City: St. Catharines
Top Things to do in St. Catharines
- 1. Lakeside Park Carousel
- 2. The Post Office Shannon Passero
- 3. St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3
- 4. Creekside Estate Winery
- 5. Happy Rolph's Animal Farm
- 6. Morningstar Mill
- 7. Henry of Pelham Family Estate
- 8. 13th Street Winery
- 9. St Catharines Farmers Market
- 10. Chateau des Charmes
10 Things to Do in St. Catharines That You Shouldn't Miss
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, with 96.13 square kilometres (37.1 sq mi) of land and 133,113 residents in 2016. It lies in Southern Ontario, 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal. Residents of St. Catharines are known as St. Cathariners. St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000 acres (4 km) of parks, gardens and trails.
Restaurants in St. Catharines
1. Lakeside Park Carousel
Overall Ratings
5 based on 547 reviews
Reviewed By marn10 - St. Catharines, Canada
Kids love the carousel. It is an inexpensive way to spend an afternoon, visiting the beach, playing on the new play area set up right beside the carousel, and going around and around several times.Worth the nickel it costs for the ride. Picnic tables are available, there is free parking ( at least at present in the large parking lot), and there are washrooms close by. Parking on the side streets and on the main street of Port is by meter. The carousel is open in the summer months only, and sits in a building that closes right up at night and in the winter so it is nicely preserved.
2. The Post Office Shannon Passero
Overall Ratings
5 based on 89 reviews
The Post Office - Shannon Passero is a true destination store offering a unique shopping experience at a beautifully restored heritage building. It is a lifestyle store that imparts beauty and optimism to its customers. The store offers women an eclectic assortment of high quality clothing, accessories, home furnishings, global finds, gifts and decor that exhibits influences ranging from vintage to global.
3. St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 294 reviews
Reviewed By Coljac - Caversham, United Kingdom
We intended only to visit Niagara Falls whilst staying in this area, but luckily discovered this Centre and spent an interesting couple of hours here. The museum was informative (but we by-passed the Lacrosse section as this was not why we came here). The highlight was being able to view close-up a ship going through lock 3. Because of its size the vessel took a long time to move into the lock and it virtually filled the whole, extremely large space between the two sets of gates. The high viewing gallery was great. (NB The gift shop served coffee, but apart from this there were no catering facilities)
4. Creekside Estate Winery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 146 reviews
Situated in Jordan, Ontario, Creekside Estate Winery has become a haven for wine enthusiasts. A small premium producer, Creekside is known for being both quirky and irreverent, but also generating some of the best wines in Canada. Since 1998, Creekside specializes in grape varieties that are a rarity in Niagara such as Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio. Creekside also has cult followings for its unique, innovative blends and small batch wines including Broken Press Shiraz, Lost Barrel, Laura’s White and the Undercurrent wines – a series of small batch, experimental wines available only at the winery. The winery is winning top awards in national and international wine competitions. Key wins for the winery include being selected as the top 6th winery in Canada by Wine Access Magazine, winning ‘Winemaker of the Year’ at the prestigious 2008 Ontario Wine Awards, and the top award winner at the Cuvee Wine Awards in 2008 to 2011. Recently the winery expanded its retail facility, and launched The Deck at Creekside by J. Mark Hand. This spacious covered deck offers a scenic view, and weekend lunches throughout the summer. The winery also features one of Ontario’s first and largest underground barrel cellars. Our retail tasting bar is also equipped with some of the friendliest and knowledgeable folks in town, making a visit to the winery a comfortable, casual and fun experience.
Reviewed By travelcrazycanuck - St. Catharines
I booked a private tour for Sept 16/17 (2pm) to celebrate our fathers 81 birthday (5 couples). Upon booking, I was told the The Deck WOULD be available for food and drinks after the tour.
The wine tasting portion of this visit was wonderful. We were escorted to the wine cellar where Cam described the selections with great knowledge. We then toured an area of the vineyards. As most tables were already in use, we asked if our guide could set up a table of 10 as we were interested in food and enjoying a bottle of wine. It was 3:15pm. A table was found but we were told that the kitchen was not longer serving food however they would make us up a couple of charcuterie boards. We sat at the table for several minutes without any service so my sister, cousin and I went to the bar for service. When we requested a bottle of wine, we were told the bar was closed and we would have to purchase wine from the retail store. We made our way into the retail store only to be told by a discourteous and unprofessional "manager" that The Deck was now closed for a "private event" and we would have to move to the retail section if we wanted wine and charcuterie boards. I suggested to the manager that common courtesy dictates being informed of changes in bookings to which she replied it wasn't her job to inform of such changes.
