Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons
Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is a fascinating living history attraction and a National Historic Site. Travel back in time and experience life in the 1640s at Ontario's first European settlement. Explore dozens of historical buildings and learn about early cultural contact between French missionaries and people of the Huron-Wendat Nation. Find out why the Jesuits were forced to abandon and burn their home of ten years. • Watch a fascinating introductory video • Use an informative map to explore the fully reconstructed mission community including cookhouse, stables, blacksmith, hospital, longhouses and more • Connect with knowledgeable costumed historical interpreters • View some of North America’s oldest masonry • Visit the Church of Saint-Joseph, where graves two Canadian Martyrs are located • Access a free audio tour through the Huronia Historical Parks app • Meet friendly heritage breed farm animals • Discover our indoor museum • Shop for souvenirs in our gift shop
Duration: 1-2 hours
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4.5
599 reviews
Excellent
402
Very good
167
Average
22
Poor
4
Terrible
4
W Taylor
Burlington, Canada5 contributions
Sept 2022
This is an amazing place to learn the histroy of Sainte-Marie amonth the Hurons. So much has been done to recreate the time period and records of early settlers. Facinating walk through of times gone by.
Written 29 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
b0b55russell
Orillia, Canada1,181 contributions
Aug 2020
This historic location offers free admission if you are a First Responder. They just took my word as I could have shown proof of this. Self guided tour and your own leisurely pace. It has been a number of years since I have been here but I was here in the 1980's with good church friends of mine. Not much has changed but gives one a good idea of hoe the French Faith People and First Nations People lived together in the area. FYI I even gave people from China a history lesson regarding this place in which they thanked me. Lot s of parents with their kids giving them a lesson in early Canadian history. Good to see as this is the real deal compared to reading it in a history book!
Written 31 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alicia M
Monticello, MN125 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
We did an English tour. It was extremely hot that day so any break was a relief but also we decided to leave after the tour because it was so hot outside. The site is a lot bigger than I was expecting so we didn’t get to see all of the buildings as they don’t cover all of them on the tour. We learned a lot about the Indians and the other settlers that lived in the area and how they all lived. If you have time to do the tour and after it is worth it.
Written 14 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
traveler27Ontario
Midland, Canada31 contributions
Apr 2019
Great place to learn about the rich history of the area. See how they lived in the early years of the area. Learn about their culture, foods, etc. Keep track of the special events throughout the year, eg maple surup festival," First light in Dec". Worth attending.
Written 19 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mauro V
1 contribution
May 2022
This place is a real jewel. Nice experience, exploring the life of the Jesuit settlement in the 17th century. The staff was helpful and knowledgeable. Our guide Paige was exceptional. She explained all clearly and provided us with lots of information. She made our visit fun and educational.
Written 15 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vickie E
3 contributions
Aug 2019 • Family
I first went to St Marie as a child on a school trip. Then I went again as a young adult. When I went yesterday with my granddaughter I was
A bit disappointed. In the past each building and each area had staff and volunteers in costume chatting with visitors about the powerful story of St Marie. This time there were maybe 6 staff in period costume throughout the whole place and very few of them interacted with the tourists. The young people just didn't have the skills to interact with the public. Now if you want to hear the fascinating story of the place you have to pay to rent a machine that will explain things to you
Also there used to be so much more for kids to do. Now there is only using own and ink and cooking banick
It used to be a whole day adventure and now it's a couple of hours and you're done. Also at one point we were exploring the St Joseph's chaple and we were told to leave as a religious group were on their way in. Whatever information they were being given would have been interesting to hear. When we came back later the staff person was talking about her trip to Bermuda. Not exactly keeping to the historical period... So go once to see it but know it's just not as rich and interesting experience as it used to be
A bit disappointed. In the past each building and each area had staff and volunteers in costume chatting with visitors about the powerful story of St Marie. This time there were maybe 6 staff in period costume throughout the whole place and very few of them interacted with the tourists. The young people just didn't have the skills to interact with the public. Now if you want to hear the fascinating story of the place you have to pay to rent a machine that will explain things to you
