Hamilton falls between the Niagara Falls and the city of Toronto in Canada. These falls, which are famous all over the world for their breath taking beauty, are located just 42 miles from Hamilton. The area of Hamilton is 4,700 acres and it has a population of 4,90,268, making it the eighth largest city in Canada. It has a large population of foreign born people; In fact Hamilton is the third largest in Canada, in this respect.

Initially in 1833 Hamilton was first established as a police city. It was only in 1846 that it was incorporated as a full-fledged city. George Hamilton is the founder of Hamilton and needless to say it is after him, that Hamilton has been named. Also several of his family members have streets in Hamilton named after them, like the John, James, Hunter, Augusta and Hannah Streets.

At different times in its history, Hamilton has been known by plenty of different names as “The Birgimham of Canada”, “The Pittsburgh of Canada”,“The Electric City” “Steeltown”, “Lunch Bucket City” and “Hammertown”.

The beautiful Hamilton harbor was discovered by a man named Robert Cavelier De La Salle in 1669, who was an explorer. The locals who lived here had then named the harbor as Macassa Baywhcih, which literally means "beautiful water".

Let us now know a few firsts of Hamilton. The first commonwealth games were played in Hamilton in the year 1930 and the “Gore bank of Hamilton” is the first bank in Hamilton. . The “Hamilton Automobile Club” in Hamilton, was the first club of any kind to have been opened in Canada.

“Commerce, prudence and industry” is the motto of Hamilton. Hamilton is actually one of the most significant industrial areas in Canada. The entire beach in Hamilton is officially called as the “Hamilton beach”. The “Yellow Chrysanthemum” is the official flower of Hamilton. “Century21” is the tallest building in Hamilton. It has a total of 42 floors. Doughnuts seem to be a favorite food of the residents of Hamilton, as there is a doughnut shop for every 5,721 residents here.

Canada has issued six Canadian stamps that are based on Hamilton. These include the United Empire Loyalist Statue stamp, the Hamilton and the Scourge stamp, the Royal Botanical Gardens stamp, the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless stamp, the Hamilton Sesquicentennial stamp and the Ellen Louks Fairclough stamp.

Hamilton has many twin cities around the world. Such a concept is based on the beliefs of international co-operation. Such cities are based in different countries and are meant to boost and maintain world peace, world laws, etc. The twin cities of Hamilton are Abruzzo in Italy, Flint in Michigan, Fukuyama in Japan, Ma’Anshan in China, Mangalore in India, Monterrey in Mexico, Racalmuto again in Italy, Sarasota, in Florida and Shawinigan in Quebec. That makes it a total of 9 cities. This shows Hamilton’s commitment to world harmony.

All these facts related to Hamilton entice you to find and explore more about them and make it a must-see destination! 

Hamilton Tourist Information

Hamilton is a tourist’s paradise. Full of beautiful places to visit, you will rarely find yourself not wondering at their spellbinding beauty. Otherwise too, Hamilton is a very friendly place to visit, in each and every sense. To be able to move around easily and to avoid any inconvenience, let us acquaint ourselves with a few things about Hamilton.

Hamilton is at driving distance from the Queen Elizabeth way. It is an hour’s drive from Toronto, in fact even less than that.  Be it buses or trains, Hamilton is accessible in every way. There is the Aldershot Rail Station that is located in Burlington-the city to the east of Hamilton. Hamilton has the John Munro International airport that connects it to different cities in Canada.  The airlines here are ‘Air Canada’, ‘Westjet’ and ‘Transat Holidays’.

Even within Hamilton, the transport facilities are very good. They are very suitable for people, who are travelling for the first time in Hamilton. Tourists have very little chance of getting lost due to these friendly and easy-to-use buses. Also these buses have a good frequency, which makes them all the more convenient to travel. The bus system here is called as the ‘Hamilton Street Railway (HSR)’. Taxis too are one of the preferred modes of transport in Hamilton. If all these options do not suit you or if you want the luxury of your own vehicle, then you can very well rent cars in Hamilton, without any trouble.

Hotels are in plenty too. They are posh yet reasonable and will certainly not burn a hole in your pocket.  

Temperature in Hamilton reaches a maximum of 27 and a minimum of –7 to –8 degrees. So overall it is a pleasant place to be in.

And about various tourist spots and sightseeing, Hamilton has a wealth of these! There are many museums in Hamilton like the ‘Hamilton Children’s Museum’, the ‘Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’, the ‘Canadian Football Hall of Fame Museum’,’ Hamilton Art Gallery’, etc. Several spas and photo galleries are present here. There is also an ‘Art Bus’ that takes you around to the various art galleries across Hamilton!

But what takes the cake away is the ‘Niagara Escarpment’. This escarpment passes through Hamilton and almost divides this city into two halves-the north and the south. There are a total of 81 waterfalls in Hamilton thanks to this. 32 of these 81 waterfalls are accessible and open to the public. All these waterfalls are due to the streams, etc that flow towards Lake Ontario and on their way fall over the escarpment resulting in such amazing waterfalls. All this has led Hamilton to be called as ‘The City of Waterfalls’. Even forests and lush green areas are in abundance in Hamilton.

Hamilton’s nature is blessed with one of the best sights that one shall ever get to see around the world. And this coupled with the extremely good infrastructure of Hamilton and the warmth of its people, make it a combination certainly not worth missing!