were no 'bad hair days' in the 19th century when you could cover it with a bonnet.

This is City Hall, one of the most important Victorian buildings in Canada. This, Fort Henry and Kingston MIlls Lock are 'must sees'. City Hall has free tours. On the far left is Herchmer House an important city building which figures in our tour.

This is the Wolfe Island ferry, the best way (and the cheapest - it's free!) to see the Kingston fortifications. On the return journey the west side willl give you a good look at Kingston. Bon Voyage!

This is why we are here. in Kingston. You can see the junction of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the Cataraqui River - now the Rideau Canal.