Also there used to be so much more for kids to do. Now there is only using own and ink and cooking banick
It used to be a whole day adventure and now it's a couple of hours and you're done. Also at one point we were exploring the St Joseph's chaple and we were told to leave as a religious group were on their way in. Whatever information they were being given would have been interesting to hear. When we came back later the staff person was talking about her trip to Bermuda. Not exactly keeping to the historical period... So go once to see it but know it's just not as rich and interesting experience as it used to be
Written 11 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LauraandChrisE
Toronto area19 contributions
Jun 2014 • Family
This place is a family tradition for us when in the Midland area. This time we were lucky enough to visit during the Native Festival. There were so many hands on and make and take home activities the kids were thrilled. And as the parents so were we. We loved all of the performers, dancers , drummers, speakers and story tellers. We loved getting the opportunity to dance with the dancers. We loved the opportunity to listen to the important messages of the speakers and were lucky enough to listen to a Thanksgiving prayer by a 10 year old brilliant boy. We made bannock, ate Three Sister Soup, planted the three sisters and made corn husk dolls. We played Native games and made the bone and stick game. My son got the opportunity to drum and it was amazing. There were so many more events and activities that I am forgetting to mention as they were all fantastic. The museum is a nice place to cool off and chill out after a day outside. We ate at the restaurant and the food was amazing. We all had different things. I had the tuna sandwich, my mom the egg, my daughter the 3 Sisters Soup, and my son had the grilled cheese. We all had the strawberry short cake. It was all delicious. We bought a few items from the vendors selling jewellery and my son bought two little hippo finger puppets. It was a great day and we can't wait to come back.
Written 26 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Milandralove
Innisfil, Canada631 contributions
Jun 2011
We went with our two children - aged 11 & 13. They had a great time.
Review the website as there are better times to go than others. When we went they had lots of activities - making apple dolls, primative games (kids made "lawn darts" our of cobs of corn), clay pottery ect. There were also some native american shows that were spectacular.
There is not always the same events so review the site and decide what suits your needs.
Review the website as there are better times to go than others. When we went they had lots of activities - making apple dolls, primative games (kids made "lawn darts" our of cobs of corn), clay pottery ect. There were also some native american shows that were spectacular.
There is not always the same events so review the site and decide what suits your needs.
Written 26 November 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
helenduvall47
London, UK56 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
I was fortunate to visit during an event called First Light with my husband. This happens during three weekends of the year, where the paths and buildings are illuminated with five thousand candles.On arriving you purchase a ticket for ten dollars each and are directed to a huge area full of local vendors selling hand made goods. I bought mittens, ,chocolates,pickles and some wonderful native canadian items. I could have bought more but hubby intervened!
After this we went to the outside area beautifully illuminated with just lanterns and open fires.The fort itself considered of wooden buildings each with entertainment inside. One building had a blacksmith showing his trade, another tables filled with quills and Ink for you to practice old style calligraphy. Others were full of entertainers singing while we basked in the warmth of huge open fires. A stable contained a few goats and two miniature horses who were shielded from too much attention but they could choose to come over and be stroked. Fresh corn cookies were handed out from a kitchen area full of old kitchen equipment such as a large butter churn.The path of lanterns led us onwards towards the martyrs shrine,a beautiful and mystical walk uphill dominated by the imposing prescience of the Shrine itself. Jesuit martyrs are buried there and the relics are held in the church itself which I had visited previously. The grounds there are full of pilgrimage places from people worldwide and well worth the visit. Back to First Light, we finally reached the shrine which had some vendors with Toffee maple syrup, a delectable treat of cooked maple syrup pored on to ice and then handed to you on a stick.
Santa was also present in a seperate building with his elves, and children were heading there with glee. My husband and I headed for the cafe next to the shrine were he had two monster hotdogs with all the dressings and I had some delicious chips. After a rest we headed back through the downward path, revisited a few of the buildings and made ourselves a promise to come back and visit the museum on site at another time.
