Hamilton (Ontario)

Hamilton is a port city in Ontario with a population around 520,000, at the westernmost end of Lake Ontario&mdash;the city wraps around the lake and continues towards the Niagara Escarpment, referred to by locals as "the mountain".

Understand
Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. The city limits of Hamilton used to be bounded by approximately Horning Road in the west and Centennial Parkway in the east, but a continuous urban or suburban area had grown around the city, in the towns of Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and the community of Greensville in the town of Flamborough. In 2001 the new City of Hamilton was formed through amalgamation of the former City with the constituent towns of the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Municipality. Residents of the city are known as Hamiltonians. Since 1981, the metropolitan area has been listed as the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario.

Traditionally, the local economy has been led by the steel and heavy manufacturing industries. Within the last decade, there has been a shift towards the service sector, particularly health sciences. The Hamilton Health Sciences corporation employs nearly 10,000 staff and serves approximately 2.2 million people in the region.

Hamilton is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Bruce Trail, McMaster University and several colleges. The Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats play at Tim Hortons Field. The same venue is also home to Forge FC, the city's pro soccer team that started play in 2019 as a founding member of the Canadian Premier League. Partly because of its diverse locations, numerous TV and film productions have been filmed in Hamilton, regulated by the Hamilton Film and Television Office. There is a growing arts and culture sector including local art galleries, recording studios and independent film production.

Visitor information
Tourism Hamilton is the city's official tourism website, with a free "Experience Hamilton" Visitor’s Guide and current info on local events and attractions.

By plane


There is a ground transportation page for Hamilton Airport. Here are some options:
 * Taxis between downtown Hamilton and the airport cost about $25.
 * Taxis between downtown Hamilton and the airport cost about $25.

By train

 * Via Rail service from Windsor, London, Niagara Falls, and Toronto. GO trains run from Toronto to Aldershot every half hour (or better) everyday including weekends, holidays and evenings.
 * Via Rail service from Windsor, London, Niagara Falls, and Toronto. GO trains run from Toronto to Aldershot every half hour (or better) everyday including weekends, holidays and evenings.


 * Hamilton's main intercity train station is unfortunately not in Hamilton. To get downtown, GO bus 18 (Hamilton Train Meet Service) connects to Hamilton GO Centre, while 11 stops at Hamilton GO Centre before continuing on to West Harbour GO.


 * Hamilton's downtown GO station is mostly a bus service hub (see By bus below.) Train service is limited to four rush-hour, peak-direction GO Transit trains from Toronto. Within the station, GO Transit has fare vending machines, and the Hamilton Street Railway (local buses) has its Customer Service Centre.
 * Hamilton's downtown GO station is mostly a bus service hub (see By bus below.) Train service is limited to four rush-hour, peak-direction GO Transit trains from Toronto. Within the station, GO Transit has fare vending machines, and the Hamilton Street Railway (local buses) has its Customer Service Centre.


 * West Harbour GO station hosts hourly, 7-day-per-week GO Transit train service from Toronto to Hamilton. This is often more convenient than making a transfer at Aldershot. There is also once-a-day GO train service here from St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
 * West Harbour GO station hosts hourly, 7-day-per-week GO Transit train service from Toronto to Hamilton. This is often more convenient than making a transfer at Aldershot. There is also once-a-day GO train service here from St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.

By bus

 * From Toronto Union Station (Route 16, express, 1-1.5 hours), to Hamilton GO Centre.
 * From Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Mississauga (Route 40), to Hamilton GO Centre.
 * From Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph (Route 17), to Hamilton GO Centre.
 * From Brantford (Route 15) to McMaster University.
 * From St. Catharines (Route 11) to West Harbour GO and Hamilton GO Centre.
 * From Niagara Falls (Route 12) to
 * From Niagara Falls (Route 12) to





By car
Main thoroughfares into Hamilton include the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 403, and Highway 6. Hamilton is roughly 1 hour from Toronto and from Niagara Falls.

By boat
When approaching Hamilton Harbour from the east- Lake Ontario- remember that the lift bridge opens every half hour on the hour.

Hitchhiking
It is illegal for a pedestrian to enter any 400 series highway or the QEW. It is also very unsafe due to the high velocity and dense volume of traffic. If you should choose to do so anyway you can expect the police to pick you up and remove you within a short time.

A safe and legal alternative is to hitchhike on the on-ramp, providing there is sufficient space for a vehicle to pull over without endangering the driver or passing traffic.

Hitchhiking on other roads in Hamilton (and Ontario) is legal so long as you do not stand in the roadway.

By car
Hamilton is divided into two main sections&mdash;"The Mountain" and downtown. The Mountain refers to anything on the escarpment&mdash;access to the mountain is limited to a few roads, which often arrive on a different street than when you started. If you're going up the mountain, take a second to learn which access you need to take. Driving on the mountain accesses in the winter can be treacherous, and even many locals avoid it if possible due to icy road conditions. During severe storms many and sometimes even all of the accesses can be closed by the city, making travel between the two major districts nearly impossible. The Sherman Access changes to one-way traffic during rush hour, to get traffic down the mountain in the morning and up the mountain in the afternoon. If you aren't aware of this, it can mean having to take a long detour if you've committed to taking the Sherman but can't. Even outside of rush hour the signage on this access can be confusing.

Hamilton has many one-way streets throughout its downtown core. Be aware of what intersection you're heading for, and what streets precede it, or you may overshoot.

Rush hour traffic can be problematic like in any other large city. Try to avoid driving down Upper James Street in the mornings or between 4-6PM unless you're content to watch pedestrians overtake you on the sidewalks. The nearby street of West 5th (next major street to the west of Upper James) generally has a far lower volume of traffic and can save you upwards of 10 minutes of driving time. It also sports a mountain access that can get you down to (lower) James Street in no time at all.

