Greater Toronto Area Locations: Barrie

Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services operates in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. Although Global Alliance provides services around the world through our network of affiliates, the core of our services are performed in Toronto and its surrounding region. In this continuing feature, we will detail notable locations and communities in the Greater Toronto Area (or GTA) where we often provide limousine service. Today, we head north of Toronto to the city on the shore of Lake Simcoe, Barrie.

Barrie in located in Simcoe County, on Lake Simcoe’s western shore. Its historic downtown area hugs the waterline of Kempenfelt Bay. With a population of approximately 130,000, Barrie is a large centre north of Toronto and is often considered the gateway to the popular vacation retreat area of lakes, rivers, and woods known as Cottage Country.

In its early days, the Barrie region was a key portage for aboriginal peoples and European traders between Lake Simcoe and Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay to the northwest. This line of travel and communication became known as the Nine Mile Portage during the War of 1812, when it was used by British forces to move messages, personnel, and materiel between the two bodies of water. Historical placards still mark this portage, which is now a hikable trail. Barrie carries its historical strategic importance in its very name: the city was named in 1833 after Sir Robert Barrie, Great Britain’s naval commander in Canada during the conflict and a frequent presence on the Nine Mile Portage.

barrie_logo-svgModern Barrie is often considered a bedroom community for Toronto commuters, but it has many prominent local employers, including post-secondary institution Georgian College, an active tourism industry concentrated on its waterfront, and a vibrant arts scene. Its major performing arts venues are the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts and the Georgian Theatre on the campus of Georgian College. The MacLaren Art Centre is also an important and active art institution in Barrie. Park Place, formerly known as Molson Park, has hosted many major concert events in the past, including the Canadian edition of Live 8 in 2005. Downtown Barrie hosts numerous festivals year-round as well, the most prominent of which is Kempenfest, one of Ontario’s largest arts and crafts events.

Barrie is connected to Toronto by road via Highway 400. Although Barrie does not have an international airport, private flights and light aircraft do operate out of Lake Simcoe Regional Airport outside of the city.

Please feel free to contact Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services for all of your transportation needs in Barrie, Ontario.

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