Leamington (and Point Pelee National Park/Pelee Island)
Point Pelee is def worth seeing! I camped at the nearby Wheatly Park over a decade ago.. There's nothing special about Wheatly Park other that it's a provincial park and might have had the closest nearby camping options (but don't quote me on that either). From what I remember we drove into Point Pelee National Park the next morning and parked at a parking lot past the gate (where you pay).. then walked all the way to the point. I can't remember how far we drove and how far we walked though.. but the park has a decent amount of trails and you might find the plants, animals, and geology/terrain interesting. It definitely stands out a bit as being a tad different than what I'm used to living around these parts, even visiting the great lakes multiple times a year. Some of the trails miiiight take you on sand btw, I can't really remember. There's def. sand at the end, right at the tip. It's really interesting to see the two bodies of water come together like that. Good pick of a destination!
Guelph, potentially Kitchener/Waterloo
There's nothing worth seeing in Guelph, but I say that as somebody who went to school in KW
So, Guelph was always dismissed as the nearby "tiny brother" that had a university not worth attending and who cares what else. Don't discount Guelph on that alone of course, but it doesn't really get a "stuff worth seeing" type rep. I could be wrong due to my inherent KW bias, so do your research anyhow!
The nearby
Elora Gorge is my favourite part of the world that also happens to be near Guelph. You can go whitewater tubing there, and can camp near the Grand River as well.. There's some really nice scenery in the area, from what I remember.. including jumping-off-cliffs-and-into-water options, if you're into that sort of thing. I also remember liking Elora (the town), which is right nearby.. but I can not remember anything at all about it.. so.. I think it looks nice at least, but I can't remember why I have a positive memory of it other than that.
Guelph and KW probably have other nearby outdoorsy options.. as the landscape near the Grand River & the Niagara escarpment tends to be interesting at least, and at times a bit on the spectacular.
Kitchener-Waterloo itself.. I lived here so I could be biased as well.. but I can't really think of one thing I'd recommend to do/see there either. I mean, there's nice parts of town, I like Waterloo Park & Silver Lake.. but it's not a real destination in itself. Uptown Waterloo is supposed to be nicer, and it was kind of quaint when I lived there.. in a good way.. just with not enough to really attract people yet.. So I might look up that.. Downtown Kitchener always also felt kind of average. Like London, Ont downtown but smaller, sort of.. And London Ont downtown is def not worth visiting. Victoria Park downtown (Kitchener) is nice too, w/ the lake.. Other than that it might just be historical buildings and stuff like that. So it could very well interest you, but if so then you could probably find even more interesting little towns nearby.
St. Jacobs is just north of KW, it has a popular market that might be worth looking up. There is a heavy Mennonite presence in the area, I believe the Mennonites who sell their food & wares are one of the highlights of this market.. I've never actually been there though.. but have eaten really good pepper jam that was bought there
Goderich has a nice 'small town' downtown and nearby beach/lakeside options.. I stayed at a cottage near here about 6 years ago.. Loved it! There's probably a whole bunch of outdoorsy stuff to do around here.
Niagara and that area in general.
From what I remember of Niagara Falls (the city) is that the only part worth visiting is basically a huge tourist trap. It's definitely worth walking through once sort of thing, don't get me wrong.. But expect a tacky tourist-targeted almost Vegas-like experience in this part of the city.. The best view of the falls is a short distance away from that, from what I remember.. but things could have changed. I took the boat that takes you near the falls once and would def. recommend that experience.. although these memories are teenage and should be taken with a grain of salt..
