Wheelchair Holidays : Canada

A Week in Canada

We flew from Newcastle to Gatwick then onto Toronto where we spent six nights. My cousin Amanda and her son who live near Toronto spent a weekend with us at our hotel 'The Comfort Inn' in Downtown Toronto. Amanda took us to Niagara Falls where we went on the famous boat 'Maid of the Mist' - got very wet, but had great fun! (Very wheelchair-accessible!) Later we all went out for an Italian meal before calling in to the Eaton Centre - a huge shopping mall - for a browse around the multitude of shops and tourist attractions.

Whilst in Toronto we shot up the CN Tower (At 1,815 ft it is one of the tallest free-standing buildings in the world.) Also went onto its glass floor which was very scarey, but breathtaking! Another day we took a boat trip around Lake Ontario. We also pushed up University Street, rested in Queen's Park, then explored the Parliament Building. Here we had a guided tour before sitting in the Public Gallery listening to a live debate regarding the Walkerton water contamination issue. We found Toronto an extremely up-beat, cosmopolitan city - very dynamic and multi-cultural.

After Toronto we caught a Via train to Ottawa where we spent two nights which coincided with the Tulip Festival Whilst here we strolled along Parliament Hill, and had a guided tour around the Gothic-style Parliament Building. We also went on an Amthibus trip around Ottawa which took us alongside the Rideau Falls (where the Rideau River enters the Ottawa River), then on we went back to the Parliament Building for a look up the Peace Tower. Compared to Toronto we found Ottawa very provincial, but extremely beautiful with large parks and impressive buildings - a good balance of old and new!

(Ottawa is one of the most wheel-chair accessible cities I've visited! )

From Ottawa we travelled onto Montreal for a further two nights. Here we had a delicious Chinese meal in one of the multitude of restaurants. We also wandered around the Old Town area, ambled along the picturesque Harbourfront, watched the lively street entertainers, and went to the underground shopping mall - got lost in the labyrinth of passageways. Montreal seemed much more European than Ottawa and Toronto.

After a tiring, but fascinating 11 days travelling around we left for Gatwick then back home to Newcastle again. (Gatwick Airport was a bit of a nightmare. The organisation for my lift onto the aircraft was absolutely terrible. Also we couldn't find any wheelchair-acessible taxis outside the Airport.)

I'd recommended a holiday in Toronto to any wheelchair user. Everywhere was so accessible and most of the people were very friendly. I wouldn't fly from Gatwick Airport in a hurry though!

Reproduced with kind permission of Belinda Sidebotham - C5

Wheelchair Holidays : Canada