The Lincoln Alexander Expressway (known locally as the Linc or Link) is a city by-pass that runs across the mountain from Ancaster to Stoney Creek. If you're trying to get past the city be sure to avoid the major roads (Mohawk, Fennell, Stone Church or Rymal) at all costs and take the Linc, which will save you ample time and gas.

There are some duplicate street names between Hamilton and the surrounding areas it amalgamated with; for example, there is a King Street in Dundas, Hamilton, and Stoney Creek.

By bus
A fare is valid for two hours of travel on HSR buses. If paying by cash, ask the driver for a "transfer" as a receipt to show the driver when changing buses. If paying by Presto, credit or debit card, the transfer info is electronically recorded on your card when you tap on.

Presto, credit and debit card customers can also transfer freely between HSR and Burlington Transit buses at any location within 2 hours of paying the initial fare.

Burlington Transit routes 1/1X serve the Royal Botanical Gardens from King & James streets (BT Stop #679) and King & Bay streets (BT Stop #827). Burlington Transit accepts HSR paper transfers only at these two stops in downtown Hamilton.

For Presto, credit and debit card holders: If transferring between GO Transit (GO) and HSR to complete a trip, your HSR fare will be free. Just tap your Presto, credit or debit card on the Presto fare device on both transit systems to get the free HSR fare. When transferring from HSR to GO, the HSR fare will be refunded to your Presto, credit or debit card after completing your trip.



Historical note: Despite having terminated all streetcar service by 1951, the Hamilton Street Railway has retained its quaint name to this day. Today, the HSR operates no rail services, but there is a plan to construct a light rail line in downtown Hamilton in future.

Waterfalls




Outdoor activities

 * Golf at one of Hamilton's 18-hole public courses: or . There are numerous private courses including the 2003, 2006, 2012, 2019, and 2024 homes to the Canadian Open, the top rated, in Ancaster. The Hamilton Golf and Country Club is an exclusive club that dates back to Hamilton's industrial glory days. Unless you know a member, or someone that knows a member, forget playing here.
 * Golf at one of Hamilton's 18-hole public courses: or . There are numerous private courses including the 2003, 2006, 2012, 2019, and 2024 homes to the Canadian Open, the top rated, in Ancaster. The Hamilton Golf and Country Club is an exclusive club that dates back to Hamilton's industrial glory days. Unless you know a member, or someone that knows a member, forget playing here.

Shopping districts
Hamilton has numerous shopping districts along attractive streets lined with small shops and eateries. While fewer brand-name retail items are available in Hamilton than in neighbouring Toronto, several districts host a successful spot for antiques, art and specialty boutiques.

Eat
It's not difficult to find a superb variety of foods in Hamilton. Having a large minority and immigrant population, many people in Hamilton can and do take the opportunity to eat exotic cuisines.

Budget
Besides the listings below, there is a multicultural business community along James Street North between King and Murray streets offering affordable restaurants serving food from multiple nationalities.



Mid-range
Hamilton is a large city and therefore enjoys almost every mid-range dining chain. Examples include Kelsey's, Montana's, and The Keg. Hess Street, in addition to housing some newer upper-scale establishments, has several mid-range places that offer fantastic food (Ceilidh House being an example).

Drink




Sleep


In addition to the ones below, Burlington just north of Hamilton has some more places to sleep.

Budget








Mid-range










Splurge












Stay safe
Hamilton resides on a highly polluted area of Lake Ontario. High levels of E. Coli bacteria usually prevent the beach from being open for swimming season. In addition, the city suffers from high air pollution including fine particulate matter, consistent with most of Southern Ontario from Windsor through Oshawa.

Like most cities, there are unsafe areas which should be avoided. Some of the areas that may be problematic after dark due to black market activities (i.e. sex trade and illegal narcotics) are Barton Street from around Lottridge to James Street and Cannon and Wilson Streets between Wentworth and Victoria, along with the general downtown area including Gore Park and Jackson Square, but again, only at night. Additionally, Ferguson Avenue between Cannon and Barton is home to a large transient population, as is the rest of the Beasley neighbourhood.

Hess Village can and does experience the usual amount of drunken bar fights (typically outside of the bars), but this is no different from any other large city. Several uniformed police officers typically patrol the small area on busier nights.

Use common sense and avoid walking around alone at night. Police presence is usually infrequent in less-busy neighbouroods, so it can be best to avoid them unless you have business.

The rate of violent crime is moderate compared to other similarly-sized Canadian cities.

The beautiful trails along the Niagara Escarpment can sometimes run quite close to unfenced, unmarked cliff edges. Stay on the trail and use caution and you'll be fine.

Emergency services

 * Police, fire, ambulance: 911

Hamilton Police

 * Hamilton Police Services, (Non-emergency switchboard).

Connect
All branches of the Hamilton Public Library offer free internet and free wi-fi. The Central Library at 55 York Blvd also has an accessible computer with a screen reader.

Go next

 * Burlington - the vast Royal Botanical Gardens await you just over the city line
 * Kitchener/Waterloo - About an hour's drive north-west. This is an old German community with a ton of nice old buildings. A variety of unique shopping and dining experiences make this a promising day-trip out of Hamilton. Nearby Cambridge is home to the African Lion Safari: guard your cars well against roving bands of outlaw baboons in this family-friendly, drive-through safari park.
 * Niagara Falls - for the Falls, of course
 * Niagara-on-the-Lake - quaint, historic town with great little shops, restaurants, and (in the summer) the Shaw Festival
 * Toronto - all the big-city thrills you could want in Canada's largest metropolis