Where to go in Kingston: Fort Frontenac and more
Most of what there is to see is museums or galleries: 29 of 39. Mapped inside Kingston’s municipal boundary are 35 places to visit, and within 5 km of its edge another 4. Around 2K people visit International Hockey Hall of Fame each year. Here, 3 places are kept up by Parks Canada. Travel 29 km and you reach Thousand Islands National Park.
The names to know in Kingston
FortFort Frontenacin town
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conceptionin town
Museum · Parks CanadaBellevue Housein town
FortFort Henryin town
MuseumInternational Hockey Hall of Famein town · 2K visitors a year
National historic site · Parks CanadaCedar Island Cathcart Towerin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Places on the map
The map ends at Done Studio, 23 km out.
The dashed line is Kingston’s municipal boundary; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Statistics Canada 2021 outline
Kind by kind
Green: inside Kingston. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
In the care of Parks Canada: Bellevue House, Cedar Island Cathcart Tower and Shoal Tower.
Place by place
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Catholic cathedral in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Fort Henry
Historic fort and National historic Site of Canada.
International Hockey Hall of Fame
Museum in Kingston, Ontario.
Cedar Island Cathcart Tower
Martello Tower in Thousand Islands National Park, Canada.
7Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Art museum in Ontario, Canada; part of Queen's University in Kingston.
8Ann Baillie Building
Residential building in Kingston, Canada.
9
10
11Murney Tower
Defensive tower built to protect Kingston, Ontario from American threats.
12Military Communications and Electronics Museum
Military museum in Kingston, Ontario.
13St. George's Cathedral
Church in Ontario, Canada.
14
15
16Museum of Health Care at Kingston
Museum in Kingston, Ontario.
Shoal Tower
Martello Tower located in the harbour of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
The 35 inside Kingston come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Provincial and city parks are on the Outdoors page instead.
Historic places in Kingston → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Kingston →
For a day out
National park · Parks CanadaThousand Islands National Park29 km east
MuseumArthur Child Heritage Museum of the 1000 Islands31 km northeast · 30K visitors a yearPlaces well known beyond Kingston (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Parks Canada property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Seeing Kingston: questions
What are the main attractions in Kingston?
The best known inside Kingston’s municipal boundary are Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Henry and Agnes Etherington Art Centre.
Does Kingston have a museum?
Yes, Ann Baillie Building, Kingston Dry Dock and Murney Tower, all in Kingston or within 5 km.
Is there a Parks Canada property near Kingston?
Yes: places in or within 5 km of Kingston are in the care of Parks Canada; the chart above names them.
What are the best-known days out near Kingston?
Worth the drive, within 40 km: Arthur Child Heritage Museum of the 1000 Islands (31 km).
How is this list made?
Museums and galleries, national historic sites and forts, lighthouses, gardens, national parks, waterfalls, ski hills, zoos and theme parks: OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, ODCAF and the heritage registers each add some, merged into one list. A historic building is kept only with a sign of visitors (opening hours, a fee, a website, a heritage operator, a Wikipedia article), never hotels, restaurants or tour firms. The town’s 2021 outline, plus 5 km around it, decides what is listed here.
Places to visit: Canada publishes no open tourism list, so this one is assembled from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), Wikidata (CC0), Statistics Canada’s ODCAF museums and galleries (2020, Open Government Licence – Canada), the federal and Québec heritage registers and CPCAD’s national parks, and it reflects what mappers and editors have recorded. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches count only with a sign that visitors are welcome. Places sit in each town’s 2021 census outline; visitor counts are Wikidata’s latest, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (19)
- Fort Frontenac: P199, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception: SoftwareSimian (changes by Rabanus Flavus ), CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bellevue House: Skeezix1000, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Henry: McCarthy Aero Service Ltd., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- International Hockey Hall of Fame: Flibirigit, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Cedar Island Cathcart Tower: Clayton MacLeod, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Agnes Etherington Art Centre: KingstonianW, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ann Baillie Building: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kingston Dry Dock: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Frederick: Martin St-Amant, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Murney Tower: Carlb, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Military Communications and Electronics Museum: cygk, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St. George's Cathedral: SimonP, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Royal Military College of Canada Museum: Martin St-Amant, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kingston Penitentiary: P199, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kingston General Hospital: P199, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Shoal Tower: Preeteesh Singh, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thousand Islands National Park: Shroha, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Child Heritage Museum of the 1000 Islands: Pierre André, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).