Best Places to Visit in Canada: A Maple-Scented Tour of Politeness and Wilderness

The Best Places to Visit in Canada: From Moose to Mounties

Creating a definitive list of the best places to visit in Canada is like trying to choose a favorite child – if that child were 3,000 miles wide and spoke two official languages. Nevertheless, some destinations rise above, offering experiences so quintessentially Canadian that visitors risk returning home with a newfound addiction to poutine and an inexplicable urge to end sentences with “eh?”

Banff National Park: Where Mother Nature Shows Off

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park and nature’s equivalent of a supermodel – impossibly beautiful from every angle and well aware of it. The turquoise lakes reflect jagged mountain peaks with such clarity that your photos will look Photoshopped even without filters. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake feature water so blue it appears as if someone dumped industrial quantities of food coloring when nobody was looking.

Accommodation ranges from the historic Fairmont Banff Springs at around $550 per night (a castle disguised as a hotel) to the more wallet-friendly Tunnel Mountain Resort at approximately $180 per night. While Yellowstone might be America’s crown jewel, Banff offers superior infrastructure with fewer tourists blocking your perfect shot of an elk. The park covers 2,564 square miles, meaning there’s a stunning vista approximately every seven steps.

Insider tip: Visit Lake Louise before 8am to experience the surreal turquoise waters without the tour buses that arrive with clock-like precision at 8:30am. Those extra Z’s aren’t worth sacrificing the serenity of having one of North America’s most photographed locations nearly to yourself. In winter, the frozen lake transforms into a skating rink that makes your local ice arena look like a puddle.

Vancouver: Seattle’s Better-Dressed Canadian Cousin

Vancouver sits smugly between mountains and ocean, like Seattle but with better public transportation and 50% less rain-induced depression. Stanley Park, at 1,001 acres, makes Central Park look like a community garden, with a 5.5-mile seawall that offers views so spectacular people actually enjoy exercising there. The city’s precise layout and extensive bike lanes will make American urban planners weep with jealousy.

For food enthusiasts, Granville Island Public Market offers a sensory overload that rivals Pike Place Market but with 75% fewer flying fish. Accommodation options span from the boutique Opus Hotel in Yaletown at $320 per night to the charming, historic Sylvia Hotel at around $160 per night, where the ivy-covered exterior has more Instagram tags than most influencers.

Skip the tourist-heavy Gastown steam clock (it’s just a clock that occasionally makes noise, like an ancient smartphone) and instead take the rainbow-colored Aquabus to Granville Island. For $3.50 CAD one-way, you’ll get panoramic city views without the selfie-stick obstacle course at more popular lookouts.

Toronto: New York Without the Garbage Perfume

Toronto is essentially Canada’s New York, minus the summer garbage smell and with an added dose of multiculturalism so intense that 51% of residents were born outside Canada. The CN Tower dominates the skyline like an architectural exclamation point, offering the EdgeWalk for thrill-seekers willing to pay $195 to be tethered to Canada’s tallest structure while fighting vertigo at 1,168 feet above ground.

Kensington Market’s global food scene offers cuisines from six continents at prices 20-30% lower than comparable US city neighborhoods. For $20, you can eat your way around the world without ever needing your passport. The Toronto Islands, a quick $8.50 round-trip ferry ride away, provide an instant escape from urban intensity to beaches with skyline views so perfect they seem computer-generated.

Lodging runs the gamut from the luxury St. Regis at $450 per night to the hip, art-filled Drake Hotel at $220 per night. Insider tip: Purchase a CityPASS for $87 to save 38% on major attractions, including that tower that looks like a giant needle threading the sky. Visit between May and June to experience pleasant 65-75F temperatures before the humidity of July turns the city into a giant steam room.

Montreal: Europe Without the Jet Lag

Montreal delivers European ambiance without the transatlantic flight, saving Americans $800 and 7 hours of cramped seating next to a stranger who inevitably removes their shoes. The cobblestone streets of Old Montreal lead to the Gothic Revival Notre-Dame Basilica ($10 admission), where the interior is so ornate it makes Vegas casinos look like minimalist Scandinavian design.