These days when anyone I know (who lives in ontario) goes to Niagara Falls, they stay closer near Niagara on the Lake & do vinyard tours.. you can bike around, drink wine, stay at a nice guesthouse.. or whatever.. it's that sort of romcom vibe. Some people also go to the casino overlooking the falls, which has really nice views of the falls as well.. Other than the things mentioned, I don't think anybody comes to Niagara Falls to do anything else pretty much, except for potential hiking options in the area.. and likely other outdoorsy activities as well. The southern terminus of the
Bruce Trail is just north of the city I think.. This trail runs all the way north along the Canadian shield & the Niagara escarpment to the Bruce peninsula, via places like the Elora Gorge, etc. The best parts of this trail are in the north, though, I know very little of the parts in the south.. although Hamilton is supposed to be near some fun sections.. Having said that, nobody should ever have to visit Hamilton. It's a bit of an industrial city, or at least used to be. It doesn't have the best reputation in terms of being visiteable. Could be some bias on my part here too.. Hamilton is basically right in between Toronto and Niagara Falls. Some people will drive here, and park near a GO train station.. The most popular station for that seems to be Aldershot, just north of Hamilton. It's relatively easy to get to, it's central to the GO Rail network, you can park there for relatively cheap (I think), and jump on the commuter GO rail & bus network and visit any part of the extended Greater Toronto Area, incl. Niagara Falls. The Go train also runs to downtown Kitchener. It's probably not going to be good for you for your trip, but it could come in handy.. I'm not really sure, so I thought I'd include it so it'd be on your radar. It's a relatively cheap form of rail transportation that covers a decent geographic area.
Toronto is definitely somewhere I want to go someday, but seeing Niagara Falls sounds more exciting right now. I've been to Buffalo but didn't see the Falls, so it seems like time to change that.
IMO you could stay at that fancy casino hotel right by the falls, for those views.. but even so you'd probably get bored of the touristy part of Niagara Falls after a day.. It would def. make sense to HQ there for a couple days if you had other nearby outdoorsy type targets already picked out.. or if you spent a day and a half visiting vinyards and drinking wines & ciders. That boat is worth looking into.. But Niagara Falls might honestly be a better day trip sort of destination. You could ride in via a train, or with a car.. walk through the town, go see the falls from all the best vantage points, maybe visit that casino, maybe eat at the restaurant there (with the amazing views).. maybe get on that boat.. then you can head back to your car, or wherever. That's just my opinion, but IMO unless you have more stuff planned in the area, such as a vinyard tour.. or some hiking trails.. it might make sense to stay somewhere else. The Go rail/bus network might give you some options there (You could in theory take the GO train to Niagara from Kitchener, but that might go to Union station in Toronto First, you'd have to check.. It might be a long journey and not worth your time)
Toronto is honestly "just another world city". By that I mean that.. If you've been to Chicago, New York, London.. Toronto is basically sort of like that, if you squint. There's definitely some unique & interesting things worth seeing in the GTA, but if you've ever taken in that world city vibe.. you'll basically find that in Toronto. It's amazing for food, quite diverse, and you can find all the amenities you want.. But if you're more into outdoorsy things and smaller & more unique towns, then skipping Toronto makes sense.
Other things I'd recommend that are sort of near some of the places you are already interested in:
- The
Lion's Head Lookout point part of the Bruce Trail.. is the BEST part of the Bruce Trail. The hike to & from the lookout point itself is the best part.. but it is possible to make this into a longer hiking experience, if you continue south along the peninsula. There's lots of epic views along the way. Can either make this into a 2-3hr, 4-6hr, or 9-12hr hiking trip, and end up @ the same carpark at the end. There's also a pub (Lions Head Pub?) there that used to have better food, but.. still has pretty good food. All the hikers I know go there to eat after they hike nearby.. it's sort of a tradition. Not as good these days, but still always hits the spot each and very time. The town itself doesn't really have much to it.. But you do get to see the Lion's Head peninsula, and that's a cool sight too.
