Sights in Canada
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CN Tower
Though it's been around for more than 30 years, the funky CN Tower still warrants 'icon' status. Its primary function is as a radio and TV communications tower, but relieving tourists of as much cash as possible seems to be the second order of business. It's expensive, but riding the great glass elevators up the highest freestanding structure in the world (553m) is one of those things in life you just have to do. On a clear day, the views from the Observation Deck are astounding; if it's hazy, you won't be able to see a thing. Beware: two million visitors every year means summer queues for the elevator can be up to two hours long – going up and coming back down. For…
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Art Gallery of Ontario
The AGO houses art collections both excellent and extensive (bring your stamina). Renovations, designed by Frank Gehry, were completed in 2008, and include a new entrance and a massive glass and wood facade. Other highlights include rare Québecois religious statuary, First Nations and Inuit carvings, major Canadian works by the Group of Seven, the Henry Moore sculpture pavilion, and a restored Georgian house, The Grange. There's a surcharge for special exhibits.
While you're in the 'hood, note that TIFF Cinematheque screens movies at the AGO's Jackman Hall.
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Jardin Botanique
Montréal’s Jardin Botanique is the third-largest in the world, after London’s Kew Gardens and Berlin’s Botanischer Garten. Since its 1931 opening, the 75-hectare garden has grown to include tens of thousands of species in 30 thematic gardens, and its wealth of flowering plants is carefully managed to bloom in stages. The rose beds in particular are a sight in summer. Climate-controlled greenhouses house cacti, banana trees and 700 species of orchid. Bird-watchers should bring their binoculars. A popular draw is the landscaped Japanese Garden with traditional pavilions, tearoom and art gallery; the bonsai ‘forest’ is the largest outside Asia. The twinning of…
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Banff Gondola
In summer or winter you can summit a peak near Banff thanks to the Banff Gondola, whose four-person enclosed cars glide you up to the top of Sulphur Mountain in less than 10 minutes. Named for the thermal springs that emanate from its base, this peak is a perfect viewing point and a tick-box Banff attraction. There are a couple of restaurants on top plus an extended hike on boardwalks to Sanson Peak, an old weather station. Some people hike all the way up on a zigzagging 5.6km trail. You can travel back down on the gondola for half price and recover in the hot springs.
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St Lawrence Market & Hall
Old York's sensational market has been a neighborhood meeting place for over two centuries. The restored, high-trussed 1845 South Market building houses more than 50 specialty food stalls: cheese vendors, fishmongers, butchers, bakers and pasta makers with lots of action and yelling of prices in silly voices. Inside the old council chambers upstairs, the St Lawrence Market Gallery (admission free; 10am-4pm Wed-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun) is now the city's exhibition hall, with rotating displays of paintings, photographs, documents and historical relics. Hordes of school kids laugh it up, perhaps not as enthralled as you might be. On the opposite side of Front St, the…
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Biodôme
At this captivating, kid-friendly exhibit you can amble through a rainforest, the Arctic Circle, rolling woodlands or along the raw Atlantic oceanfront – all without ever leaving the building. Be sure to dress in layers for the temperature swings. The four ecosystems house many thousands of animal and plant species; follow the self-guided circuit and you will see everything. Penguins frolic in the pools a few feet away from groups of goggle-eyed children; the tropical chamber is a cross-section of Amazonia with mischievous little monkeys teasing alligators in the murky waters below. The Gulf of St Lawrence has an underwater observatory where you can watch cod feeding…
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Artillery Park
The French chose this location for their army barracks because of its strategic view of the plateau west of the city and the St Charles River, both of which could feed enemy soldiers into Québec City. English soldiers moved in after the British conquest of New France. The English soldiers left in 1871 and it was changed into an ammunition factory for the Canadian army. The factory operated until 1964 and thousands of Canadians worked there during the World Wars. Now you can visit the Officers’ Quarters and the Dauphine Redoubt where guides greet you in character (ie the garrison’s cook) and give you the scoop on life in the barracks. There’s also a huge model of Québec…
