Because of its size, Canada is difficult to explore during just one visit. However, 75 per cent of Canadians live in a relatively small section of the country within 160 km of the United States border. Bangkok is 11,798 km away from its closest Canadian city, Vancouver, the first stop for most of Canada's Asian visitors, and it takes just over 15 hours to reach it by air from Bangkok. Canada's biggest airport is situated in its largest city, centrally located Toronto.
Don’t MissMost tourists who come to Canada during its notoriously cold winter season stay at ski resorts like Whistler, Jasper, Lake Louise, or Banff. Winters are much milder in southwest British Columbia than the rest of Canada, but average winter temperatures still hover around the freezing point. During summer, Canada's biggest tourism season, temperatures can soar above 30°C in some parts of the country. Visitors to Canada in autumn can still enjoy discounted hotel rates, colourful leaves, and pleasantly cool weather.
Montréal, the planet's second biggest French speaking city, is located in the predominantly French-speaking province, Québec. Centrally located Ontario contains both Canada's most populous city, Toronto, as well as the national capital, Ottawa. The Rocky Mountains stand between Canada's three Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and British Columbia. Canada's four easternmost Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador) are famous for their beaches. Unspoiled wilderness dominates the landscape of Canada's sparsely populated Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.
Restaurants and BarsCanadian restaurants serve much of the same food as their United States counterparts, but some dishes are unique to certain parts of this vast country. Two famous French Canadian foods are tourtière meat pie and poutine, a concoction consisting of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Two more regional specialties are Atlantic Canadian fiddleheads and western Canadian perogies. Nanaimo bars, beaver tails, and butter tarts are some of Canada's most unusual desserts.
Montréal is Canada's unofficial nightlife capital. Rue St Denis caters mainly to locals, while Rue Crescent attracts more tourists. The Plateau is another Montréal party spot popular among university students. The appropriately named Clubland and Queen Street West are Toronto's two main nightclub districts. The pedestrian George Street in North America's easternmost city, St John's, boasts more places to drink per square foot than any other street on the continent.
ActivitiesOne of the world's longest road trips is the Trans-Canada Highway, which begins in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and ends 7,821 km later in Victoria, British Columbia. Rocky Mountains visitors can ski down these majestic mountains in winter or spend a day at one of Canada's best beaches like Vancouver Island's Long Beach in summer.
ShoppingThe West Edmonton Mall, housing over 800 shops and 110 restaurants, is situated in Alberta's provincial capital. An underground city connects more than a dozen Montréal shopping centres. Other major Canadian shopping centres include Vancouver's Pacific Centre and Toronto's Eaton Centre. Popular souvenirs include stuffed moose and beavers, maple sugar candies, and hockey jerseys.