Located 110 km southwest of Toronto on the banks of the Grand River, Waterloo Region provides the perfect balance between new and old, rural and urban, nature and technology, tranquility and adventure. The City of Waterloo is a safe, mid-sized city with more than 50,000 university and college students. As home to one of the youngest populations in Canada, Waterloo Region has many restaurants, shops, activities and services geared to students.

Often referred to as a leading startup community, Waterloo’s industrial past has evolved into a home for 1,000+ technology companies. Some of the technology companies with offices in Waterloo, many of which are founded by University of Waterloo students and graduates, include BlackBerry, Kik Messenger, Google, Vidyard, ClearPath, and Shopify.

As a city with a focus on education, Waterloo boasts 2 leading research centres which offer public lectures and professors who also teach and conduct research at the University of Waterloo.

• The Perimeter Institute is one of the world’s leading centres for scientific research, training and educational outreach in theoretical physics.
• The Centre for International Governance Innovation believes that better international governance can improve the lives of people everywhere by increasing prosperity, ensuring global sustainability, addressing inequality and safeguarding human rights, and promoting a more secure world.

The region has several things to see and do including museums, cultural attractions, biking, hiking trails and water activities:

• THEMUSEUM
• Waterloo Region Museum & Doon Heritage Village
• Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
• City of Waterloo Museum
• Centre in the Square
• Kitchener Waterloo Symphony
• St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market
• Waterloo Park
• Victoria Park
• Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort

Waterloo Region is also home to a lively cultural scene, with several festivals including:

• the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Germany
• the Waterloo Busker Carnival, one of Canada’s biggest street performer festivals
• Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival
• Wonders of Winter festival of lights
• Elmira Maple Syrup Festival
• Kultron World Music Festival

Several destinations nearby to Waterloo Region:

• Niagara Falls, 1.5 hours east of Waterloo
• African Lion Safari, a wildlife conservation park 35 minutes southeast of Waterloo
• Stratford, home to Canada’s biggest Shakespeare festival
• Toronto, Canada’s largest city, two hours northeast

Transportation

Travel in the Region of Waterloo is very convenient with Grand River Transit buses that travel around the Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge areas, including direct routes to campus. With a student ID (WatCard), students have unlimited access to the transit system. Construction is underway for a light rail transit system (LRT) which includes a stop on main campus and is scheduled to begin running in 2018.

Frequent trains and buses offer easy access from Waterloo Region to the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding communities.

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