London (Ontario)

London is a major manufacturing centre for southwestern Ontario, founded in 1793. Nicknamed the "Forest City," London has an abundance of urban parks and woodlands. Early in its history it was considered as a potential site for the capital city of Upper Canada, but that title eventually went to York (later Toronto). The city is roughly rectangular in shape, approximately 16 km (10 miles) from east to west, and 13 km (8 miles) from north to south.

Many cities, towns, counties, and rivers in this area of Southwestern Ontario take their names from their counterparts in England, and London is no exception. London features landmarks such as Picadilly Street, the Covent Garden Market and the Thames.

In the 1920s, London-born Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians hit the U.S. music scene and went on to achieve legendary fame. London's Wonderland Gardens later became a big-band hot-spot in 1935 - being situated on the Thames river where Guy Lombardo developed his love for speedboat racing by racing his father's small motorized boat on the Thames River behind the Labatt Brewing Company.

With two major hospitals, London is a regional medical centre, treating patients from up to 200 km away. London also has the region's only university (University of Western Ontario) which has all the typical professional schools (business, law, medicine, engineering, education) as well as sciences and the arts. Since the city is also home to Fanshawe College, students comprise a significant percentage of London's population during the school year.

Visitor information centers are located at:

• 🌍 Dundas Street (Downtown) Information Centre, 267 Dundas Street (Dundas and Wellington, entrance on Wellington). M-F 8:30AM-4:30PM. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 London Tourist Information Centre, 696 Wellington Road South. 8:30AM-8PM. (updated Oct 2018)

• 🌍 Museum London, 421 Ridout Street North, ☏ +1 519-661-0333. Tu-Su noon-5PM, Th until 9PM. It purports to have one of Canada's most important art collections, and one of the most significant historical artifact collections in Ontario. More than 5,000 regional and Canadian works of art and 45,000 artifacts reflecting the history of the City of London. By donation. (updated Aug 2020)
• 🌍 Eldon House, 481 Ridout Street North (a 4-minute walk north of Museum London), ☏ +1 519-661-0333. London's oldest surviving residence, containing heirlooms and furniture reflecting life in early 19th-century London. 
• 🌍 Banting House National Historic Site, 442 Adelaide St. North (at the corner of Queens Avenue and Adelaide Street), ☏ +1 519-673-1752. Tu-Sa noon-4PM. Chronicles the life and achievements of Canadian Sir Frederick Grant Banting, the discoverer of insulin. Adults $5, students and seniors $4, children under 5 free. 
• 🌍 Blackfriars Street Bridge (across the Thames River connecting the north end of Ridout Street with Blackfriars Street.). A rare example of a bowstring truss bridge. Built in 1875 and spanning 65.8 m, it is the longest working span of its kind in North America. 
• 🌍 Wortley Village. Wortley Road between Askin St and Tecumseh Ave, was voted one of Canada's coolest neighbourhoods in 2002 by enRoute magazine. Filled with eclectic, locally-owned merchants and cafes. 
• 🌍 The Arts Project, 203 Dundas St, ☏ +1 519-642-2767. Tu-Sa noon-5PM, later for theatre show nights.. A downtown art gallery devoted to rising artists with an adjoined blackbox theatre devoted primarily to alternative fare. 
• 🌍 Jet Aircraft Museum, 2465 Aviation Lane, unit 2 (at the airport), ☏ +1 519-453-7000. Th-Sa 10AM-4PM. (updated Oct 2018)

• 🌍 Fanshawe Pioneer Village, 1424 Clarke Road (in Fanshawe Conservation Area), ☏ +1 519-457-1296. Tu-Su 10AM-4:30PM, Victoria Day-Thanksgiving. Open-air museum tells the story of rural communities from 1820 to 1920. Pioneer Village Café on-site, campground at conservation area. $9. 
• 🌍 Storybook Gardens. Hours vary throughout the year. Springbank Park. A family attraction open all year round - animals, rides, games, play areas, a splash area in the summer, skating in the winter, and beautiful gardens. Check website for admission prices. 
• 🌍 Labatt Brewery Tours, 150 Simcoe St, ☏ +1 519-850-TOUR (8687), londontour@labatt.com. Simcoe Street Brewery. Guided tours of the brewery where Labatt founder John Kinder Labatt started brewing beer over 160 years ago. The brewery now produces more than 1 billion bottles of beer annually. (updated Jul 2018)
• 🌍 Thames Valley Trail. Walk or hike part of the 109-km hiking trail which follows the Thames and North Thames Rivers along most of the route. Group hikes for the weekend and following week are listed each Thursday in the London Free Press Thursday Ticket section. The trail is paved for an easy walk in Gibbons, Harris, and Springbank parks. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 East Park Golf Gardens and Wally World, 1275 Hamilton Rd (between Highbury Avenue and Clarke Sideroad on Hamilton Road East), ☏ +1 519-451-2950. 18-hole golf course, driving range, mini golf, waterslides. 
• 🌍 Forest City Velodrome, 4380 Wellington Road South, ☏ +1 519-878-7849. Check out the race calendar or find out more about riding on the track. Bike rentals available. 

