9/4/2010
Randy "200 by Dec. 31" G. says:
There are a couple of nice art galleries in Hamilton. The AGH is close to downtown, across the street from Jackson Square, and had a bunch of upgrades a few years back. Also, there's supposed to be a nice one on campus at McMaster University. I must confess, in all my years attending McMaster I never visited either (Engineering student, what'd you expect?)
Speaking of McMaster: this weekend is residence move-in, so it's either worth avoiding, or worth poking around to see what kind of concerts and shenanigans go down. I'm not sure how much campus security appreciates non-students / non-family at this point, though. If you do go by, though, and you're interested in such things, see if you can arrange a tour of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor. You probably need a group of people for that, though - but it's an AWESOME tour.
The RBG is quite nice, which has nothing to do with the fact that I share initials with it. I'm told there are some decent trails through Cootes Paradise, and I think a few that take you up the "mountain" (what the locals call the Niagara Escarpment).
If you're in Burlington, there's a cheap-cheap movie theatre called Encore Cinemas - second-run movies but the tickets are something like $5, less on Tuesdays.
Downtown Dundas, located about a three minute drive from McMaster University (noticing a theme yet? :) ) is quite nice and good to walk around and check out some local shops.
If indoor shopping is your thing, Mapleview Mall in Burlington is a slightly better choice than Burlington Mall, and Fairview Mall hardly exists anymore other than as the other half of a massive Fortino's, and should be avoided unless you're shopping for groceries. In Hamilton, avoid Centre Mall and Jackson Square entirely, and concentrate on Limeridge. There's another mall whose name I forget, but is located close to the steel plants. AVOID.
Other things I can't believe I forgot about Hamilton:
-Dundurn Castle
-Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (near the airport)
-Canadian Football Hall of Fame
-Copps Coliseum might have a show or two
-Gage Park
-The HMCS Haida, apparently Canada's most famous warship
-African Lion Safari. Don't take your own car, or one that you particularly care about.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.or...
One final thought (for now): if you're in Burlington, the weekend GO train service to Niagara Falls leaves from Aldershot station, I believe.