The food scene deserves its own passport. Poutine, that heart-stopping combination of fries, cheese curds, and gravy, reaches its apotheosis at La Banquise, which offers 30+ varieties 24/7 because artery-clogging deliciousness knows no time constraints. Montreal bagels – smaller, sweeter, and wood-fired compared to their New York counterparts – create fierce loyalty among converts at St-Viateur and Fairmount bakeries.

Montreal’s Underground City (RÉSO) connects 20 miles of tunnels lined with shops, restaurants, and transportation, allowing residents to effectively hibernate during winter months when temperatures plummet to 5F. Accommodation options range from the historic Hotel Nelligan in Old Montreal at $280 per night to the sleek, modern Hotel Monville at $170 per night. Visit during one of the city’s 90+ annual festivals, particularly the Montreal Jazz Festival (late June/early July), when over 3,000 musicians perform across 20 stages and 500 concerts – two-thirds of which are free.

Quebec City: More French Than Parts of France

Quebec City’s 400-year-old walled section is so aggressively French that even Parisians might feel slightly intimidated. The iconic Château Frontenac isn’t just North America’s most photographed hotel; it’s a fairytale castle that charges real-world prices from $350 per night for the privilege of sleeping in a postcard. The historic ramparts stretching 2.8 miles offer views that colonial-era sentries enjoyed while watching for invading Americans (some habits die hard).

Winter Carnival (late January/early February) transforms the city into a snow-lover’s paradise with temperatures ranging from -5F to 23F. Activities include ice canoe races across the partially frozen St. Lawrence River, snow sculpture competitions, and consuming caribou – not the animal, but the traditional drink mixing whisky, vodka, brandy, and port that ensures you won’t feel the cold until spring.

Quebec City makes New Orleans’ French Quarter look like a hastily decorated movie set, with lower temperatures but higher French language percentages. Insider tip: Stay in Lower Town (Basse-Ville) for better hotel values averaging $150-200 per night and fewer tourists asking where they can find an English menu. The funicular connecting Upper and Lower Town costs $3.50 CAD and saves both your knees and your vacation mood.

The Maritimes: Where Time Slows and Tides Don’t

The Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) are where Canadians go when regular Canada gets too hectic. The Cabot Trail’s 185-mile scenic drive through Cape Breton features ocean vistas that make California’s Pacific Coast Highway look like a commuter route. Stop at the Skyline Trail for photographs that will make your social media followers suspect you’ve been professionally photoshopping your vacation shots.

The Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia boasts tides reaching 50 feet – the highest in the world – creating the rare opportunity to walk on the ocean floor at low tide and kayak 50 feet above the same spot hours later. Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province, punches above its weight thanks to Anne of Green Gables. Tours of sites related to the fictional redhead range from $40 to $75, proving that literary tourism can sustain an entire provincial economy.

Seafood in the Maritimes costs 15-25% less than in US coastal areas, with lobster so fresh it was probably trash-talking other crustaceans earlier that morning. Charming BandBs average $120-200 per night across all three provinces, often including homemade breakfasts featuring ingredients grown on premises. Visit in September for warm weather (65-72F), dramatically fewer tourists, and accommodation prices that won’t require a second mortgage.

Whistler: Where Winter Olympics Standards Become Your Playground

Whistler Blackcomb stands as North America’s largest ski resort, with 8,171 acres of terrain and over 200 trails that make your local ski hill look like a speed bump. The 2010 Winter Olympics venue maintains facilities to such high standards that even mediocre skiers find themselves accidentally performing better than they ever have before – the mountain equivalent of good lighting.

Summer transforms Whistler into an outdoor adventure park where the Peak 2 Peak Gondola ($70) delivers 360-degree mountain views during its 2.7-mile journey between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. While often compared to Aspen and Vail, Whistler offers a 15% discount on equivalent experiences, plus the exchange rate advantage that makes Americans feel like accidental financial geniuses.

Accommodation options range from the Four Seasons starting at $450 per night to the stylish-yet-reasonable Aava Whistler from $180 per night. Insider tip: Book during “edge of season” in early December or late April for 40% savings on both lodging and lift tickets. The snow conditions might be 10% less perfect, but your bank account will be 40% more robust, which mathematically works out in your favor.