Shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake Old Town: Queen Street Guide

Old Town Niagara-on-the-Lake does not have a mall, a food court or a single chain-store frontage worth mentioning on its main street. It has Queen Street: a few blocks of brick and clapboard buildings, hanging flower baskets, a clock tower, and shops that have been selling the same jams, chocolates and woollens to visitors for decades. Niagara-on-the-Lake shopping is less about hunting bargains and more about a slow afternoon of browsing with a stop for coffee, fudge or a glass of wine at the end of the strip.

It is also one of the places where couples staying at the Falls most often wish they had not brought the car. Queen Street is narrow, the parking is metered and in high summer the spaces turn over slowly. At NiagaraFallsLimo.net we set guests down at one end of the street and pick them up at the other, and below we explain how the town works, what is worth buying and where the car fits.

Where is Queen Street, and how do you get there from Niagara Falls?

From the Falls there are two good drives. The Niagara Parkway follows the river past the Botanical Gardens and Queenston, and arrives at Old Town from the south-east; it is the scenic way. The quicker inland route via Stanley Avenue and Niagara Stone Road brings you in past the wineries. Either is around 23 km and half an hour. Our Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake page sets out both routes and the timing on busy days.

From Toronto, the trip is about 127 km (79 mi) via the QEW, usually 1 h 30 – 1 h 45 off-peak, and closer to two hours on a summer Friday afternoon.

How the street is laid out

The shopping core runs west along Queen Street from King Street to the clock tower cenotaph, with more shops on the cross streets such as Regent and Victoria. It is compact: you can walk the main strip end to end in about ten minutes without stopping, and most people take two or three hours with stops.

Landmarks help orientation:

• The Prince of Wales Hotel, at 6 Picton Street by the King Street corner where Picton becomes Queen, is a convenient drop-off point at the east end. Our Prince of Wales Hotel page covers the hotel itself.
• The Court House, mid-street, is the historic building where the Shaw Festival began in 1962 and where it is staging plays again in 2026.
• The Tourism Niagara-on-the-Lake office is listed at 26 Queen Street; its official visitor site has a current events calendar.

What to buy on Queen Street

These are the shops visitors ask us about most, with what we could confirm on their own websites.

Greaves Jams & Marmalades

Greaves says it was established in 1927, and its flagship store is in a historic building at 55 Queen Street. It makes more than 40 flavours of jams, jellies, marmalades and condiments, buys fruit from the Niagara fruit belt and presses its own jelly fruit, according to Greaves' own site. Peach chutney, wine jellies and pepper jellies are among the products. Jars are heavy and glass, so they travel best in a checked bag or packed in the car.

Maple Leaf Fudge

On Queen Street since 1978, Maple Leaf Fudge cooks its fudge in copper kettles, creams it on marble slabs and cuts it by hand, and you can watch the makers in the shop. It also sells brittles, caramels, maple products and ice wine chocolates. A slab of fudge is the classic Old Town souvenir and survives a car trip well.

Ice cream, chocolates and sweets

Old Town has several ice-cream and sweet shops, which have their own journal post: see COWS, fudge and sweet shops in Old Town.

Boutiques, woollens and galleries

Beyond the food shops, Queen Street is mostly independent fashion boutiques, home and gift shops, woollens and outdoor clothing, Christmas decorations and art galleries. Stock changes with the seasons, and many shops keep shorter hours in winter. If you are shopping for a particular gift, the tourism office is the best place to ask which shops carry what.

Wine, on and just off the street

A few wineries run tasting rooms or restaurants in town. Two Sisters operates 11th Post on Queen, at 135 Queen Street. Bottles bought on Queen Street travel with you, sealed; our post on things to do in Niagara-on-the-Lake beyond the wineries has more ideas for a non-winery afternoon.

Check your fixed fare to Queen Street

A Niagara-on-the-Lake shopping afternoon, hour by hour

This is the rhythm most of our guests settle into, and it avoids carrying bags further than necessary.

1. 1:00 pm, drop-off by the Prince of Wales Hotel. Start at the east end, with the street ahead of you.
2. 1:15 pm, the food shops first. Taste jams and watch the fudge being made, but buy the heavy jars last.
3. 2:00 pm, boutiques and galleries. Work west along Queen Street and duck into the cross streets.
4. 3:00 pm, a coffee or a tasting room. A break before the second half of the street.
5. 3:45 pm, the last purchases. Now collect the jars and fudge you set aside.
6. 4:15 pm, pickup near the clock tower. The car meets you at the west end, bags go in the trunk, and you are back at the Falls in about half an hour, or on to dinner in town.

Parking in Old Town: the honest picture

Here is what the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake states on its Old Town parking page: metered parking in the Heritage District is enforced daily from 10 am to 8 pm, with rates between CA$5.25 and CA$5.75 per hour as of 2026. You can pay with coins, debit or credit at the machines, or by credit card through two parking apps.

What the page cannot tell you is how the spaces behave on a sunny Saturday in July, when Queen Street itself is full by late morning and drivers circle the side streets. The lots just off Queen Street are usually easier than the street spaces. If you are driving, arrive before 10:30 am or after 4 pm.

The alternative is simply not to park. A chauffeured car sets you down at the Prince of Wales end, you walk west along Queen Street at your own pace, and the car meets you at the clock tower or wherever you finish, at the agreed time. The parking question disappears, and so does carrying bags back to a distant space.

Chauffeur vs rideshare vs taxi for this trip

The honest verdict: if you are staying in Old Town, walk; nothing here needs a car. If you are visiting in winter or on a quiet weekday morning, driving and parking is easy. On a summer weekend from the Falls, a rideshare into town works, though finding one back is less predictable. The pre-booked car is at its best when Queen Street is part of a longer day: wineries in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, dinner in town, a Shaw Festival play in the evening, and no one needing to drive at the end. Nobody drinks in our vehicles; tastings stay at the winery and the chauffeur drives.

When to go

• Spring and early summer: the flower baskets go up, the street is busy but not packed on weekdays, and the Shaw season is under way.
• High summer (July–August): the busiest time; go early or late and book dinner ahead. Our Niagara-on-the-Lake restaurants guide has options.
• Autumn: harvest time in the wineries and quieter streets after Thanksgiving.
• Holiday season: the Shaw Festival's holiday shows run into late December, and Old Town is decorated for Christmas.
• January: the Niagara Icewine Festival sets up the Icewine Village on Queen Street over two January weekends, with fire pits and ice carving; the organisers' Icewine Village page will post the next dates.

Who this suits

Individuals can do Queen Street in a couple of hours and add Fort George, a short walk east. Couples are the street's natural audience; see our notes for couples, and consider an overnight at one of the Niagara-on-the-Lake inns. Families with children will spend most of their time at the fudge and ice-cream counters, and the lakefront park at the end of town is good for a break. Groups of up to 12 travel together in an Executive Sprinter, which is far easier than finding four parking spaces on Queen Street. For a heritage add-on, see Fort George and Old Town by private car.

Booking it with NiagaraFallsLimo.net in 3 steps

1. Plan the stops. Pickup at your hotel, drop-off at the Prince of Wales Hotel at King Street, and a pickup at your finishing point; choose "By the hour" if wineries or dinner are in the plan.
2. Pick the vehicle. Each class shows its fixed all-in fare: a sedan for up to 3, an SUV for up to 6, a Sprinter for up to 12.
3. Add the details and pay. Passengers, child seats, notes for the chauffeur; pay securely, and the confirmation arrives by email.

Book any time through the online booker.

Reserve a chauffeur for Old Town