A Local’s Guide: Fun Things to Do in London Ontario

I spent both my high school and university days in the seemingly unremarkable town of London Ontario. At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be anything special about this place, but over time I slowly discovered London has much more than meets the eye. I’ve included it all in this comprehensive list of things to do in London, Ontario, with a few special call-outs for completely underrated yet awesome activities. Enjoy!

Fun Things to do in London Ontario

Evening Entertainment

Man, guys, if I had a dollar every time my young-adult-self googled “things to do in London Ontario on a Friday night” (and another dollar every time I was disappointed by the results) I could buy a plane ticket to the actual London and find things to do there. It felt like all the options were either clubbing or staying in watching Netflix. Never fear though! I eventually solved the mystery and found where the fun evening entertainment lies!

The Grand Theatre

London’s professional theatre located at Richmond and Queen offers a somewhat fancy evening of high-quality theatre. Each season they offer a combination of classic theatre (like Shakespeare and Broadway musicals) and modern productions by local and emerging playwrights. The tickets can be a little pricer, but there are a few ways to snag afford an affordable ticket.

London Knights and London Lightning

To many newcomers’ surprise, London has two decent sports teams. The Knights play for the Ontario Hockey League and won the Memorial Cup in 2015-16. Though they don’t have the same fanfare, the Lightning has won 6 of the past eight seasons for the National Basketball League of Canada.

Palasad Social Bowl

Please don’t roll your eyes. I know everyone knows about Palasad. But even though it’s a little cliche, I still love it. The bowling is fun, they have billiard tables and they cook their pizza in a wood-burning oven. The drinks are fairly priced and they bring snacks right to your lane.

London Poetry Slam

On the third Friday of every month, the London Music Club hosts the London Poetry Slam. Poets from across and outside London perform slam poetry and are judged, with a winner announced at the end of the evening. This ain’t your grandma’s poetry night – the performers are all incredibly talented with poetry ranging from extremely hilarious to beautifully tragic.

London Music Hall

Despite London’s small size, this venue at Queen & Richmond manages to attract some impressive artists. You’ll regularly find Indie bands playing, like Busty and the Bass and Oh Wonder, but also mainstream artists like The Chainsmokers. Keep an eye on their schedule for upcoming events.

HB Beal Musical Theatre

H.B. is the Arts high school in London and hosts a few shows in May each year. This is not your typical youth theatre. These are high-quality production shows, with an incredibly talented cast and crew – some of whom will go on to Stratford, Juilliard and Broadway. You can find their upcoming shows here.

Eating and Drinking in London

Bars and Pubs

And if you are into it, London has an extensive bar and pub scene, largely driven by the thousands of party-crazy Western students who flock to London each fall. If you want to avoid these flirty and belligerent twenty-somethings, avoid Ceeps, Frog and Jacks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Barney’s Patio is a summer classic (and a personal favourite of mine) and The Runt Club has a good selection of drinks. Call The Office sometimes has good indie live music, though you never know what crowd you’ll find.

Covent Garden Market

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than at the Covent Garden Market. Come here in the summer to shop local produce from farmers right outside London. Grab lunch at one of the many food stands (my favourite is a breakfast burrito from The Salad Bowl or a feta-spinach burek from the Greek stand). The Market is home to my favourite cafe, The Tea Haus, located on the Mezzanine. Even if you aren’t shopping, the Market is an excellent place to catch up with friends over lunch.

Interested in more amazing local restaurants you can support? Check out my post A Local’s Guide: 8 Best Cafes and Coffee Shops in London Ontario.

The Market at the Western Fair District

The Western Fair Market is like the burly older brother to the Covent Garden Market – it’s got much more hustle-and-bustle going on inside. Only open on weekends, the Western Fair Market is a more traditional farmers market – there are more farmers and more products on offer, and not many lunch stands or places to eat.

Curly Brewing Co.

This nano-brewery is a great place to grab some locally brewed beer you can’t find anywhere else (seriously, it’s only sold in the house). They also feature a vegan brew cafe – a plant-based take on your usual burger and sandwich pub-grub.

Chick Boss Cake

If you’ve ever wanted a unicorn-rainbow-kaleidoscope in cupcake form, this is the bakery to try. Every treat is bright and colourful and super tasty.

Craft Kombucha Brewery

Booch Organic Kombucha is available on tap throughout the city. However, Booch also has a location where you can buy big (and small) jugs of any of their six traditional flavours or try out special featured flavours not available elsewhere. I’m an avid kombucha drinker (I’m drinking some right now) and can attest to the high quality of Booch, but even if you haven’t tried much kombucha before this is a great place to try it out. They offer samples in-store!

Interested in more amazing local restaurants you can support? Check out my post The Best Hidden Restaurants in London Ontario.

Sightseeing & Tourist Attractions

Who wants to be a tourist in their own city? I know, I know. ‘Sightseeing’ and ‘Tourist Attractions’ in mid-size cities are almost always super lame and underwhelming. I hear you. But there are still a couple of places you might be interested in checking out.

Museum London

Don’t expect something as grand and impressive as the Smithsonian (this is London, Ontario after all) but even still, the Museum London is a decent way to spend a rainy afternoon if you like museums. They have an impressive art collection in a permanent exhibit. They also run featured exhibitions for a few weeks at a time. Some will be of absolutely no interest to you, but every once in a while one will pique your interest (like the JUNO Photography Exhibition or Guilty Pleasures and Bad Habits).

The Banting House National Historic Site of Canada

London’s claim to fame would have to be Sir Fredrick Banting and his discovery of insulin. Located in North London, Banting House was purchased by Banting for private practice after he was denied a staff position at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Kids. It was in this house, on October 31, 1920, that Banting awoke in the middle of the night with the idea for insulin. (Although he would later return to Toronto to conduct the necessary research on insulin, London remains known as the “birthplace of insulin”.)

Take a Tour of the Labatt Brewery

The largest brewery in Canada, Labatt’s is a manufacturing marvel. The automated bottling process – with bottles going in every which way getting filled, labelled and packed – is weirdly mesmerizing to watch. And of course, there’s an all-Labatt’s bar with an inexpensive beer. Even for a London local, it’s actually a really good time (I’ve done it twice).

Richmond Row

The most attractive part of London’s downtown core, Richmond Row stretches from Oxford Street to Dundas Street and features a variety of restaurants, boutiques, Victoria Park and two gorgeous cathedrals that are straight out of a Lonely Planet guide for Europe.

Where to Stay in London Ontario

Despite being a local, I’ve actually stayed in a few hotels in London for various reasons. Here are a few I’ve liked:

The Park Hotel London – This hotel has the best location, situated right at Richmond Row. You’re a stone’s throw from excellent restaurants, bars, shopping and Victoria Park. All of their rooms are suites (although they don’t have a kitchenette).

Delta Hotels by Marriott London Armouries – This is a well-known hotel located downtown. It’s so popular because it’s the only hotel in London that resembles a castle.

Doubletree by Hilton London – Pretty standard hotel with comfortable beds, large rooms and fast wifi. It’s located downtown and within walking distance of the train station.

Looking for more things to do in London Ontario?

Head to the Tourism London website for upcoming events and additional places to be and things to do.