· Half-day tour to the beautiful water city Kingston ·
From Fort Henry, we drove to downtown Kingston.
Kingston is a historic city in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest city in Canada, founded in 1673. It was the capital of Canada from 1841 to 1844. As the main transportation route to the 1000 Islands, the St. Lawrence River and the Rideau Canal, Kingston’s special geographical location not only made it a battleground for military strategists in the past , also brings a poetic artistic conception and picturesque scenery to this beautiful and exquisite city. Queen’s University, one of the world’s leading universities, and the only Royal Military College of Canada are located here. Kingston's original name means "City of Kings", and the royal color and style are still traceable.
Kingston has both the charm of a water city and the style of an ancient capital. Its unique historical charm, cultural atmosphere and natural beauty have attracted tourists from all over the world.
After a short drive, we soon arrived near Kingston City Hall. The road was long and narrow, and after wandering around for a while, we finally found a parking lot and found an empty space to stop. After getting out of the car and walking onto the street, I finally saw more people walking in twos and threes, giving it a lively atmosphere. Roadside restaurants have set up awnings, tables and chairs directly on the roadside, and colorful pots of flowers are placed on the fence, which is pleasing to the eye.
We passed by the square behind the city hall. There was a market going on here, with many stalls, somewhat similar to domestic night markets, selling agricultural products, handicrafts, flowers, etc. It is said that this is a very old market that has been serving the local community since its opening in 1801.
Walk to the main road in front of the city hall and look at the city hall building from the side:
The City Hall Building is a landmark building in Kingston and the oldest city hall in Canada. This is a limestone building built in 1844. It is a representative work of neoclassical architecture and one of the best 19th-century buildings in Canada. Adhering to the Tuscan design style popular in the British Empire in the 19th century, it has a tall dome and a towering bell tower, which is grand, antique, elegant and unique.
I had driven here from Toronto and visited Fort Henry. It was already afternoon and I was already hungry. Find a restaurant to fill your stomach first. We chose a restaurant at the intersection on the right side of the city hall and saw that it was still very popular. This is the location of the orange awning in the photo below.
Walk over, stand at the door of the restaurant, and look back at the city hall. The weather is really nice today, with light wind and clear clouds, blue sky and white clouds, and a good view.
We chose an empty table on the roadside under the awning and sat down. These eye-catching unknown flowers on the fence add a romantic atmosphere to our family.
Looking at the menu, there is only text but no pictures. My God, what is this? (I’m going crazy) In the end, I ordered food that I could understand and roughly guess what it looked like.
Maybe it was because the business was so good, we had to wait for a long time before the food we ordered came.
Bill, please! Looking at the receipt, the total is 58.75 Canadian dollars, of which provincial and federal taxes are 6.76 Canadian dollars. A tip was also paid. Look at the menu name, do you get it right?
After coming out of the restaurant, we walked directly on this side of the street towards the City Hall and arrived at the City Hall Square in front of the City Hall. The first thing that comes into view is a historic locomotive.
Going further, you will be directly in front of the city hall. Standing here, you can see the whole city hall building.
The dome, the clock, and the small dome at the top. If you stand at the top, you will definitely be able to overlook the beautiful scenery of the entire city!
In the center of the square facing the city hall gate, there is a fountain, three flags, and a lawn. In the distance is the St. Lawrence River and the fort in the river.
There are several ducks swimming around in the fountain, and they are not afraid of people coming. My children happily went up to play in the water with the ducks!
After playing in the pool for a while, we continued walking towards the river. The children climbed up and down and ran happily.
There are many boats parked on the river. There are also cruise ships taking tourists for sightseeing. We will not take the cruise here, and plan to go straight to the town of Gananoque, which is closer to Thousand Island Lake, to take a cruise to visit Thousand Island Lake. The sign on the riverside says that the bunker in the river is a Canadian National Historic Site.
Take a short break in the square.
It was already evening and it was still daylight. We are going to visit Queen's University. On our way to the parking lot, we walked through the streets and saw other limestone buildings. Gray and white stone buildings form the basic color palette of the city. It is said that fires often broke out here because of the strong winds. In particular, the fire of 1840 destroyed most of the buildings in the city center, including the city hall at the time. Only the limestone buildings survived, so more and more local residents used limestone to build their houses. Therefore, Kingston is also known as the "Limestone City".
I opened Google Maps navigation, picked up my car and drove there. When I arrived near the navigation destination, I couldn't see the school gate. I saw a few scattered buildings and young students who looked like students walking by. We didn't stop and didn't have time to take pictures. The building looks like the picture below. It turns out that this university has no gates, no walls, and an open campus. The building we saw is the school's teaching building. There are large green lawns, lush trees, and a beautiful environment. The teaching building exudes an academic atmosphere among the green trees.
The car drove all the way to Lake Ontario. There happens to be a playground where many children play. My children enjoyed all the entertainment facilities in the playground here.
We walked down the lawn hillside to Lake Ontario and enjoyed the rare sunset scenery in the setting sun.
The hotel we booked called to ask when we would arrive. It was getting late, so we got in the car and headed to the hotel.
The child's father specially booked a hotel with a swimming pool, looking forward to taking a dip. The result... In the evening and morning, the temperature was cold, and I couldn't swim in the end. Take a longing look at the swimming pool and think about it.
These two photos have good lighting because they were taken before I set off on the second morning:)
After a long day of running around, it’s time to take a rest!
Looking forward to our trip to Qiandao Lake on the second day!