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Birthplace of Bryan Adams but prouder of its handsome limestone buildings, the town of KINGSTON , a fast 260km east of Toronto along Hwy 401, is the largest and most enticing of the communities along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. It occupies a strategic position where the lake narrows into the St Lawrence River, its potential first recognized by the French who built a fortified fur-trading post here in 1673. It was not a success. The commander, the Comte de Frontenac, managed to argue with just about everybody and his deputy, Denonville, pursued a risky side-line in kidnapping, inviting local Iroquois to the fort and then forcibly shipping them to France as curiosities. Nevertheless, the fort struggled on until 1758 when it fell to a combined force of British, Americans and Iroquois, a victory soon followed by an influx of United Empire Loyalists, who promptly developed Kingston - as they renamed it - into a major shipbuilding centre and naval base. The money rolled in and the future looked rosy when the completion of the Rideau Canal , linking Kingston with Ottawa in 1832, opened up its hinterland. Indeed, Kingston became the capital of Canada in 1841 and although it lost this distinction just three years later it remained the region's most important town until the end of the nineteenth century. In recent years, Kingston's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse with the decline of the sea trade - and the under-use of the St Lawrence Seaway - hitting it very hard. That said, the local economy does benefit from the presence of Queen's University , one of Canada's most prestigious academic institutions, and of the Royal Military College , the country's answer to Sandhurst and West Point. Kingston's attractions include a cluster of especially fine nineteenth-century limestone buildings - most notably City Hall and the Cathedral of St George - the first-rate Agnes Etherington Art Centre gallery and Bellevue House , once the home of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Add to this several delicious B&Bs , a cluster of good restaurants and scenic boat trips round the Thousand Islands just offshore and you have a town that is well worth a couple of days - maybe more.
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