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Capilano Suspension Bridge
As you walk gingerly out onto one of the world's longest (140m) and highest (70m) suspension bridges, swaying gently over the roiling waters of tree-lined Capilano Canyon, remember that the thick steel cables you are gripping are safely embedded in huge concrete blocks on either side. That should steady your feet – unless there are teenagers stamping across to scare the oldsters. It's the region's most popular attraction – hence the summertime crowds and relentless tour buses. The grounds here include rainforest walks, totem poles and a network of smaller bridges strung between the trees, called Treetops Adventure. Drop by the souvenir shop, one of BC's biggest, for…
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Vancouver Aquarium
Stanley Park's biggest draw, the aquarium is home to 9000 water-loving critters – including sharks, wolf eels, beluga whales and a somewhat shy octopus. There's also a small, walk-through rainforest area of birds, turtles and a statue-still sloth. Check out the mesmerizing iridescent jellyfish tanks and the portly sea otter who eats the way everyone should: lying on its back using its chest as a plate (trust us: it's not as easy as it looks). Check the schedule for feeding times and consider booking an Animal Encounter tour (from $24), where you'll learn how to be a trainer. The attraction's newest draw is its 4-D Experience: a 3-D movie theater with added wind, mist and…
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BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum
Located inside BC Place Stadium, the small but perfectly formed Sports Hall of Fame showcases top BC athletes, both amateur and professional, with special galleries devoted to each decade in sports. There’s a wealth of medals, trophies and sporting memorabilia on display (judging by the size of their shirts, hockey players were much smaller in the old days) and there are tons of hands-on activities to tire the kids out. Check out the stirring exhibits on Terry Fox and his ‘Marathon of Hope’ run across Canada, plus Rick Hanson and his ‘Man-in-Motion’ worldwide wheelchair journey.
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Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Part of this fun waterfront museum was a chandlery, where all the gear needed to outfit a vessel was sold. You can smell the charred ropes, cured to protect them from saltwater. There's a wildly popular display on the Titanic and another on the Halifax Explosion. The 3-D film about the Titanic costs $5. Outside at the dock you can explore the CSS Acadia, a retired hydrographic vessel from England.
The last WWII corvette HMCS Sackville is docked nearby and staffed by the Canadian Navy.
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Butchart Gardens
With all the rugged natural beauty in British Columbia, it’s a bit ironic that one of the province’s top tourism draws is the 20 hectares of elaborate manicured foliage at Butchart Gardens, 21km north of Victoria in Brentwood Bay. With its year-round kaleidoscope of colors, the grounds are divided into separate garden areas – the tranquil Japanese Garden is a favorite. Summer can be crowded but the Saturday-night fireworks display (July and August) makes it all worthwhile.
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St George's Round Church
St George's Round Church , built in 1800 according to the design specifications of the Duke of Kent, included separate seating areas for naval and civilian congregants. A rare circular Palladian church with a main rotunda 18m in diameter, it was damaged by fire in 1994. Tours are by arrangement. Tours of the 1756 Little Dutch Church, the second-oldest building in Halifax, can also be arranged through St George's.
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Royal BC Museum
At the province's best museum, start at the 2nd-floor natural-history showcase fronted by a beady-eyed woolly mammoth and lined with realistic dioramas – the forest of elk and grizzlies peeking from behind trees is highly evocative. Then peruse the First Peoples exhibit and its deep exploration of indigenous culture, including a fascinating mask gallery (look for the ferret-faced white man). The best area, though, is the walk-through recreated street that reanimates the early colonial city, complete with a chatty Chinatown, highly detailed stores and a little movie house showing Charlie Chaplin films. The museum also has an IMAX theatre.
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Knaut-Rhuland House
Knaut-Rhuland House is considered the finest example of Georgian architecture in the province. This 1793 house has costumed guides who point out its features.
