The Canadian bucket list destination with a natural wonder of the world, stunning car-free islands and great wine

WE’RE hovering in mid-air at 2,500ft – when the scale of this natural phenomenon hits me.

Gripping on to my seatbelt, I peer out of the helicopter window and am met with the sight of 19million gallons of water rushing into an icy gorge every minute.

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Our pilot welcomes us to Niagara Falls and, almost on cue, a rainbow forms as the sun clashes with the torrents of turquoise water.

This ride is not for the faint-hearted, but the team at Canada’s Niagara Helicopters assure me that they have safely taken tourists over the Falls for the last 64 years.

The bucket-list destination is now even easier for Brits to reach, thanks to Virgin Atlantic’s new direct service between Heathrow and Toronto Pearson International Airport.

After touching down, you can be in the heart of Canada’s “city that never sleeps” in just 25 minutes via the UP Express train (£6.70 one way).

Step off at Union station and you’re surrounded by glitzy skyscrapers, great nightlife, fabulous food and Canada’s biggest natural history museum, the Royal Ontario Museum.

You’ve also got the stunning Niagara Falls right on your doorstep.

Back in the chopper, my 12-minute flight begins at the Two Sisters Vineyards, a winery spanning 130 acres on the banks of the Niagara River.

After watching the slick Airbus H130 land in front of the vineyard’s chateau, I hop aboard.

We quickly ascend skyward and head to the Falls.

The helicopter makes a swift turn and my stomach flips as our pilot tries to get the best view of the waterfall, formed 12,000 years ago during the Ice Age.

With the sun beating down on the Niagara River — frozen from a cold snap overnight — we make our way to Lake Ontario.

The cool blue water and sandy shore of Ontario — one of the five Great Lakes of North America — is a stark contrast from the river of white.

Circling back for a smooth landing, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of Ontario — by sampling the best that Two Sisters has to offer (tastings from £16pp). I am handed a flute of its 2021 Lush Sparkling — a pale pink fizz, ripe with citrus zest and cranberries — as master sommelier Dieter welcomes us.

This is a passion project by Italian sisters Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli and Angela Marotta, who bought a peach orchard in 2006 and transformed it into the vineyard that now produces around 150,000 bottles of wine every year.

Dieter says: “Here, it is not the boardroom table, it is the kitchen table. The family sits down and there is a lot of waving of hands.

“They are not making decisions because the technical experts say you should do things a certain way.

“They are doing things from the heart and from their love of wine.”

We stroll through immaculate rows of vines before descending to a candle-lit table in The Barrel Room, where we feast on fresh salads, crispy saffron chicken and hand-made rigatoni.

With full bellies and Niagara Falls ticked off our bucket lists, we then decamp to the five-star 1 Hotel Toronto, in the cool King West Village neighbourhood.

This former industrial area is now a buzzing district of bars, boutiques and outdoor markets selling everything from art to craft beer and poutine — Canada’s answer to cheesy chips and gravy.

With reclaimed wood interiors and organic composters, the hotel has sustainability at its core, but with a touch of luxury.

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Decorated in a soothing natural palette, my room feels like a retreat from the hive of activity outside the window.

At breakfast there is local farm-to-table cuisine. Overnight oats and chia-seed puddings sit beside streaky bacon and fresh pancakes served with lashings of maple syrup.

Fuelled up, I brave the cold for a bike tour of the Toronto Islands, a 13-minute ferry ride from downtown.

Ryan and Sydney from Toronto Bicycle Tours meet us with bikes, and fleeced ponchos to protect us from the elements.

At the ferry terminal we join island dwellers bundling groceries into their bike baskets as they return to their little oasis.

These 15 small islands were used as a training base for the Norwegian Air Force during World War Two.

Now they are home to around 700 people, along with a school, petting zoo and lighthouse — with no visitors’ cars allowed.

We pedal along the boardwalk, taking in fantastic views of the skyline, dominated by the CN Tower with its revolving restaurant 1,151ft up in the air.

Cycling along car-free tracks, breathing fresh island air after a whirlwind trip of helicopters and wine tasting, I’m on a different kind of high.