Tour Ideas 

From The Heart to Your Hands

Tour operates all year long for groups.

Length of tour approximately 5 hours.

Travel to the former home of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, now a national historic site. Adelaide was instrumental in the establishment of the YWCA, VON, National Council of Women and domestic science in our public schools. Carry on down the road to a world-renowned potter's studio. Meet Donn Zver and see how easy he makes it look to create spectacular pieces of pottery at his studio. Stay for lunch at the adjacent café and enjoy a fabulous served on Donn's personal creations. Finally, travel just down the road to Robert Hall Originals for a tour with a Master Pewtersmith – the only one in Ontario! Learn how pewter jewellery and art pieces are made from start to finish from the artist himself. After your tour, browse through the shop to look for your favourite piece of beaded jewellery or that special pewter gift.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1.800.265.6299. Visit Tourism Brantford for a FREE motorcoach welcome during your tour.

Shop & a Show to Go

Tour operates September to May.

Length of tour is approximately 6 hours.

Start your tour by shopping for all your favourite crafts, needlework, yarn and specialty items in a country setting. Mary Maxim is one of Canada’s largest craft and retail outlets. Enjoy lunch at the fabulous Old School Restaurant – a place the Queen herself chose to dine at during her last Royal visit to the area. After lunch, stop by Tourism Brantford for your FREE welcome and then travel to the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts for a spectacular matinee. If you wish, stay a little longer and try your luck at the OLG Casino Brantford; your trip might just end up being paid for by us!

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

Best Bloomin’ City Tour

Tour operates May to September.

Length of tour approximately 6 hours.

Come to our fair city and view spectacular floral displays at some of Brantford’s premier gardens. Make the lush grounds at the Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant your first stop. Overlooking the gorgeous Grand River, these extensive gardens consistently impress and delight. Next stop is Lorne Park – a formal garden with a Victorian Gazebo and a cairn dedicated to the Iroquois Captain Joseph Brant, who forded the Grand River. An experienced horticultural step-on-guide will meet your group and show you around the city to view a number of beautiful floral sensations. Stop at Kirby’s Bar and Buffet, located at the Best Western Brant Park Inn, to indulge in a tasty lunch.

After your meal, enjoy a back stage tour at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts and learn about its’ 90 year history. Take a tour of a few more local gardens or stop and shop at the Lynden Park Mall. Then head down the road a short distance to enjoy a sunset dinner cruise while floating along the heritage Grand River with Grand River Dinner Cruises. Turn this day tour into an overnight trip and visit the OLG Casino Brantford where you can try your luck at over 450 exciting slot machines or 45 popular gaming tables.

After a long day and a great tour, stay overnight at the Best Western Brant Park Inn & Conference Centre, the Quality Inn & Suites Brantford or the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton - Brantford. Any one of these hotels is sure to offer all the comforts of home.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

History Teaches All…

Must book ahead for available tour times.

Length of tour approximately 5 hours.

Stop to commemorate the military history of the Canadian service men and women during times of war at the Canadian Military Heritage and Vintage Motorcycle Museum. For lunch, visit the Homestead Café, part of the former home of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. Experience a guided tour of the home where Alexander made the first long distance call from Brantford to Paris. Then travel to the Brantford Visitor & Tourism Centre for a free “welcome reception.”

Just down the road is a one-of-a-kind original pottery studio. Demonstrations of pottery making are available for groups at the Donn Zver Pottery Studio. If time permits, you may wish to visit an indoor Christmas village at Wills Christmas Village Store & Tree Farm; combine your shopping with a guided tour of the 180-acre family farm. Pre-booked tours only.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

Somebody Get the Phone…

Tour operates April to December (not open Mondays)

Length of tour approximately 7.5 hours.

Start your tour with a stop at the Brantford Visitor & Tourism Centre for a ‘welcome reception’ with FREE coffee, cookies and a gift for everyone in your group. Next, travel to the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, former residence of Alexander Graham Bell. Here in 1874, Alexander Graham Bell changed the world of communications forever with the invention of the telephone. See the grounds Bell walked, and the view of the Grand River that he claimed was his inspiration. Enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch at the Homestead Café – don’t forget dessert! Next you will travel to the Chiefswood Mansion, home of E. Pauline Johnson, Mohawk poetess and her grandfather, Mohawk Chief “Smoke” Johnson – family friends of Alexander Bell.

After visiting these two locations that inspired the geniuses of yesterday, finish your tour with some shopping. Travel just a short distance to Paris, Ontario and visit a truly Canadian “crafters” store – Mary Maxim. There are also many other quaint gift shops nestled within downtown Paris, so you may want to give your groups some time to browse.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

National Treasures & Grand Dreams

Tour operates all year for groups but most museums are not open on Mondays.

