Canada Vacations
Toronto
The city known as "Toronto the Good" has recently gotten great. An influx of diverse ethnic groups spurred its rebirth as a cosmopolitan city with an explosion in entertainment. The arts got a jump-start and have continued to flourish. Modern development has futuristic buildings like the CN tower (the largest free-standing one in the world) neighboring Old World Edwardian architecture. There are many museums and galleries, colorful ethnic neighborhoods, and a spirited nightlife.
A walk through town is like a journey around the world, from upscale Anglo Booth Street to the market-lined streets of Chinatown. The Harbourfront Center has revived the waterfront with a lakeside promenade lined with chic cafés and boutiques providing a delightful summer treat. Winter activity is down below in Underground City, an entire shopping and restaurant center beneath Toronto's financial district. Visit and you might find yourself suggesting to City Hall that they call it "Toronto the Fantastic!"
Edmonton
The capital of Alberta is a lively town with sensational nighttime entertainment and deep cultural roots. History and the arts have combined to create a town worthy of several nicknames, like "Gateway to the North," "Canada's Festival City," and the "City of Champions." Founded in 1795 as a fur trading post, Edmonton was also the focus of the Klondike Gold Rush. Despite its "boom town" character, city planners maintained a balance between urban growth and the environment. The result is an appealing city with a mix of Victorian architecture, modern city excitement, and soothing green spaces, all nestled into the curves of the North Saskatchewan River.
Fine restaurants and an exploding arts scene are held in high regard by the city folk and visitors for their quality and diversity. Outdoor recreation starts near and stretches far, with countless parks along the riverbank and endless miles of virtually untouched land outside the city limits. Visit and you might give it yet another nickname - "My Favorite Canadian Town!"
Halifax
Rich in charm and history, Halifax is a compact city perfect for exploring on foot. Visitors delight in strolling along the flower-lined paths of the oldest Victorian gardens in North America and watching military tradition come alive with the skirl of the bagpipes and the roar of the cannons at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. On sunny days, the city's gleaming waterfront is a treat for the senses, with broad walkways that connect inviting plazas and green spaces with eclectic shops, lively outdoor cafés, pubs, and fine restaurants. Nova Scotia's seafaring past is depicted through fascinating exhibits at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and experienced first-hand on tours of the bustling harbor. The cobbled lanes of the Historic Properties divulge a past full of tales and intrigue from the days when privateers used them to stash their loot. When the sun sets on the city, the non-stop nightlife moves to the beat of fiery Celtic fiddles playing in hundred-year-old pubs and cool jazz grooving through friendly clubs.
The coast is an adventure of its own, with the sun and surf inviting you to the broad sandy beaches of Martinique and Clam Harbor. The winding coast mesmerizes with its beautiful views as you drive to the Eastern Passage and Peggy's Cove, or paddle a sea kayak across pristine coves where seals and dolphins play. Cape Breton Island, just off the coast, was named by Condé Nast Traveler magazine as the World's Most Scenic Island, and National Geographic Traveler Magazine chose the entire region of the Maritime Provinces as one of The World's 50 Great Places! Whatever your interests and wherever you go, you'll encounter the friendly Nova Scotians who love their province and love to share it with visitors.
Lake Louise
Mounties, Native Americans, railroads, and cowboys - all the elements of the Canadian Wild West - converged to create a city with a 21st-century sensibility and a steadfastly traditional soul. On the one hand, you can browse through trendy boutiques and galleries and enjoy the élan of a little dinner theater. On the other hand you can immerse yourself in First Nations culture and learn directly from Native Americans how they sustain their ancient, mystical culture in a modern Anglo world. Situated on the Elbow and Bow rivers where the Canadian Prairie meets the eastern front of the Rockies, this city probably best known as the site of the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day summer festival celebrating cowboy culture with concerts, agricultural shows, and a huge, fantastic rodeo. The memories of the Winter Olympics of 1988 live on at Canada Olympic Park, a popular tourist spot with "be an Olympian for a day" activities like the bobsled and luge rides.
Beyond the modern city skyline, the Rockies loom invitingly and within just about an hour's driving time you can reach a variety of stunning parks, including the icy peaks and green valleys of Banff National Park, one of western Canada's most beautiful regions. The name Calgary is thought to have come from the Gaelic phrase meaning "bay farm," though this town was officially founded in 1875 as a North West Mounted Police post. When the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1883, ranchers established major spreads on the plains surrounding the town, many of which now operate as "dude ranches," welcoming overnight and day guests to live for a spell like the pioneers of yore.
Montreal
Montreal is an urban paradise that seamlessly blends historic charm with contemporary wonder. In Old Montreal, the architecture spans three centuries, and horse-drawn carriages clip-clop along cobblestone avenues while street artists create a festive aura. A waterfront promenade - one of the city's top attractions - winds along the Old Port. Below ground, the futuristic Underground City offers weather-proof, subterranean access to theaters, shops, restaurants and hotels. This Canadian city also blends French- and English-speaking communities. French speakers (Francophones) make up more than half of the city's population, dominating neighborhoods to the east and north of the downtown area, while English-speakers (Anglophones) gather to the west and north.