• 🌍 The Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond St. Live plays and performances. The mainstage season runs from September to May. There is also a secondary venue downstairs called The McManus Studio which is primarily used for the theatre's UnderGrand alternative theatre series, running roughly from November to March and local theatre group rentals for shows of their own. 
• 🌍 Budweiser Gardens, 99 Dundas St (across the street from the Covent Garden Market). Check out what attractions are coming to town. You can catch the London Knights - the local OHL hockey team - in action from late August to March. The London Lightning is a professional basketball team in the NBLC playing Nov-Apr. 
• 🌍 Labatt Memorial Park, 25 Wilson Ave. The Guinness-recognized oldest baseball park in the world, having been continuously used since 1877. The semi-pro London Majors play from April through August. 
• 🌍 Delaware Speedway, 1640 Gideon Drive, Delaware (Just west of London), ☏ +1 519-652-5068. Check the schedule for details.. Delaware Speedway is Canada's oldest paved automobile racetrack, open since 1952. It is one of only two tracks in Canada running NASCAR late models. Racing runs on the 1/2-mile egg-shaped oval every Friday night from April through September, weather permitting, with occasional bigger races on weekends. 
• 🌍 Centennial Hall, 550 Wellington St, ☏ +1 519-672-1967. Concerts and events - check the event schedule to see what's on. 
• 🌍 Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas Street East, ☏ +1 519-432-1029. A theatre devoted to primarily classic mainstream revival fare by the amateur London Community Players and musical theatre productions companies with a theatrical season running from October to June. There is also an adjoining smaller secondary venue, The Procunier Hall, for primarily alternative theatre in a more intimate setting. Parking available behind the facility. 
• 🌍 The Spriet Family Theatre, 130 King Street (Upper floor of the Covent Garden Market). 90-seat theatre primarily used by the Original Kids Theatre Company, a youth theatrical educational institution, with occasional independent theatre company rental runs. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 Western Fair. The fair takes place the first two weeks of September. The site is also home to the Western Raceway, for harness racing and 750 slot machines. 
• 🌍 Sunfest (In Victoria Park.). Takes place in July and features top professional world music & dance and jazz ensembles from Canada and abroad. Free admission. 
• 🌍 Donnelly Museum (The Lucan Area Heritage & Donnelly Museum), 171 Main Street, Lucan (in Lucan 25 km north of London), ☏ +1 519-227-0756. May-Oct: Tu-Su 11AM-4PM, also open Mondays on public holidays. Museum about the Black Donnellys and local history. $5. (updated Jul 2017)

• 🌍 Westervelt College, 303 Richmond Street. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 University of Western Ontario. (updated Oct 2018).
• 🌍 Fanshawe College. one of Ontario's leading colleges and the largest college in Southwestern Ontario. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology, 500 Newbold Street. (updated Oct 2018)

According to London Tourism, London has "more shopping per capita than anywhere else in North America."

