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Village Squire, 1978-07, Page 20TRAVEL Follow the Heritage Highways this summer BY BILL CORBETT Canada's pioneer past meets the present along the Heritage Highways of Quebec and Ontario. Heritage Highways is a route that spans 400 years of history and stretches more than 1600 km (1,000 miles) from Niagara Falls in south western Ontario to Perce Rock, the easternmost point on Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula. The drive -yourself tour is a joint project of Ontario and Quebec; designed to encourage travellers to journey through the history of Canada's two founding cultures. The highways --marked by road signs displaying a white wagon wheel on a brown background --roughly follow the routes of early explorers, traders and settlers along Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. Though you won't move as slowly as the pioneers, you'll be tempted to slow down and stop frequently. That's part of the plan behind Heritage Highways, to encourage leisurely travel. The highways are off, but not far off, the major expressways. Take the whole trip or, if you prefer, concentrate on one area. The route begins at Niagara Falls, long known as honeymoon capital of the world. The falls can be viewed from cable cars, platforms, towers in the city or, for the adventurous, from a boat in the turbulent waters at the foot of the falls. From the falls. follow the scenic Niagara Parkway to the 19th century town of Niagara -on -the -Lake. If you're there in summer, take in the annual Shaw Festival of plays by George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries. The Queen Elizabeth Way cuts through Ontario's fruit belt, a land of orchards and vineyards, on its way to Hamilton, the steel capital of Canada. There you can tour a steel mill; visit the new multicultural centre, Hamilton Place; explore the 19th century mansion, Dundurn Castle; or browse through Canada's largest indoor market. Toronto is an hour's drive from Hamilton either on the Queen Elizabeth Way, if you're in a hurry, or Highway 2 which follows Lake Ontario's shoreline._ Toronto, the capital of Ontario and home to more than two million residents, is one of the most dynamic cities on the continent. It offers everything: theatre. ballet, concerts, nightclubs. international cuisine, fashionable boutiques. parks and much more. The architecture is almost futuristic, from concave -shaped City Hall to the CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing structure. The Ontario Science Centre is a museum with a difference; you are urged MARSHALLS AtS1 MARYS 150- 162. QuECN ST - r r [flRSHLL'S o, Si. fflfthYS "WHERE THE UNUSUAL IS USUAL" GIFT SHOP LADIES WEAR CARD SHOP 150 QUEEN ST. The Grand Central Hotel built in 1843, was for decades a welcom- ing place to spend the night. Today it is a group of three connecting shops. What was once the lane for horses & buggies to reach the stable at the back is now a charming CARD & CANDLE SHOP. The original bar is now the LADIES WEAR with its handcraft section. Browse on into the GIFT SHOP, once the dining room, where full use has been made of the charm of this old building. Many of the original antiques are used to display imports from around the world. "DO COME VISIT US SOON" 284-3070 PG. 18. VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1978.