Paris, Ontario

The name comes from plaster of Paris: gypsum deposits found nearby in the 1790s were the reason a settlement started here, at the meeting of the Nith and Grand rivers. Levi Boughton, a mason from New York state, brought a cobblestone building technique in the 1830s using rounded stones from the riverbed and glacial deposits set in lime mortar in even courses; around a dozen of his buildings survive, and Paris holds the largest concentration of cobblestone architecture in Ontario. The Grand River is a Canadian Heritage River and the town sits on its bank with the rail trail passing through.

What you actually see

• The cobblestone buildings - about a dozen from Boughton's 1830s work.
• The river forks - the Nith joining the Grand below the town.
• The gypsum origin - the plaster deposits that gave the town its name.
• The Grand River trail - a rail trail along a Canadian Heritage River.

When to go

May to October for the river and walking the streets; the town is small and quiet year-round. Autumn colour along the Grand is good. Tubing on the river runs in summer.

Honest expectations

The cobblestone buildings are private homes and churches seen from the street only. The town is small and takes an hour or two. There is little beyond the architecture and the river.

Nearby

Brantford lies southeast; Kitchener-Waterloo is north.