Ontario · Canada
Where to stay in Hamilton
Hamilton is a city in Ontario, Canada, home to about 569,000 people.
- Best months
- May to August
- Nearest airport
- YHM11 km · John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport
- Currency
- CADCanadian dollar
- Time zone
- America/Toronto
- Language
- English, French
About
About Hamilton
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353 as of the 2021 Canadian census, and its census metropolitan area, which encompasses Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184.
Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. The city limits of Hamilton used to be bounded by approximately Horning Road in the west and Centennial Parkway in the east, but a continuous urban or suburban area had grown around the city, in the towns of Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and the community of Greensville in the town of Flamborough.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Hamilton
See
- The Art Gallery of Hamilton
- Battlefield House Museum
- Canadian Football Hall of Fame
- Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
- Dundas Museum & Archives
- Dundurn Castle
- Fieldcote Memorial Park & Museum
- Hamilton Children's Museum
- Hamilton Military Museum
- Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology
- HMCS Haida
- McMaster Museum of Art
Do
- The Westdale Theatre
- Theatre Aquarius
- Canadian International Military Tattoo
- Doors Open Hamilton
- Dundas Cactus Festival
- Parks and trails
- Chedoke
- King's Forest
- Hamilton Golf and Country Club
- Confederation Park
- Christie Lake Conservation Area
- Crooks Hollow Historical Trail
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Hamilton to stay in
In addition to the ones below, Burlington just north of Hamilton has some more places to sleep.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Hamilton
9 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Haldimand House | 1842 | 21.8 km |
| Courtyard by Marriott Hamilton | 4.8 km | |
| Homewood Suites by Hilton Hamilton | 0.4 km | |
| Osler House | 6.4 km | |
| Sandman Hotel Hamilton | 9.2 km | |
| Sheraton Hamilton Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| Staybridge Suites Hamilton - Downtown | 0.6 km | |
| The Barracks Inn | 9.1 km | |
| Visitor's Inn | 2.3 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Hamilton
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hamilton are May to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; September is the wettest, with about 84 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Hamilton: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line; Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF, 47 km) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ, 51 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Hamilton is divided into two main sections—"The Mountain" and downtown. The Mountain refers to anything on the escarpment—access to the mountain is limited to a few roads, which often arrive on a different street than when you started. If you're going up the mountain, take a second to learn which access you need to take. Driving on the mountain accesses in the winter can be treacherous, and even many locals avoid it if possible due to icy road conditions.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
YHM · John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport
YKF · Region of Waterloo International Airport
YYZ · Toronto Pearson International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Hamilton
Eat
It's not difficult to find a superb variety of foods in Hamilton. Having a large minority and immigrant population, many people in Hamilton can and do take the opportunity to eat exotic cuisines. Besides the listings below, there is a multicultural business community along James Street North between King and Murray streets offering affordable restaurants serving food from multiple nationalities.
Stay safe
Hamilton resides on a highly polluted area of Lake Ontario. High levels of E. Coli bacteria usually prevent the beach from being open for swimming season. In addition, the city suffers from high air pollution including fine particulate matter, consistent with most of Southern Ontario from Windsor through Oshawa. Like most cities, there are unsafe areas which should be avoided.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Hamilton: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Hamilton?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hamilton are May to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; September is the wettest, with about 84 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Hamilton?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line; Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF, 47 km) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ, 51 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Hamilton?
Canadian dollar (CAD).
Nearby
Destinations near Hamilton
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.