Greater Sudbury
Introduction
Greater Sudbury, usually just called Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario and the only single-tier municipality in the region. It sits apart from the surrounding Sudbury District, which encloses it entirely, and it spreads across more land than any other city in Ontario.
Before you go
Greater Sudbury is an amalgamated city of smaller communities spread across a large region, and more than half of its residents live in the former city that includes the downtown. The name can refer both to the wider area of urban communities, countryside and wilderness, and to the former city itself, so it helps to know which part of the region you plan to base yourself in. The city is the economic and service hub for the eastern half of Northern Ontario.
International visitors will find vibrant Italian, Finnish, Ukrainian, French, Polish and Aboriginal communities, and you can expect to hear these languages spoken regularly, though almost all residents speak English. City services, road signs and street names are posted in both French and English, and the city's multicultural heritage is celebrated at the Bridge of Nations downtown, which flies the flags of every nation represented among the population. The weather is typical of the Canadian Shield: summers are hot, with heat waves that can push daytime temperatures high and keep nights warm, while winters are cold. Outdoor recreation is popular in both seasons, so pack for the time of year you're visiting.
Getting there
Sudbury Airport (YSB) sits about 25 minutes from downtown by car, with metered taxis available at the terminal. GOVA Zone on-demand transit connects the airport to Garson, where you can transfer to route 102 for New Sudbury Centre; reserve at least 90 minutes ahead, as buses are infrequent. Air Canada flies daily from Toronto Pearson, Bearskin Airlines offers direct regional flights from Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and North Bay, and WestJet provides seasonal service from Calgary.
VIA Rail's Canadian stops at Sudbury Junction on the eastern edge of town, roughly 10 km from downtown, and at Capreol about 30 km north; a separate VIA route links Sudbury station on Elgin Street with White River. Ontario Northland buses run to Sudbury from Toronto via Barrie and Parry Sound, from Ottawa via North Bay, from Sault Ste. Marie, and from Hearst via Timmins, while FlixBus connects Toronto, Barrie and Parry Sound. By car, Highway 17 (the Trans-Canada) arrives from Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay to the west and North Bay and Ottawa to the east, Highway 69 runs south toward Parry Sound and the Highway 400 freeway to Toronto, and Highway 144 heads north to Timmins; some quiet roads are in poor shape.
Getting around
Getting around Greater Sudbury is shaped by its sheer size: the city spreads across a vast area of lakes and rocky hills, with an urban core and many smaller communities scattered far apart. There is no metro, tram or commuter rail, so your options are buses, taxis, or your own two feet. Local transit is provided by GOVA, which runs from a central downtown terminal. In the urban core, buses generally come every half hour at peak times and hourly late at night and on Sundays; outlying communities see thinner service, so check schedules before relying on a bus to reach a far-flung area. GOVA Zone, an on-demand service, reaches places regular routes do not serve well, but you must reserve at least 90 minutes ahead and it runs infrequently. Fares are inexpensive, with multi-ride passes and unlimited 31-day passes available if you are staying more than a few days. Walking works well in the core, where the downtown terminal, shops and services cluster together, but beyond that the city is not a walking city — plan on a bus, taxi or car for anything farther out. Metered taxis are available, including at the airport, and local companies include Aaron Taxi, AC Taxi and Lockerby Transportation Group; for a municipality this spread out, a taxi is often the most practical way to reach a destination that buses serve only infrequently. From Sudbury Airport, a metered taxi takes about 25 minutes to downtown, or you can use GOVA Zone to Garson and transfer to route 102 for New Sudbury Centre, again booking at least 90 minutes ahead.Where to stay
Sudbury's accommodation spreads across the city and well beyond it, so where you stay depends on what you plan to do. Downtown puts you close to the action: the Best Western Downtown Sudbury on Larch Street, the Clarion Hotel on Elm Street, the Parker House Inn on Elm Street and the Radisson Hotel Sudbury on Ste. Anne Road all sit in the core. A cluster of mid-range chains lines Regent Street and its surroundings, including the Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn on Regent Street, the Comfort Inn East on Second Avenue North, the Super 8 Hotel on Regent Street, the Northbury Hotel and Conference Centre on Brady Street, and the Quality Inn & Conference Centre on Elgin Street. Further out, the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott on Barrydowne Road, the Holiday Inn Sudbury on Regent Street South, and the Travelodge Hotel and Travelway Inn on Paris Street serve the city's edges.
If you would rather base yourself outside town, there are options in the surrounding communities. In Lively you'll find the Lively Inn and Suites and the Village Inn, both on Regional Road 55. Campers and those wanting a lakeside stay can choose between Carol's Campsite on Richard Lake Drive, Vacationland Campground & Marina on Nepewassi Lake Road in Estaire, Sportsman's Lodge & Wilderness Resort on Kukagami Lake Road in Wahnapitae, and Uncle Jack's Log Cabin on Kasten Lake Road. Budget travellers have a handful of motels to pick from, among them the Belmont Inn on York Street, the Canadiana Motel and Four Sisters Motel on Lorne Street, and the Moonlight Inn & Suites Motel on Moonlight Avenue. For a quieter bed-and-breakfast feel, the Auberge-sur-lac B&B on South Lane Road is an option.
