The Niagara Parkway Gardens: Butterfly Conservatory, Botanical Gardens, Floral Clock & Brock's Monument

Stretching north from the waterfalls toward Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Niagara Parkway passes through 40 hectares of horticultural gardens, a glass rainforest dome filled with tropical butterflies, and the cliff-top monument marking the most famous battle of the War of 1812.

1. The Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory & Botanical Gardens (9 km North, WEGO Green Line)

Set right inside the 99-acre Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens (established in 1936 as Canada's only residential School of Horticulture; the outdoor rose gardens, herb gardens and arboretum are completely free to walk from dawn to dusk), the glass-domed Butterfly Conservatory is one of the largest in North America:

• 2,000 Free-Flying Tropical Butterflies (Wear Bright Red, Yellow or Pink): step through the double airlock doors into a humid, 27°C rainforest of hibiscus, orchids and a trickling indoor waterfall where over 2,000 butterflies across 45 tropical species, led by electric-blue Blue Morphos, giant Owl Butterflies and translucent Glasswings, flutter freely around your head. (Insider tip: wear a bright red, orange, yellow or pink shirt and walk slowly, as butterflies mistake bright clothing for tropical flowers and will land right on your shoulder. Check the 'Emergence Window' to watch butterflies hatch from their chrysalises).

2. The 1950 Floral Clock, Floral Showhouse & Queenston Heights (Brock's Monument)

1. The Floral Clock (2.5 km North of the Butterfly Conservatory, Free Stop): measuring 12.2 metres (40 feet) in diameter, its working clock face is planted twice each summer with 16,000 living carpet plants and chimes Westminster quarters every 15 minutes.
2. Queenston Heights Park & The 56-Metre Brock's Monument (5 Mins Further North): perched atop the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, the exact cliff spot where Niagara Falls originally stood 12,000 years ago before eroding 11 kilometres upstream to its current location. Climb the 235 spiral interior steps inside the 56-metre Corinthian column of Brock's Monument (honouring Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, who fell here defending Upper Canada on 13 October 1812) for a sweeping view over the lower Niagara River and vineyards, and stand at the Southern Terminus Cairn of the 900-kilometre Bruce Trail.
3. The Floral Showhouse (Just 500 Metres South of Table Rock): back at the falls, step into seven display greenhouses of orchids, succulents and miniature fairy villages.