St. Catharines

St. Catharines [1] is a city in the Niagara Region. It has the Welland Canal, a dry-dock for ships, and automotive plants. Two World Rowing Championships have been held here, first in 1970, and the most recent being in 1999. Get in The QEW Highway runs right through the city which runs from Toronto to the Niagara Falls border crossing. Greyhound and Coach Canada operate a bus service from the MTO building downtown located at 301 St. Paul Street. Frequent trips to Toronto, Niagara Falls, and beyond can be arranged. GO transit train station located just off of St. Paul Street West, not far outside downtown. Most trains are scheduled for a couple of trips Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There are services West to Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Toronto and beyond. There is service East to Niagara Falls. See gotransit.ca for more details. There is also a GO bus pickup and drop off which may now be operating daily but the schedule varies. The stop is located at the corner of Dawsco Drive and YMCA Drive which is surrounded by Costco, PetsMart and the Fairview Mall. Services East to Niagara Falls or West to the Burlington Go Station for connecting trains. See gotransit.ca for more details. Via Rail Canada and AMTRAK train station is located with the GO station not far outside of Downtown. Located on Ambrose Street, not far off of St. Paul West. There are services West to Toronto and Beyond and East for Niagara Falls and beyond into Buffalo USA for AMTRAK. Check viarail.ca or amtrak.com for more information. Get around St. Catharines has a public transit system of buses that service most of the city. Maps and schedules can be viewed online at www.yourbus.com. Fare is $2.75 per ride including a transfer. You can view maps, schedules and purchase passes at the MTO building Downtown located at 301 St. Paul Street. Tickets for multiple rides can also be purchased at the PEN Centre shopping mall located at 221 Glendale Avenue. See It is a shame that St. Catharines is overlooked by most tourists visiting Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake as it has a lot to offer. St. Catharines offers better value and quality for food and accommodation than the nearby tourist destinations which are only about 10-20 minutes away. One of the world's best rowing courses, and is home to the annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, named after the original regatta in Henley-on-Thames. Fantastic scenery can be enjoyed in Shorthills Provincial Park which can be access within minutes of the downtown core. The main entrance on Pelham Road is surrounded by vineyards and forests while the trails themselves wind themselves up and down the escarpment. All trails are suitable for hiking and There are some fantastic mountain biking trails, trails for horseback riding, and in the winter snowshoeing and cross country skiing are also popular activities. There is no shortage of wildlife, a couple waterfalls, rivers, valleys, cliffs. There is great scenery on every trail all waiting to be explored. Dogs are welcome. The Welland Canal runs along the east side of the city. From late spring to fall it is possible to watch ships go in and out of the locks and be raised or lowered through gravity. Port Dalhousie Port Dalhousie (pronounced Da-loo-zee) is, as the name suggests, at the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek on Lake Ontario. Not far away is Henley Rowing course. It is the home of Lakeside Park, made famous by the Rush song of the same name. It is a small area, basically one square block, but it hosts more than 10 bars, almost all of which have patio areas. One popular attraction is the old-fashioned carousel, which costs only 5 cents a ride. A very popular place for locals and tourists in the summer time. Do There are world class vineyards in St. Catharines located in the rural west end of the city. Tours can be arranged and there is much available for tasting at every stop. A word of advice, Ontario can produce some fantastic white wines and ice wines which is what the region is known for. Although most vineyards produce red wine, most wine enthusiasts do not enjoy it since the climate for growing grapes just simply doesn't produce good red wine. There are few wineries that can produce good red wine in this region. In the Corner Billiards & Lounge, 448 Welland Ave. A pool hall with 12 billiards tables, 2 snooker, food, beer and fun. All ages welcome. Buy Pen Centre, Hwy. 406 & Glendale Ave., ☎ 905-687-6622/1-800-582-8202. M–F 10AM–9PM, Sa 9AM–6PM, Su 11AM–6PM. A shopping mall. You can get anything. Eat Papa Vince Pizza[2] Thorold (905) 227-9394. Papa Vince has great pizza and wings, but where it really stands out is with their steak sub. Everyone should try a fatty! Da Pizza Joint Port Dalhousie. Da Pizza Joint is one of the number one pizza places in St. Catharines, with multiple styles and the famous Bianco. After a remodeling of the upstairs in 2005, Da Pizza Joint is now the perfect place to eat and drink while spending a night in Port Dalhousie. Heavy Duty Pizza Downtown Pizza Pizza Downtown Pita Pit Downtown. very cheap, good. Jak's Subs Downtown Fresco's West End Buona Pizza North End (905) 935-5353 Incredible, enormous, saucy chicken wings. Must be seen to be believed, and must be tasted no matter what. The pizza is tasty too. Amakara Japan, 19 Geneva St., ☎ (905) 684-0612. This is a Japanese reataurant. The owner is Japanese, so you can enjoy real Japanese food: sushi, teriyaki beef/chicken, tempura and so on. EAST Downtown. One of Japanese restaurants. It's the latest. Duru Korean restaurant Sahla Thai, 270 St. Paul St. (downtown), ☎ (905) 984-4482. M-F 11AM–10PM, Sa 5PM–10PM, Su 5PM–9PM. Thai restaurant. Drink There are two primary bar areas in the city: Port Dalhousie and downtown. Generally, Port Dalhousie is the active bar scene during the warm summer months, and downtown is the prime location for nightlife in the winter. The downtown area also has its fill of bars, likely more than twenty. Everything from small pubs to large dance clubs fill the area, although almost every bar has a laid back feel (with matching laid-back clothing requirements.) There has been a bit of an upscale trend lately, with the addition of a few martini bars. It's a bigger area to cover than up in Port, but even still it's quite easy to walk from a bar at one end of downtown to another at the opposite end. Merchant Ale House, 98 St. Paul Street, [3]. Possibly the best hang out pub in the city. Most of the beer is brewed on premises and is home to their famous Drunken Monkey Oatmeal Stout. Some other honorable mentions go to the blueberry wheat, strawberry blonde, IPA, Hockey Ale, and their seasonal pumpkin ale and holiday skullcrusher. There is some interesting live music most Saturday's. The type of music never seems to be the same. This is a pub for all ages and is thankfully not frequented by immature college crowds. $4-$12. Sleep Get out Interesting places nearby include: Niagara Falls (Ontario) - for the Falls, of course Niagara on the Lake - quaint, historic town with great little shops, restaurants, and (in the summer) the Shaw theatre festival Routes through St. Catharines Hamilton ← Lincoln ←  W  E  → Niagara Falls, ON → Buffalo This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!