London, ON

Named after the capital of the United Kingdom, London in Ontario even lies on the River Thames but never became the capital of Canada. That honour went to York, Kingston, Montreal, then Ottawa.

The village was founded in 1826 and the Middlesex Court House was build shortly after in 1830, modelled after Malahide Castle in Dublin, Ireland. It is built on land originally set aside to built a provincial capital that never was.

Sir Fredrick Banting, the inventor of insulin, was a London resident. His house is not a National Historic Site of Canada and converted into a museum with his personal effects. The flame of hope outside the Banting House will keep burning until a cure of diabetes is found. Invented on October 31, 1920, insulin is one of the greatest Canadian discoveries of the 20th century. We all know someone with diabetes, there’s more to October than Halloween.

Two cathedrals and one church make up the downtown core of religious architecture in London. St. Peter’s Basilica was originally built in 1834, but it was burned down by a fire in 1845 before being rebuilt in 1851. St. Paul’s Cathedral was also built in 1834, but was also destroyed in a separate fire in 1844 before being rebuilt in 1846. The Metropolitan United Church was established in 1833, but moved to four other locations before settling for its current address on Wellington and Dufferin Streets in 1895, according to University of Western Ontario archives.

Other sights in downtown London include the Covent Garden Market with hipster artisan foods and commodities and the Museum London that exhibits regional artifacts. A Cenotaph stands in Victoria Park on the corner opposite City Hall. Identical monuments to the unknown soldier are found in Hong Kong and London.