• 🌍 CityLights bookstore, 356 Richmond Street (between King and York streets), ☏ +1 519-679-8420. One of the best used bookstores to be found anywhere, and a city landmark. A huge selection with a particularly good science fiction section. 
• 🌍 Covent Garden Market, 353 Clarence St, ☏ +1 519-439-3921. London's downtown food and crafts market centre. Retail items include fresh produce, baked goods, bulk foods and small crafts along with eating establishments. There is an upper walkway that includes space for special events, retail outlets and services and arts facilities, including the Spriet Family Original Kids Theatre. 
• 🌍 Grooves Records, 236 Dundas Street, ☏ +1 519 640 6714. London's last downtown independent record store, specializes in new and used vinyl and hard-to-find CDs. 
• 🌍 Heroes Cards and Comics, 186 Dundas St, ☏ +1 519-439-4955. A large downtown collectable store devoted to pop culture genre print media and collectables. There is a wide variety of comics and books to suit any age and taste, toys like action figures, trading sports cards and T-shirts with a knowledgeable sales staff to help with any questions. Easily accessible a few doors east of London Transit's primary downtown bus transfer point at Dundas and Richmond. 
• 🌍 Masonville Shopping Centre, Fanshawe Park Road & Richmond St. one of London's two major malls and anchors the major retail development in the north end. Try also the Hyde Park big-box development, two miles west on Fanshawe Park Road. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 PT Campbell BookDealer, 388 Richmond St (between King and Dundas on the east side), ☏ +1 519-640-5333. M-Th 10AM-6:30PM; F 10AM-8PM; Sa 10AM-6PM. London's family friendly used book store with over 35,000 titles to choose from. Specializing in out-of-print and antique books. 
• 🌍 Speed City Records, 294 Springbank Drive, ☏ +1 519-858-2680. Specializes in punk and metal, with a gigantic, unorganized dollar vinyl section. Surly clerks are right out of Central Casting. 
• 🌍 White Oaks Mall, 1105 Wellington Rd, ☏ +1 519-681-0434. Over 175 stores and services, anchoring a larger big-box retail development stretching up and down Wellington Road between Southdale Road and just south of Highway 401. 

Most of the Canadian and North American chain restaurants are represented in London, including The Keg, Kelsey's, Red Lobster, Tony Roma's, Milestones, Swiss Chalet and East Side Mario's. Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee and doughnut chain, has about 30 locations within the city.

Generally, the locals head to the bars and clubs around 10-11PM and stay until closing time at 2:30AM (last call is at 2AM). Cover charges are minimal ($5-10) or nil, while drink prices are relatively reasonable.

• 🌍 Barney's, 671 Richmond St, ☏ +1 519-432-1425. A very entertaining bar with good crowds, reasonable drink prices, and pleasant staff. The patio is extremely popular in summer, expect long lines. 
• 🌍 Call the Office, York & Clarence, ☏ +1 519-432-BAND (2263). Live rock music five nights a week, CTO is the anchor of London's independent music scene. Retro night on Sundays is extremely popular. 
• 🌍 The Ceeps, 671 Richmond St. Officially the CPR Hotel, the Ceeps has been in existence since 1890 and has never stopped being one of the most popular UWO bars. The local joke is "your grandfather drank here, your father drank here, and your son someday will too". 
• 🌍 Chaucer's Pub, 122 Carling St, ☏ +1 519-679-9940. London's largest selection of beer, specializing in Eastern European lagers and ales. The old-world atmosphere is unique in the city, featuring a gigantic stone fireplace, no TVs, and music provided only by a piano. 
• 🌍 The Bungalow, 910 Waterloo St, ☏ +1 519-434-8797. 11:30AM-midnight. Build-your-own-burgers, wine and draught beer in the heart of London's historic Old North neighbourhood. $10-15. 
• 🌍 Lavish, 238 Dundas St. London's only LGBT club. Can be fun but monotonous at times. 

The downtown area has suffered greatly following the Covid pandemic, which has led to a large number of vacancies and a major increase in property crime, homelessness and drug use. Visitors who are not familiar with the area are advised to exercise caution walking around at night.

There is urban blight on Dundas Street east of Adelaide and in the surrounding neighbourhood.

• 🌍 Central London Public Library, 251 Dundas Street, ☏ +1 519-661-4600. Closed Sunday. All London library branches (there are 16 throughout the city) offer free computer/internet access for 90 minutes a day. WiFi access requires a London Library card. (updated Oct 2018)

• Grand Bend and the Pinary 70 km NW of London.
• The beautiful town of St. Marys is located north of London.
• Stratford, home of the Shakespeare Festival from May to October, is about 60 km north of London and is a great day trip for theatre-goers.
• Toronto, the multicultural capital of Ontario, is about 200 km east.
• Detroit, Michigan, is about 190 km south-west.
• Niagara Falls, Ontario; Niagara Falls, New York; and Buffalo, New York are about 200 km north-east.