Throughout the city, visitors find museums covering everything from history to modern art, grand experimental structures like the Biodome and the Olympic Stadium, and atempting variety of restaurants, bars, and cafés. Also scattered throughout Montreal are theaters, clubs, botanical gardens, historical sights, casinos, and parks. Add to that the soaring mountains of the Laurentians, which provide year-round outdoor fun, and you have a vacation spot that's great for everyone!
Ottawa
In 1857, Queen Victoria proclaimed Ottawa the capital of Canada because of its location between the two founding cultures of Canada. Today, Ottawa exhibits the influence of both French and English cultures, steeped in history and tradition. Visitors from around the world come to admire the ornate halls of the Parliament Buildings, the magnificent residence of the Governor General of Canada, and the world-class museums, galleries, and entertainment.
Once a lumber town, and then a government town, today it is a dynamic and prosperous community that still retains green open spaces in its urban parks and wide tracts of farmland, forests, spectacular parks, and hundreds of clean lakes, rivers, and streams surrounding the city. This land is protected for all time thanks to the law passed in the 1950s designating the "emerald necklace" to contain the city and curb urban sprawl. As a result, you can visit Ottawa for city delights from Broadway shows to fine museums, then jump right into a nature adventure without missing a beat!
Quebec City
"In 1608, while sailing up the St Lawrence, I discovered a place of exceptional beauty. There I founded the town of Québec. Gift of God, I will make thee worthy." So began French explorer Samuel de Champlain's European settlement on the banks of the grand river. Visitors have followed in droves ever since to enjoy this charming city that so clearly shows its European roots. Narrow winding streets, old stone homes and churches, ramparts and cannons, copper roofs, and Gallic architecture all bring to mind the Old World. Facing the river, the landmark Château Frontenac rises over Cap Diamant. Dufferin Terrace, built onto the flanks of the Cape, offers visitors a breathtaking view over the oldest commercial district in America, the Petit-Champlain.
A look to the east toward Île d'Orléans and the Beaupré Coast takes the imagination farther than the eye can see, to the river's end and the Atlantic Ocean. Not far from Battlefields Park, site of the territorial battle between French and English, the Citadel of Québec and city walls make up the largest fortifications still in use in North America. The only walled city in the Western Hemisphere north of Mexico, Vieux Québec is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the only urban center in North America to share this distinction with celebrated cities like Versailles, Rome, Quito, and Cairo. The Québecois are a warm and friendly people with a vitality to match their surroundings, proud of the language and culture that make them unique in North America. Across the US border and a world away, their historic city awaits your rediscovery!
St. John New Brunswick
Set along the coast of New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy, this oldest of Canada's cities has been welcoming people from Europe, England, and Ireland for centuries, each leaving their indelible imprint on Saint John's culture, architecture, and language. They are what make Saint John great, making you feel right at home with a jubilant love for their city! There are so many ways to enjoy this place that you just need to point yourself in any direction and go. Saint John is surrounded on three sides by beaches, and also has many lakes. Just about the whole year is festival season, so dust off your dancing shoes and tap your toes to the Acadian tunes that fill the air. With one hundred billion tons of seawater roaring in and out of the bay twice daily, you just know you're in for a seafood feast that's simply out of this world. Catch your own lobster, dig for clams for a clambake on the beach, and try some dulse, the world-famous purple seaweed dried to a crunchy snack!
If buildings could talk, Saint John's would fill volumes. Over 200 years old, the streets are steeped in the history of this Maritime town and the best way to get a sense of this past is to tour uptown on foot. Then, without even leaving the city, you can segue from architecture to nature by visiting Rockwood Park and enjoying the wildlife at Irving Nature Park by the sea. The views will have you snapping your camera every minute!
Vancouver
This is a "people place" best discovered by walking, biking, or riding a trolley through its diverse neighborhoods like Victorian Gastown, ex-hippie haunt Kitsilano, and the Chinatown marketplace. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, creating an exceptionally scenic walk along the banks of water that surround almost the whole of downtown. Snow-capped mountain peaks line the northern horizon, wide beaches border the Pacific bays, and inlets face lush green temperate rain forests. It's really no wonder that Vancouver is celebrated as one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world! In one day, you can exercise your outdoorsy nature by hiking, biking, sailing, golfing, and skiing. Then, change into your man- or woman-about-town clothes, have a meal fit for a king, and settle into a sophisticated evening of opera and art, or jump into an electrifying night of club dancing.
The Native American Salish tribes, the land's original settlers, held sacred this area where oceanic and atmospheric disturbances were attributed to epic battles between the Thunderbird and Killer Whale. The gods may have retreated, but the wonders haven't ceased!
St. John's Newfoundland
The classic harbor city of St. John's was settled in 1528, making it the oldest city in North America. Today, this historic treasure is the commercial and political capital of Newfoundland, and offers significant historical sites, narrow winding streets lined with colorful clapboard houses, and terrific shopping.
Surrounded by water on one side and lush greenery on the other, St. John's has something for everyone. The ocean side offers pebble beaches, icebergs floating past the harbor entrance, and humpback whales hunting for food along the coast. The woods are alive with moose, caribou, and partridges, and the meadows are loaded with delicious local berries.
Add to that the lively arts scene and the warm hospitality of the locals, and it's clear why St. John's is such a popular vacation destination.
