« Ontario
 | Hotels | | Map | | Windsor; good to know | |
 | | |  |
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada. It lies at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, is the second largest city in Southwestern Ontario, and is the seat of Essex County. It lies across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, to ... more »
Save time & money with Hotels
View all hotels in Windsor...
Hotels 
Airports Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada. It lies at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, is the second largest city in Southwestern Ontario, and is the seat of Essex County. It lies across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, to which Windsor is linked by the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel for vehicles, and by the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel for rail traffic. Windsor is located south of Detroit and marks the only border crossing where entering the United States from Canada involves travelling north.
Windsor competes with Oshawa, Ontario for the title of automotive capital of Canada, with Windsor housing the Daimler-Chrysler Canadian Headquarters, and Oshawa housing the General Motors Canadian Headquarters. Its industries include the DaimlerChrysler mini-van assembly plant, several Ford Motor Company engine and casting plants, the General Motors transmission plant and the Hiram Walker Canadian Club plant, along with a myriad of smaller parts manufacturers that supply the larger plants. Windsor is also known as a global leader in the building of molds for the plastic injection industry.
Things to do Windsor tourist attractions include Casino Windsor, a lively downtown, Little Italy, the Art Gallery of Windsor, the Odette Sculpture Park, Ojibway Park, and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Windsor was a major entry point into Canada for refugees from slavery via the Underground Railroad and a major source of liquor during American Prohibition.
Windsor is home to the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. The university is just east of the Ambassador Bridge, and the college is situated along the main artery between the Ambassador Bridge and Highway 401. Windsor's nickname is the "City of Roses" and the city is noted for its several large parks and gardens found on its waterfront. The Queen Elizabeth II Sunken Garden is located at Jackson Park in the central part of the city. This park is home to a mounted Spitfire replica and a Hurricane replica.
Of the parks along Windsor's waterfront, the largest is the 3 mile (5 km) stretch overlooking the Detroit skyline. It stretches from the Ambassador Bridge to the Hiram Walker Distillery. The western portion of the park contains the Odette Sculpture Park which features over 30 large-scale contemporary sculptures for public viewing, along with the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The central portion contains Dieppe Gardens, Civic Terrace and Festival Plaza, and the eastern portion is home to the Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens. Further east along the waterfront is Coventry Gardens, across from Detroit's Belle Isle. The focal point of this park is the Peace Fountain which actually floats in the Detroit River and has a coloured light display at night. The fountain is the largest of its kind in North America and symbolizes the peaceful relationship between Canada and the United States.
Every summer Windsor co-hosts the two-week-long Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, which culminates in a gigantic fireworks display that celebrates Canada Day and the American Independence Day. The fireworks display is among the world's largest and is held on the final Wednesday in June on the Detroit River between the two downtowns. Each year, the event attracts over a million spectators to both sides of the riverfront.
Windsor has also been the place where many Detroiters find what is forbidden in the United States. With the minimum legal drinking age at 21 in Michigan and 19 in Ontario, a number of 19- and 20-year-old Americans frequent Windsor's bars. The city also became a gaming attraction with Casino Windsor's opening in 1994, five years before casinos opened in Detroit. In addition, one can purchase Cuban cigars, less-costly prescription drugs, certain imported foods, and other items not available in the US.
Windsor was first settled in 1748 as a French agricultural settlement, making it the oldest continually inhabited city in Canada west of the Quebec border. The area was first named Petite Côte (Little Coast), and later became known as La Côte de Misère (Poverty Coast) because of the sandy soils near LaSalle. Windsor's French heritage is reflected in many French street names, such as Ouellette, Pelissier, Marentette and Lauzon. There is a significant French speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding areas. Many of them are in the Lakeshore area. The current street system of Windsor (grid with elongated blocks) reflects the French method of agricultural land division where the farms were long and narrow, fronting along the river.
In 1794, after the American Revolution, the settlement of Sandwich was founded. It was later renamed to Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to the oldest buildings in the city including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County courthouse in 1855. Today, this building functions as a community centre. The oldest building in the city is the Duff-Baby House built in 1798. It is owned by Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices. The Francois Baby House in downtown Windsor was built in 1812 and houses Windsor's Community Museum, dedicated to local history.
Windsor was established as a village in 1854 (the same year the village was connected to the rest of Canada, by the Grand Trunk Railway/CN Rail), then a town in 1858, and ultimately gained city status in 1892.
The city's growth in the 20th century was spurred by annexations, which included Walkerville.
The Windsor Star Centennial Edition in 1992 covered the city's past, its heyday as a railroading center, and its contributions to World War I and World War II. It also recalled the naming controversy in 1892, when the town of Windsor wanted to become a city.
* Windsor has a continental climate with four distinct seasons pronounced with high humidity year round as it is surrounded by fresh water. The winters are cold and wet with an average of 42 inches (107 cm) of snow and temperatures consistently below 32°F (0°C), with temperatures dipping as low as -13 °F (-25 °C) a few times a year on average. Windsor receives the least amount of snow in eastern and central Canada.
Summers are warm and humid with temperatures regularly reaching highs of 86 °F (30 °C) and sudden, short term thunderstorms often occurring. Windsor is Canada's leader in lightning days, haze, humidity, and days over 86 °F (30 °C). The summer high temperature reaches as high as 95 °F (35 °C) a few times a year on average.
The strongest tornado to hit Windsor was an F4, in 1946, and was also the deadliest. Windsor was also the only Canadian city to be hit by a tornado during the Super Outbreak of 1974, an F3 which killed eight people at the Windsor Curling Club. Windsor was also grazed in 1997 by the Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak, with one tornado (an F1) forming east of the city, and caused some local street flooding.
Going on a trip? Why not browse some of the luggage at eBags.com (external source)
Your vacation. A time to lose yourself. And sometimes your luggage, too. Need Travel Insurance? Why not try Travel Guard (external source)
Lonely Planet Maps (external source)
Lonely Planet Language Guides (external source)
Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
