Sights in Canada
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Whistler Museum
The recently revamped Whistler Museum traces the area's dramatic development, with some colorful exhibits plus evocative photos of old skiing gear and the region's pre-resort days. There's also plenty of information on the 2010 Olympics if you missed it (as well as recollections of the previous Games bid).
reviewed
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B
Sailors’ Memorial Clock Tower
At the eastern edge of the historic port stands the striking white Tour de l’Horloge. This notable clock commemorates all of the sailors and shipmen who died in the world wars. Visitors can climb the 192 steps for a view over Old Montréal and the river.
reviewed
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C
Christ Church Cathedral
Montréal’s first Anglican bishop had this cathedral built (modeled on a Salisbury, England, church) and it was completed in 1859. The church was the talk of the town in the late 1980s when it allowed a shopping center, the Promenades de la Cathédrale, to be built underneath it. Spectacular photos show the house of worship resting on concrete stilts while construction went on underneath. The interior is sober apart from the pretty stained-glass windows made by William Morris’ studios in London. In the rear cloister garden stands a memorial statue to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved 100,000 Jews from the concentration camps in WWII.
reviewed
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Vancouver Biennale
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Heritage Vancouver
reviewed
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D
Victoria Bug Zoo
The most fun your wide-eyed kids will have in Victoria without even realizing it's educational, step inside the bright-painted main room for a cornucopia of show-and-tell insect encounters. The excellent guides handle and talk about critters like frog beetles, dragon-headed crickets and the disturbingly large three-horned scarab beetles, before releasing their audience (not the insects) into the gift shop.
reviewed
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E
Plug In Institute of Contemporary Arts
Contemporary art rules at this gallery with new quarters near WAG. Check for hours.
reviewed
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F
Nanaimo Museum
Just off the Commercial St main drag, this shiny new museum showcases the region's heritage, from First Nations to colonial, maritime, sporting and beyond. Highlights include a strong Coast Salish focus and a walk-through evocation of a coal mine that's popular with kids. Ask at the front desk about summertime pub and cemetery tours.
reviewed
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G
George C Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Across the South Arm of the Fraser River, this smashing 300-hectare sanctuary attracts feathered fowl and curious visitors in almost equal measure. Bald eagles, Siberian swans, peregrine falcons, blue herons and 264 other species choose to roost here and there are plenty of opportunities for viewing. Undoubtedly the most spectacular sight is when up to 80,000 snow geese drop by in the fall en route to Wrangel Island, off Siberia’s eastern coast. October is the best time to catch the early arrival of these birds, when they move around the area in huge, surging flocks of up to 20,000 in search of tasty marsh plants. In contrast, springtime brings millions of Western…
reviewed
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H
Tussaud's Wax Works
reviewed
Advertisement
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Ripley's Believe It or Not
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Guinness World of Records Museum
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Model Trains Museum & Model Ships Museum
Of the twin museums discreetly housed here under one roof, the train museum wins hands down. With one of the world’s largest toy locomotive collections – there are so many that only a lucky few get to rattle around the giant BC railway layout – it will be rare if you don’t spot a reminder or two from your childhood. There are no similarly exciting moving displays in the downstairs ship museum, but there are still some intriguing, highly detailed model freighters, frigates and submarines – check out that Nautilus. Expect to see several excited fathers trying unsuccessfully to interest their kids in schooner rigging and double-O gauges here.
reviewed
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L
Terrasse Dufferin
Outside the Château Frontenac, along the riverfront, this 425m-long promenade is a marvelous setting for a stroll, with dramatic views over the river from its cliff-top perch, 60m above the water. In the summer it’s peppered with street performers, and you can stop at a well-placed snack stand for ice cream or a cold drink. Just past the statue of Samuel de Champlain, you can see recent excavations of Champlain’s second fort that stood here from 1620 to 1635.
reviewed
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M
Stray-Cat Sanctuary
A bizarre, little-known quirk worth seeing is the Stray-Cat Sanctuary, with dollhouse-like shelters. It's on Parliament Hill between the West Block and Centre Block, toward the river. Some say, loftily, that it represents the Canadian ideal of welcoming and caring for the world's needy, but then again, maybe it's just nutty.
reviewed
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Black Nugget Museum
The Black Nugget Museum, a treasure-trove of memorabilia in the former Jones Hotel. Down the hill is Transfer Beach Park it attracts swimmers and picnickers and has summertime live music in its amphitheatre.
reviewed