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Oratoire St-Joseph
The gigantic oratory honors St Joseph, Canada’s patron saint. The largest shrine ever built in honor of Jesus’ father, this Renaissance-style building was completed in 1960 and commands fine views of the northern slope of Mont-Royal. The oratory dome is visible from anywhere in this part of town. The oratory is also a tribute to the work of Brother André, the determined monk who first built a little chapel here in 1904. André was said to have healing powers and as word spread, a larger shrine was needed so the church began gathering funds to build one. Rows of discarded crutches and walking sticks in a votive chapel testify to this belief and the shrine is warmed by…
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Morgan Arboretum
This arboretum holds the country’s largest grouping of native trees: fragrant junipers, cedars and yews but also exotic species like ginkgo, cork and yellowwood. There’s a wonderful trail map and the area is perfect for a long hike in the woods, strolling through magnolia blossoms or having a family picnic. Spring and fall offer the best colors. The grounds of the arboretum serve as an educational facility for McGill’s MacDonald agricultural school. There are several species of wildlife and reptile, and it’s also a stop for 170 species of wintering or migratory birds, making it a thrill for bird-watchers. In winter, this is a beautiful location for cross-country skiing.…
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Parc des Rapides
This space on the St Lawrence is the spot to view the Lachine Rapids (and the jet boats that ride them). The park attracts hikers, anglers and cyclists who pedal the riverside trail, and it’s a renowned bird sanctuary –located on a small peninsula, with what’s said to be Québec’s largest heron colony. The 30-hectare sanctuary is an important site for migratory birds, with some 225 species passing through each year. Some information displays relate the history of the rapids and of the old hydroelectric plant on the grounds. You can rent kayaks and sign up for classes where you’ll learn to surf or kayak the Lachine Rapids – scaredy-cats need not apply. Kayak…
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University of British Columbia
The giant University of British Columbia is more than just your average college campus. Its 402-hectare grounds are part of an area called the University Endowment Lands and are set amid rugged forest. Three of the city’s most treasured and wild beaches – Locarno, Spanish Banks and Wreck – are located around this area. The tranquil Nitobe Memorial Garden and sweeping UBC Botanical Garden flourish nearby. And one of the world’s foremost First Nations museums nestles along the clifftop: the Museum of Anthropology, with its amazing indigenous artifacts and wealth of totem poles. There’s also a modern art gallery and a brand new natural history museum. As if that wasn’t…
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BC Place Stadium
Site of the 2010 Winter Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, the city's main sports arena was having its dodgy old Teflon roof replaced with a new retractable lid during research for this book, at a cost of around $500 million. On completion (scheduled for summer 2011), it will be the home of both the BC Lions Canadian Football League team and the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team. Also used for major rock shows, the stadium was expected to resume its popular behind-the-scenes tours once its shiny new hat is in place. Also keep your eyes peeled for the re-opening of the BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. Closed during the refurb, it's a family-friendly celebration of the…
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Museum of Anthropology
Recently renovated and expanded, Vancouver's best museum houses northwest coast aboriginal artifacts, including Haida houses and totem poles, plus non–First Nations exhibits like European ceramics and Cantonese opera costumes. The free guided tours are highly recommended, as is the excellent artsy gift shop. Give yourself a couple of hours at this museum.
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Centre Canadien d’Architecture
A must for architecture fans, this center is equal parts museum and research institute. The building incorporates the Shaughnessy House, a 19th-century grey limestone treasure. Highlights in this section include the conservatory and an ornate sitting room with intricate woodwork and a massive stone fireplace. There’s also a busy, well-stocked bookstore. The exhibition galleries focus on remarkable architectural works of both local and international scope, with a particular focus on urban design. The CCA’s sculpture garden is located on a grassy lot overlooking south Montréal, but separated from the main grounds by busy Blvd René-Lévesque.
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York Sunbury Historical Museum
Housed in the 19th-century officers' quarters on the west side of Officers' Sq, this museum's collection preserves the city's past. Displays feature military pieces used by local regiments and by British and German armies from the Boer War and both world wars, furniture from a Loyalist sitting room and a Victorian bedroom, and aboriginal and Acadian artifacts. Don't miss the Coleman Frog, a 42lb creature of Fredericton legend. Real or plaster? Decide for yourself.
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Musée d’Art Contemporain
This showcase of modern Canadian and international art has eight galleries divided between past greats (since 1939) and exciting current developments. A weighty collection of 6000 permanent works includes Québec legends Jean-Paul Riopelle, Paul-Émile Borduas and Geneviève Cadieux, but also temporary exhibitions of the latest trends in current art from Canadian and international artists. Forms range from traditional to new media, from painting, sculpture and prints to installation art, photography and video. The sculpture garden is also worth a look. The pleasant restaurant upstairs has a great dining terrace.
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Casa Loma
The mock medieval Casa Loma lords over The Annex on a cliff that was once the shoreline of the glacial Lake Iroquois, from which Lake Ontario derived. Climb the 27m Baldwin Steps up the slope from Spadina Ave, north of Davenport Rd.
The 98-room mansion – a crass architectural orgasm of castellations, chimneys, flagpoles, turrets and Rapunzel balconies – was built between 1911 and 1914 for Sir Henry Pellat, a wealthy financier who made bags of cash from his contract to provide Toronto with electricity. He later lost everything in land speculation, the resultant foreclosure forcing Hank and his wife to move out. Parking costs $3/9 per hour/day.
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