Food & drink
Downtown Sudbury is where you'll find the widest spread of options, from Italian with an individual twist at Respect is Burning to Japanese and Korean dishes at Sapporo Ichibang, plus Mexican, Greek and pub fare scattered along the same few blocks. In New Sudbury and The Kingsway, the eating leans toward family-run and hearty: a Greek taverna, a Chinese buffet, a Greek-Italian kitchen and a steakhouse, alongside a popular sports bar. Head south and the tone shifts upmarket, with fine Italian dining and a restaurant often described as the finest in town — both worth reserving ahead, and one of them closed from July into early September. Drinking is a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood affair here, and you could spend an entire trip moving from one tavern to the next. Downtown gives you an Irish-style pub widely regarded as the city's best, with a deep selection of imported beer, and a tavern on Elgin Street that's the surest bet for local and touring indie bands. In New Sudbury, a lively Lasalle Boulevard venue pairs pool with a jukebox, while a log-cabin sports bar on Shaughnessy Street draws crowds for major games and offers wings in a startling number of flavours. Elgin Street also holds the city's only LGBT bar and nightlife spot, welcoming to everyone and known for its danceable music.What to see and do
Sudbury's science centres anchor a visit. Science North sits on the shore of Lake Ramsey atop an ancient earthquake fault, its snowflake-shaped building a city landmark, with an IMAX theatre, a butterfly gallery, a robotics lab, and interactive exhibits on geology and animal biology. From its grounds, the William Ramsey offers cruises on Lake Ramsey. Dynamic Earth, on a separate site, takes a hands-on approach to earth science and mining, with a guided underground tour, multimedia theatres, exhibits, an outdoor science park, and the Big Nickel. Bell Park, a park and amphitheatre on the lake, links to the Science North grounds by a lakefront boardwalk. For culture, the Art Gallery of Sudbury shows historical and contemporary Canadian art, while La Galerie du Nouvel Ontario focuses on contemporary and experimental work by French Canadian artists. The Sudbury Theatre Centre stages comedy and drama, including Canadian playwrights, and Le Théâtre du Nouvel Ontario presents franco-ontarian and Québécois work. The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra performs through the year, Cinéfest brings a programme of films each September, and the Northern Lights Festival Boréal fills Bell Park with folk, blues and rock each July. Heritage museums such as the Flour Mill Heritage Museum, the Copper Cliff Museum, the Anderson Farm Museum, and the Capreol Heritage Centre/Prescott Park show how the region's earliest settlers lived, and the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum in Capreol covers rail transport with locomotives, rolling stock, a model railroad, and a locomotive simulator.
Outdoors, Sudbury is a city of lakes, forests and rocky hills, and you are rarely far from a beach; the city maintains supervised beaches in summer, alongside countless smaller ones. Fishing draws anglers for trout, splake, pike, pickerel, muskie and bass, and in winter you can ice fish once the lakes freeze. The Lake Laurentian Conservation Area in the south end offers hiking, jogging, biking and ski trails, while the Trans-Canada Trail twists along the shores of Junction Creek through much of the city. Huge rocky hills divide the city into its boroughs and remain largely undeveloped; hike to the top for a panoramic view, and geology buffs can scour the black bedrock for shatter cones left by the meteorite impact that created the Sudbury Basin. The A.Y. Jackson Scenic Lookout on Highway 144, named for the Group of Seven artist, gives a view of High Falls on the Onaping River. Winters are long but busy: two downhill ski facilities operate, the Naughton Ski Trails are groomed for cross-country and lit at night, and a cleared skating surface runs from the Science North grounds to the Bell Park beach area. Snowmobilers use a vast network of groomed trails, and golfers have a wide selection of courses. The Sudbury Wolves play junior hockey at the downtown arena through the winter months.
When to go
Sudbury has hot summers and cold winters typical of the Canadian Shield, and outdoor recreation is popular in both seasons. Summer days are hot and nights are mild, though heat waves can push temperatures higher and keep nighttime lows warm. This is a popular time for outdoor recreation.
Winters are cold, as you would expect on the Canadian Shield, and winter outdoor activities are quite popular during this season.
Three days in Greater Sudbury
Day one: Start in Sudbury itself, getting a feel for the city's mix of cultures — Italian, Finnish, Ukrainian, French, Polish, Aboriginal and English influences all show up in its neighbourhoods and kitchens. Browse New Sudbury Centre, then head to Elgin Street for its concentration of places to eat and drink. If you arrive by air, Sudbury Airport (YSB) is served by Air Canada, WestJet and Bearskin Airlines, with connections to Toronto Pearson, Calgary, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and North Bay.
Day two: Push out into the wider City of Greater Sudbury and the surrounding Sudbury District. The landscape here is pure Canadian Shield — rock, water and forest — so plan an outdoor day rather than an indoor one. Garson is one community within the city's boundaries worth passing through, and the GOVA Zone covers transit across the area. Weather swings hard in Northern Ontario, so pack for warm and humid summers or bitterly cold winters depending on when you come.
Day three: Slow down and let the region's character settle in. The mix of French, Aboriginal and Finnish heritage gives Greater Sudbury a flavour distinct from the rest of Ontario, and it rewards a day spent simply moving between its communities. If you're continuing onward, VIA Rail's Canadian stops at Sudbury Junction in Capreol, linking the city to the wider transcontinental route.