OCT 17 ยท Niagara-on-the-Lake

Doors Open Niagara-on-the-Lake

WhereVarious heritage sites, Niagara-on-the-Lake
WhenOCT 17
Hours10am to 5pm
Info905-468-3912
SourceOfficial site

Part of the province-wide Doors Open Ontario initiative, this is a day when 14 heritage buildings and sites around Niagara-on-the-Lake open their doors to visitors, from 10am to 5pm. They include the Shaw Festival Theatre, Navy Hall, the NOTL Museum, RiverBrink Art Museum, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, and several of the town's older churches. The official page does not list a cost, so check before you go. Good for anyone who's driven past a building in NOTL for years and wondered what's inside.

The 14 sites

  • Exchange Brewery: an 1880 telephone exchange converted to a brewery in 2015
  • Grace United Church: an 1852 church designed by William Thomas, with stained-glass windows
  • Navy Hall: a British naval supply facility established in 1765, now a National Historic Site
  • Niagara Apothecary: a pharmacy museum from the late 1860s, run by volunteers
  • Niagara Lodge No. 2: the oldest Masonic lodge in Ontario, and the site of the first Upper Canada legislature
  • Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre: an 1891 water supply building turned into a visual arts centre in 1994
  • Niagara-on-the-Lake Lawn Bowling Club: founded in 1877, one of the oldest in Canada
  • Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum: operating since 1907
  • Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery: a historic 1867 property with farm-to-table cuisine
  • RiverBrink Art Museum: a fine-art museum open since 1983 in a former lawyer's home
  • Shaw Festival Theatre: a 1973 modernist theatre with 856 seats
  • St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church: an 1855 building, rebuilt after its destruction in the War of 1812
  • St. Mark's Anglican Church: the oldest Anglican church in continuous use in Ontario, from 1804
  • Willowbank School of Restoration Arts: an 1834 to 1836 Greek classical revival home and National Historic Site

Getting around

  • Parking is available at several of the sites, including the lawn bowling club, Niagara Lodge No. 2, the Pumphouse, the museum, the vineyard, RiverBrink, the theatre, St. Andrew's and Willowbank.
  • Four sites are fully wheelchair accessible and six are partly accessible, and most have washrooms.
  • The official program does not mention a shuttle, so plan on walking or driving between sites.

Make a weekend of it

Doors Open Niagara Falls sites are open the next day, Sunday, October 18.

Checked September 20, 2026. Dates and details can change; confirm with the venue before travelling.