You still have a chance to go if you can get to this event as it goes from the 4th December for that weekend. However if you can't the whole site is wonderful to visit anytime of year with its recreation of historical events and it's incredibly important historic associations. One word of advice it may be closed after First Light until spring but please check their website for details.
After this we went to the outside area beautifully illuminated with just lanterns and open fires.The fort itself considered of wooden buildings each with entertainment inside. One building had a blacksmith showing his trade, another tables filled with quills and Ink for you to practice old style calligraphy. Others were full of entertainers singing while we basked in the warmth of huge open fires. A stable contained a few goats and two miniature horses who were shielded from too much attention but they could choose to come over and be stroked. Fresh corn cookies were handed out from a kitchen area full of old kitchen equipment such as a large butter churn.The path of lanterns led us onwards towards the martyrs shrine,a beautiful and mystical walk uphill dominated by the imposing prescience of the Shrine itself. Jesuit martyrs are buried there and the relics are held in the church itself which I had visited previously. The grounds there are full of pilgrimage places from people worldwide and well worth the visit. Back to First Light, we finally reached the shrine which had some vendors with Toffee maple syrup, a delectable treat of cooked maple syrup pored on to ice and then handed to you on a stick.
Santa was also present in a seperate building with his elves, and children were heading there with glee. My husband and I headed for the cafe next to the shrine were he had two monster hotdogs with all the dressings and I had some delicious chips. After a rest we headed back through the downward path, revisited a few of the buildings and made ourselves a promise to come back and visit the museum on site at another time.
You still have a chance to go if you can get to this event as it goes from the 4th December for that weekend. However if you can't the whole site is wonderful to visit anytime of year with its recreation of historical events and it's incredibly important historic associations. One word of advice it may be closed after First Light until spring but please check their website for details.
Written 30 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
THC1996
40 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
Really well done recreation of the mission from 1639. The video was well done and the grounds were easy to walk. We didn’t do the audio tour, which was maybe a mistake. There is no signage and the map gives a one sentence description.
Was disappointed in the staff. They were all high school students (which is not necessarily bad), but most were not knowledgeable and more interested in talking to each other than the people taking tours. Definitely a step down from several other living museums we have been to.
Was disappointed in the staff. They were all high school students (which is not necessarily bad), but most were not knowledgeable and more interested in talking to each other than the people taking tours. Definitely a step down from several other living museums we have been to.
Written 12 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nathalie C
Midland, Canada
The regular admission fee is only $7 per person during the regular season (May to August) . Rates will vary for special events. Please check the website for the Skate Trail dates and rates from January to mid-March.
Written 6 November 2018
Would this attraction keep the attention of a 4 & 6 year old that can loose interest easily?
Written 28 July 2018
There are lots of things to see and do, so if you spent time with the ones your child is interested in, their attention-span might be stretched a little, which would be a good thing. There are demonstrations of cooking and iron-making - both with flames and sparks and some loud noises - boys like those! You can go at your own pace and avoid anything that looks dull - you're not tied to a group moving through the exhibits. The canoe coming in through the locks is pretty fun to see. I'd say give it a go.
Written 9 August 2018
Much of the area requires going on unpaved areas. There may be a few door sills they may need to cross to enter the buildings. In general, a person with a walker should be able to navigate the site
Written 28 September 2017
Hello, is it possible to get there with public transport from Toronto? I find contradictory results in Google... Thank you!
Written 27 July 2016
Its possible to go there by bus.
You may habe tonchange the line once.
Written 27 July 2016
Is the Sainte-Marie among the Hurons open on Mondays?
Written 5 June 2015
Nathalie C
Midland, Canada
Sainte-Marie is currently open 7 days a week from 10:00am - 5:00pm. Please visit our website for more information on rates and hours of operation.
Written 5 June 2015
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