Complete Canada Travel Guide | Canada Tourism | Trip to Canada
Filed under North America
Canada covers the northern half of the North America continent. Ten percent of the region is covered by bodies of water. The region borders three oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The vast majority of Canada’s population lies within 300 kilometers of the American – Canadian border. The Hudson Bay plain is the lowest region of Canada. To the east of the Canadian Shield lie the mountainous regions of Labrador and Baffin Island. Between the Canadian Shield and the mountainous regions of eastern Canada lies the narrow valley of the St Lawrence. Halifax is a small waterfront city on Canada’s east coast. The train Rocky Mountaineer can transport you between Canada’s east and west coasts, but this vast and varied country is worth a more in-depth experience – whether its exploring the arts of Toronto, the dramatic rocky mountains, or the wave-washed shores of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Just off the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland is known as the crossroads of the world to its inhabitants – and it lives up to its nickname. As the island is closer to Europe than any other part of the American continent it was – and is strategically important for travel, navigation and communications. Today if you are flying between Europe and North America the chances are that the striking scenery you see out of the plane window when you are close to Canada is Newfoundland.
OTTAWA
It may have been years since you trapped on a pair of ice skates, but the rhythm comes back to you – its easy as falling off a log; and fall you will. After brushing your dignity a few times, you are soon sliding and gliding along the glassy ice surface of Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, past elegant embassies and under arched bridges. Ottawa is blessed with some of the coldest winters of any national capital. In a city where the snow often starts to fall in November and hangs around until March, people have two choices; huddle indoors or make the best of it. Sculptors create beautiful gleaming fancies from ice, and kids shriek on dogsled rides turning the whole city into a winter playground. You can start the journey by visiting the National Gallery of Canada. Don’t miss out the wilderness paintings at the gallery. Kids love the Jacques Cartier Park, where they can career down snow slides and check out the snow sculpture competition
MONTREAL
Montreal lies by the St Lawrence River in the province of Quebec eastern Canada, which lies north of New York City. Montreal is a hotbed of fun in summer and the international Jazz Festival is its shining star. Montreal’s soaring basilica was designed with anything but modesty in mind. Montreal tries to be most things to most people – and with Gallic flair, it usually succeeds. While the city bills itself as a religious centre, it is also one of the world’s great pleasure capitals. The nightlife is so amazing, in fact, that New Englanders come up on weekends to party. The Canadian summer is sweet and desperately short, but Montrealers are experts at making the most of it. When the snow melts, the city erupts into a seamless riot of festivals, street parties and celebrations.
The mother of all shindigs is the Festival International de Jazz, held from late June to early July. From the outset it was conceived as a festival for the people, an 11 day extravaganza of 350 concerts held at open-air venues, music halls and jazz clubs. It’s accessible to anyone and just about everyone comes, with crowds of around two million people gathering together to enjoy the music. Legendary jazz players from all over the world queue up to join in and share a stage with the local talent, making the festival one of the best parties on the planet. Montreal also prides itself on its cultural exhibits. Visit the Pointe a Calliere archeology museum for an intriguing history brought to life.
CALGARY is in Alberta, Canada. Prepare yourself to take sometime to explore the rest of this interesting city – its historic and elegant sandstone buildings, pioneering western heritage, thriving arts scene and Olympic legacy. Calgary is also a gateway to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
WHISTLER has one of the longest snow seasons in North America. Because of the excellent conditions, rooms sell out quickly, so book ahead. It’s all about the great outdoors – winter in Whistler. If you can’t climb up it, race down it, stride through it or suspend yourself from it, most visitors are not interested. Everyone, from toddlers to Octogenarians, is clad head-to-toe in bright gore-Tex and carries ski poles or snowshoes. When you have been the first to ski an almost vertical slope of feet-thick unpacked powder then you know you have really skied the mountain. Whistler is a surprisingly cosmopolitan place, with a lot to offer even those with no interest in hurtling headfirst down mountains.
CABOT TRAIL This route follows cape Breton’s northern shore before climbing to a high plateau where you can find fish eagles, moose and pods of whales.
Banff National park
Melting snows bring the animals out into the open. Banff’s combination of lakes, mountains and forests makes it an animal haven.
Vancouver Island
May is a good time for spotting migrating grey whales with their young – also killer and minke whales – off the coast. You would get to watch whales galore in the Pacific Rim National Park.
South Nahanni
Seaplanes take visitors to the lakes to begin an awesome river trip through giant canyons, rapids and forests
Bay of Fundy
The world’s highest tides come and go in this huge bay, creating whirlpools and bizarre rocks, and attracting a great range of wildlife.
Every winter in the far northern reaches of Manitoba, at Churchill on the shores of Hudson Bay, polar bears gather to wait for the water to freeze over so that they can hunt seals. Exploring their kingdom aboard an oversized buggy is a remarkable journey into the wild and beautiful tundra at the edge of the arctic.
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