So on top of being put off by a petulant manager, I was also utterly embarrassed about having to move tables, the absence of food and the discomfort of the furniture we were asked to perch on. Thankfully my family was accepting and understanding of this debacle. To add insult to injury, the "retail" cost of the 2 bottles of wine, 9 slices of pepperoni sized salami, 12 bite size pieces of cheese and 24 rice crackers was a whopping $120.
Is it any wonder why I would never recommend this winery to anyone?
5. Happy Rolph's Animal Farm
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 202 reviews
Reviewed By TOM V - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
We have been taking grandchildren as well as other out of town visitors here for many years. Unfortunately, this place needs some help. The Canada geese are fast overrunning this once pristine place. It is becoming more difficult and dangerous to walk around in. I'm not sure what can be done, but perhaps our local restaurants could start featuring "goose liver pate" on their menus.
6. Morningstar Mill
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 112 reviews
Reviewed By KathleenR_28 - Port Dover, Canada
Morningstar Mill offers not only a glimpse into the past but also a place to hike and enjoy the Waterfalls. There are information boards that provide brief backgrounds about the heritage buildings. There is one board that explained that in the winter, those who worked here in the early years even collected the ice that formed at the Waterfalls. The ice was then packed in saw dust and transported to the cellar of a nearby building. This was was used to cool perishables in the summer. I found this really interesting.
During the summer months, there is a volunteer that gives a talk about the mill.
The view of the Waterfalls is better in spring or winter, when the trees are bare.
Take your time in this heritage site. There is a lot to learn and appreciate.
7. Henry of Pelham Family Estate
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 91 reviews
Reviewed By BigBird57 - Guelph, Canada
on our way back home from the Niagara region we decided to stop off at Henry of Pelham Family Estate. They have a a 'fun' wine series (Sibling Rivalry) that we liked and wanted to see where it was made. As this was an unplanned event we didn't get a chance for the tour tour but did wander the grounds and made a visit to the wine shop... we discovered some new (to us) wines and Icewines and needless to say did not leave empty handed. Staff were very helpful and super friendly...a positive conclusion to our trip.
8. 13th Street Winery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 115 reviews
13th Street Winery specializes in small lot estate grown, hand-crafted table and sparkling wines. Since 1998, 13th Street Winery has continued to establish itself as one of the top small producers in the area, winning praise for its Gamay, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and méthode traditionelle sparkling wines. Visit our tasting bar, art gallery and bakery boutique on Fourth Avenue in St. Catharines.
Reviewed By Familyof3tourist - Familyof3tourist
Let me start off with all of the positives, then some important feedback. I love this winery!! Hands down my favourite...the chic white design..WOWZA.....the art, the sculptures, the bakery, the salsa, the fire pit, the wine...all outstanding and I refer all of my friends. The...MoreThank you for your feedback. We greatly appreciate both the positive and negative comments and will share them with our team and discuss how we can continue to improve our guests' experiences. Regards Ruth Peters Director of Marketing 13th Street Winery
9. St Catharines Farmers Market
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By Cher Tyson E
We haven't been to the Farmers Market in years , and we like to get up early and go down and sample , and buy lunch ..well we walked out with some awesome cheese , and very fine salami ... we had a sausage on a bun , we had 1/2 each , I would rate it an 8 out of 10 , we found it tough , I am a Butter Tart connoisseur , the butter tarts from Sweetie pies , were just how I like them , the crust was perfect flakey , my favorite place now for butter tarts ..mmmm
10. Chateau des Charmes
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 464 reviews
Reviewed By jess R - Hamilton, Canada
We really liked Galina our tasting host. She had lots of information and knew the wines well. She treated us with respect, acknowledging our personal preferences and palettes. We were asked what we wanted to try instead of being told what to try. Lots of choices in white and red wines, 4 per tasting.
We had not previously tried any wines from this winery. Their white and rose sparkling were both refreshing. Only tried one white, their Riesling. Tried a variety of their reds, with the 2012 Merlot being our favourite. Their signature Euccheleus was like the Meritage we have tried at other wineries, with complex and unique flavours. Only a few of their wines are available at the LCBO. Worth a stop at this St. Catherine's winery.
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