Length of tour approximately 7.5 hours.

Visit the Brantford Visitor and Tourism Centre for a ‘welcome reception’ with coffee, cookies and a free gift for everyone. Travel to the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, former residence of Alexander Graham Bell. In 1874, along the banks of the Grand River, Bell forever changed the world of communications with his invention of the telephone. After the tour, enjoy a wonderful home-style lunch at the Homestead Café and be sure to leave room for their scrumptious home-made desserts.

Take another step back in time at Chiefswood National Historic Site, the childhood home of Mohawk poetess and performer, E. Pauline Johnson. Your journey continues at Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks. Built in 1785, the Chapel is the oldest Protestant Church in Ontario and the first Royal Chapel in the world belonging to native people. Widely known for its eight stained glass windows depicting the colourful history of the Six Nations people, Mohawk Chapel is also the final resting place of Captain Joseph Brant. After visiting our ‘national treasures,’ why not visit the OLG Casino Brantford and test your luck - perhaps you’ll win the “Grand Jackpot”. Dine at your leisure at the Casino’s fabulous restaurant.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

Six Nations/New Credit ‘Pow-wow Highway’

A memorable experience of traditional teachings, food and dance.

Length of tour approximately 4.5 hours.

Please note - SPECIAL DATES ONLY: Champion of Champions Pow-wow: 4th weekend in July, (Saturday & Sunday); Three Fires Homecoming Pow-wow & Traditional Gathering: 3rd weekend in August (Saturday & Sunday)

People from all over North America travel to Pow-wow festivals and join in celebrating aboriginal song and dance. Your journey begins at The Jake Thomas Learning Centre where you will receive traditional teachings and participate in a welcome to our communities. From here, you will travel to Six Nations Tourism. Your guide will share teachings of the Pow-wow, while you hear the faint sound of sacred drums and chants from the awaiting Pow-wow. As you approach the arena you will see arts and crafts of the First Nations peoples and smell the mouthwatering aboriginal cooking. Have your group try a glass of strawberry juice as they settle into the bleachers and watch the Master of Ceremonies announce the “GRAND ENTRY”… The colour and pageantry of the Pow-wow is an experience you will always remember. After visiting the festival, make sure you stop at Iroqrafts to shop for a memorable gift to take home.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

A Taste of the Iroquoian Experience

Tour operates mid-May to mid-October. Call for exact tour dates.

Length of tour approximately 6.5 hours.

The Grand River First Nations communities of Six Nations and New Credit invite your group to spend a day within our homelands and visit this unique area where traditional arts and culture exist alongside contemporary attractions and technology. Your trip begins at the Woodland Cultural Centre, a world-class museum and cultural facility featuring First Nations art and history. After exploring this 22.5-acre site, travel to Six Nations Tourism and receive a traditional welcome and participate in Iroquois Social Dances. A guide will then provide an educational tour of Six Nations on your way to Iroqrafts, the oldest and largest Native American gift shop in Canada! Enjoy shopping for fine arts, crafts and intricate beadwork. After shopping, you may wish to extend your visit and enjoy a late lunch or early dinner at Kirby’s Bar & Buffet, located at the Best Western Brant Park Inn.

Why not extend your stay and book your group in for the night? Take in a great show at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, or try your luck at the OLG Casino Brantford.

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.

Grand Inspiration

Tour operates May to September

Length of tour approximately 7 hours.

For those looking to explore the historical roots of the Grand, a Canadian Heritage River, we offer the ‘Grand Inspiration’ package. Travel back in time and explore the Bell Homestead, a National Historical Site, and home of Alexander Graham Bell, the father of the telephone. See the grounds Bell walked, and the view of the Grand River Valley that ultimately inspired him. Enjoy lunch at the Homestead Café. Then come with us as we shuttle you to Onondaga, where the Grand River is quiet and tranquil. Tour with Grand Experiences, on a twelve-person Voyageur canoe, also known as war canoe, past Fairchild Creek and on into Six Nations Territories. This interpretive tour features Native guides in period costume reading the works of the famous poet Pauline Johnson. Get off the canoe and tour Chiefswood National Historic Site, home of Pauline and her grandfather, Mohawk Chief ‘Smoke’ Johnson - friend of Alexander Bell.

Travel the same stretch of river that Bell traveled to visit his friend, and that Pauline paddled with her famous canoe, ‘wildcat’. View some of the same scenery that inspired the geniuses of yesterday!

Call Tourism Brantford for the package price or to adjust the package for your group. 1-800-265-6299.