-
Tobermory might or might not interest you... If you end up venturing as far north as Lion's Head, then Tobermory is 50km north of that.. That's where the northern terminus of the Bruce Trail is.. There is a grotto near there definitely worth seeing, and lots of trails, a couple parks, an da ferry that can take you to Manitoulin island, which is pretty damn cool... although.. You'd need a day to really "do" Manitoulin island. We drove around it and did a bunch of hikes along the way.. Two thumbs up, but we started our day at 6am or something stupid like that and were on the last ferry back.. Manitoulin island is where I had one of the best tasting fish dishes ever.. In a small fishermans town in the north-western part of the island.. Restaurant right by the water, catch of the day.. HOLY CRAP SO GOOD. I think it was @ Gore Bay. But yeah.. this is pretty far from places like KW. Although if you end up in Goderich and continue driving north to check out Kincardine, Port Elgin, Sauble Beach, etc. you'll be heading in that direction..
Stratford is a nice little town near here that might interest you.. or not.. I'm not really sure, but it's popular as a getaway destination. They put on many Shakespeare plays, the old town is quite nice, etc.
- What are the Canadian cuisines that I have to try in that part of Canada? My knowledge of Canadian cuisine is roughly butter tarts, which I hope to find, poutine, which I'd expect to find in Quebec, and nanaimo bars, which I'd expect to find in BC but not sure about Ontario.
My recommendation is to look up the specialities in each town you travel to. If you end up finding a place that claims it specializes in poutine (or has a reputation for having good poutine), then try poutine there. I would avoid fast food poutine, and chain restaurant poutine can be decent.. but it can also be suspiciously close to fast food poutine. I would look up some reviews to see what people are recommending, although those can be deceiving too.. But if a decent amount of reviews talk about the poutine @ some pub you're at, and the web has articles about poutine at this place, then it might very well be worth trying. But yeah, that's how I would approach it.. Keep a list of stereotypically Canadian dishes and if you come across a place that has a reputation for being good at one of them.. eat it.
Bagels are supposedly good in some parts of Canada, but I'm not really a big fan of bagels so can't comment much... BUT.. if some mom n pop type place advertises the best bagels in Canada, maybe buy a bagel there. I'm not a big fan, but at the right place bagels can be delicious..
You have to eat something with maple syrup on it. Maybe pancakes? Or waffles? Find a place that specializes in that sort of thing.
Smoked meat is a montreal thing, but I've had good smoked meat in Ontario too.. So.. if you come across a place that seems to specialize in smoked meat to an acceptable standard.. it might be worth trying.
Donairs are a Halifax thing I think, but def. worth trying if you find a place that knows how to make them right.
You gotta have a Caesar, which is like a Bloody Mary, and basically tastes the same, but a tiny bit better. If it has bacon in it, then they are probably doing it right. If it has montreal steak spice on the rim, then that is great news, but it might be a bit spicy. The spicier the better, but you don't want too spicy either..
Try some ketchup chips. The redder the better. Not sure which brand I'd recommend. All dressed chips are really good too.
A lot of touristy type places will also sell Beaver Tails. They are just like Elephant Ears. Seems like a Canadian type spin on things, and they are usually delicious..
A Tourtiere is a meat pie sort of thing, from Quebec. No idea where you'd find a good one in Ontario, but it should be on your radar
Any town right on the lake will have a decent amount of good seafood options.. Get something local, like a freshly caught Perch or something..
Ice Wine from Niagara region should prob be on the list
The most important food tip of all: AVOID TIM HORTON'S, unless you are there to poop. They have horrible coffee and stale donuts. Some of the sandwiches might be ok. This is also a good source of bottled water, if you're in a pinch. Tims' are everywhere and will usually be priced a bit cheaper than convenience store bottled water.. who will sometimes charge you an extra % if you're paying w/ a cc. So if it's a hot day and you just want some cold water and a poop, Tim Horton's can be a great safehaven. But for anything else, stay away..
- How important is brushing up on my French before a Quebec trip?
If you're going to Montreal you don't have to speak any French at all. The further you venture out from Montreal's city borders, the more French you have to know.. Quebec City is touristy and you'll prob be fine, but the expectations there for tourists to speak French are a bit higher than in Montreal. That's a very rough guide though..
Unfortunately I don't have time to proofread this novel of a post right now.. but if you have any questions about any of the above, just let me know