London, Ontario: Complete Visitor Guide

London, Ontario sits in the agricultural heartland of southwestern Ontario, 200 kilometres southwest of Toronto, and is the regional centre for a large farming and manufacturing area. The city of approximately 400,000 has a character that reflects both its university town roots (Western University and Fanshawe College give it a substantial student population) and its older history as a market and commercial centre. The Thames River runs through the downtown and the city has invested significantly in its riverfront trail system over the past decade.

London doesn't compete for tourism with Toronto or Niagara, but it has a genuine arts scene, some excellent historic sites, and a food and hospitality culture that benefits from serving a large local population rather than transient tourists. Spending a day or two here reveals a city with more depth than the highway billboards suggest.

Fanshawe Pioneer Village

Fanshawe Pioneer Village is a living history museum comprising over 30 relocated and reconstructed heritage buildings that recreate life in southwestern Ontario from the 1820s to the 1920s. Buildings include a mid-19th century tavern, a blacksmith shop, a school, a church, a print shop, a woodworking mill, and a dozen domestic residences furnished to period. Costumed interpreters demonstrate period trades and crafts, and the quality of the interpretation is high — guides are trained in the specific trades they demonstrate.

The village sits on the shore of Fanshawe Lake, a reservoir northeast of the city. The Pioneer Festival in September and the Hallowe'en at Fanshawe event in October are particularly popular. The site also has a campground, beach, and conservation area trails. Open April through December; winter hours are limited.

Museum London

Museum London is the primary public art and history museum for the region, holding a collection of over 14,000 objects including one of the strongest regional collections of Canadian art in Ontario outside of the national institutions. The permanent collection includes significant works by Paul Peel — a prominent London-born Victorian painter — alongside Group of Seven works, Indigenous art, and contemporary Canadian pieces. The history galleries trace the development of the Thames Valley region from pre-contact to the present.

The museum is located in a modern building at the Forks of the Thames, where the north and south branches of the Thames River join in the downtown core. The location gives good views of the river and connects to the Thames Valley Parkway trail. Admission is by donation.

Eldon House

Eldon House is London's oldest surviving residence, built in 1834 by John Harris, the son of a naval officer, and occupied by four generations of the Harris family until 1960 when it was donated to the city. The Georgian house is furnished with original family possessions — furniture, portraits, china, silverware — accumulated over 126 years of habitation, giving it an authenticity that purpose-staged historic houses lack. The layering of objects from different eras, following the family's changing fortunes, is more revealing than a single-period recreation would be.

The grounds include an ornamental garden and a carriage house. The house is staffed by well-informed guides and admission includes a tour. Located in the residential neighbourhood west of the downtown core, within walking distance of Victoria Park.

Victoria Park

Victoria Park is London's central urban park, a 17-acre space in the heart of the downtown surrounded by significant heritage buildings including the Grand Theatre, City Hall, and the public library. The park has a fountain, formal gardens, a large open lawn, and serves as the venue for most of the city's major outdoor events. The Sunfest world music festival held here in July is one of the largest world music events in Canada, drawing over 100,000 visitors over four days.

The park connects to the Thames Valley Parkway, a 100-kilometre multi-use trail system following the Thames River through the city. Cycling or walking the river trail southwest from Victoria Park to Westminster Ponds is one of the best urban nature walks in southwestern Ontario, passing through an area of kettle lakes and mature forest.

Getting to London, Ontario

London is on the 401 highway, 200 kilometres from Toronto (2 hours) and 120 kilometres from Windsor (1.5 hours). VIA Rail serves London Station with multiple daily trains from Toronto (2 hours) and Windsor (1.5 hours). GO Transit bus service connects London to Kitchener and points east. London International Airport (YXU) has limited regional service.