Kingston

Market Square morning, Fort Henry drills and a penitentiary tour

Start the first day at Springer Market Square behind City Hall, a domed limestone building facing the harbour. On market days, farmers sell produce and baking under the awnings. Walk the waterfront west through Confederation Park and board one of the Thousand Islands cruises; the shortest loop takes about 90 minutes and threads among the first granite islands of the St. Lawrence.

Lunch on Princess Street, then walk west through the Sydenham Ward to Bellevue House, the Italianate villa where Sir John A. Macdonald lived for a short time, with its gardens restored to the 1840s. Further along the lakeshore, Kingston Penitentiary, opened in 1835 and closed in 2013, runs guided tours in summer led by former guards and staff. Book ahead. Finish with dinner in the old courtyard at Chez Piggy.

On day two, cross the Cataraqui River to Fort Henry in the morning and watch the Fort Henry Guard drill and fire their cannon; the fort guards the mouth of the Rideau Canal. Wander Barriefield village and the Royal Military College grounds on the way back. In the afternoon, ride the ferry to Wolfe Island with a bike for flat country roads and wind turbines, or drive north to the Kingston Mills locks. Return to the fort in the evening if the Sunset Ceremony is on.

Chez Piggy's courtyard, Pan Chancho bread and Princess Street pho

Kingston claims more restaurants per head than almost anywhere in Canada, and two universities keep the cheap end strong. Princess Street is the spine, with Vietnamese pho counters and pubs busy in term. For a proper dinner, Chez Piggy serves bistro food in a 19th-century stable yard with the best summer courtyard in town.

For something more considered, Chez Piggy has served global bistro cooking for decades in a converted 19th-century stable yard off Princess Street, with a stone-walled courtyard that is the best summer table in town. Its sister bakery, Pan Chancho, on Princess Street, sells crusty loaves and pastries and makes a good breakfast stop before a day trip.

The Kingston Public Market on Springer Market Square has traded for over two centuries; go on a Saturday in summer for berries, sweet corn and maple syrup from Frontenac County farms. Around the square, cafes look out over the stalls. Make one dinner a drive to Prince Edward County, an hour west, where vineyards and farm restaurants cluster around Picton and Wellington. In winter, the patio crowd moves inside to the pubs, and the town feels most like the student city it is.

Kingston Mills locks, the Glenora ferry and the County wineries

Kingston makes a good base because three very different regions start at its edges. North, the Rideau Canal climbs out of the city through the Kingston Mills locks, where boats still pass through hand-cranked gates in a rocky gorge between May and October. Beyond, Frontenac Provincial Park has lakes and Canadian Shield hiking trails about 40 minutes away.

West lies Prince Edward County, reached in about an hour on Highway 33, the Loyalist Parkway. The road crosses the Bay of Quinte on the free Glenora ferry, a short crossing that runs all year. The County has wineries, cideries and the dunes of Sandbanks Provincial Park, whose beaches are among the best on Lake Ontario.

East, the Thousand Islands start just past Gananoque, half an hour along the old Highway 2, with its own fleet of island cruises.

The weather decides how much of this works. July and August average 25C by day and 15C to 16C at night, the lake is warm enough to swim and every attraction is open. Rain is spread through the year, but September to November are the wettest months, close to 100 mm each. January brings about -3C by day and -12C at night, when Fort Henry and the cruises close and skaters take over the rink in Market Square. Summer events include the Buskers Rendezvous in July and the Limestone City Blues Festival in late August.