I will be flying into Hamilton, Ontario on Saturday morning for an event on Saturday evening. I'm not meeting my friends until 7 in the evening, but will arrive in town around 11 AM. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to spend a free afternoon in Hamilton? Is it too far to drive to Niagra Falls (I know it would be a rushed trip, but it might still be fun). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

You might want to check out the Royal Botanical Gardens. I haven't been able to find a website for them (the link I tried to follow didn't work) but I understand that it's a lovely place. Niagara Falls would indeed be a rushed trip, but do-able.

Travelkitty - you will be a stones throw from the Niagara Wine region and Niagara on the Lake... If you have any interest you could stop for lunch at several wineries... our favorites include Peller, Hildebrand, On the Twenty and Strewn. You could also go directly to the Village and wander among the shops and boutiques. This will more than fill your time...

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely check them out.

Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake are both easy enough to visit. There's also a warplane museum right at the Hamilton Airport, if you like airplanes.

Assuming you arrive on time, you can be in a rental car and on the way to Niagara Falls by noon, arrive there before 1, spend an hour looking at the falls and the immediate neighborhood, drive along the Niagara parekway to Niagara on the Lake, have a mid-afternoon lunch and wander around, and sill have lots of time to be back on the road by five, into Hamilton by six, and meet your friends by seven.

If you don't want to leave Hamilton, the gardens, and Dundurn Castle, and the airplane museum, are about it for intersting things in town.

BAK