Ottawa was a beautiful city. Lots of outdoor recreational opportunities around there. Scenic. Beautiful buildings.

Anonymous wrote:Victoria. Very British. Vary lovely. And to get there, take the St of Juan de Fula into the St George Strait—the most beautiful passage in the world. And I have seen them all!

*I meant very lovely; and to be clear the Strait of Juan de Fuca, if that were not obvo.

Victoria. Very British. Vary lovely. And to get there, take the St of Juan de Fula into the St George Strait—the most beautiful passage in the world. And I have seen them all!

Montreal! Mile End, Outremont, Le Plateau...just go and wander and eat! If you think Montreal is a just a typical boring business city, you haven't been to the right part of Montreal!

Quebec City. Old world european charm.

Anonymous wrote:Toronto reminds me a lot of Chicago, where I lived for 7 years, so I have a soft spot for it. Right by the water, very walkable, lots of great neighborhoods to explore and walk around. It’s not exotic and won’t feel unfamiliar to many Americans, probably.

We just returned from a long weekend in Toronto and I agree with the above. It is a big city, but it’s very easy to get around. We went to several fantastic, albeit “touristy” restaurants and enjoyed them fully. The only disappointing thing I found was the clothes shopping. We went to Eaton Centre and Yorkville but didn’t find anything new or unique. We really enjoyed walking around Yorkville though. I’d definitely go back to Toronto again.

Toronto reminds me a lot of Chicago, where I lived for 7 years, so I have a soft spot for it. Right by the water, very walkable, lots of great neighborhoods to explore and walk around. It’s not exotic and won’t feel unfamiliar to many Americans, probably.

I am Canadian so have been to most of these multiple times. Vancouver is ok but Victoria is much preferable.

Toronto is like any large city, cosmopolitan and food restaurants/shopping - but is really lacking personality.

Montreal and Quebec City have a distinct culture of their own, AMAZING food, and are distinctive.

Ottawa is where the rest of the country would move to if they had to move to Ontario and got a choice about where.

Most of the maritimes (Halifax, PEI, Peggy’s Cove, Dartmouth, etc.) are charming and culturally unique but also slow-paced and can be expensive for what you get.

Moose Jaw is a delightful stop for a few days on a road trip (done it multiple times) but I wouldn’t visit Canada just for it.

BC wine country is a destination I’m surprised I haven’t seen mentioned here. That is an easy place to spend a week, cam be worked into a road trip with spectacular scenery, and is absolutely worth coming to Canada for.

Banff is 90 minutes from me, so I’m extremely familiar-fire away with any questions

I live 90 minutes from Banff

Montreal

Anonymous wrote:Any Canadian recommendations not terribly far from Toronto? We have a road trip planned but I think Montreal is too far, so we were planning on Niagara plus Toronto but wondering if that will be a disappointing trip.

Get out of your car and wander around Toronto. It has lots of interesting neighborhoods and great food. Lots of movies are filmed there.

I've been to Windsor, Trenton, Montreal, Portage a la Prairie, Regina and Moose Jaw.

Montreal is great. Stayed near Parc Molson. Weather over Labor Day weekend was early fall and cooler than it was in DC. Food was great and so was the beer. Things are more expensive, even a crappy six pack of Molson Export is C$12.

Vancouver is beautiful!

Anonymous wrote:Any Canadian recommendations not terribly far from Toronto? We have a road trip planned but I think Montreal is too far, so we were planning on Niagara plus Toronto but wondering if that will be a disappointing trip.

Why don't you just go to Montreal? It's only another hour from DC vs Toronto

Bored with Montreal.

Anonymous wrote:I think Vancouver is pretty but dull. We were there a few years ago and there was no Uber or Lyft, just cabs that were slow to pick up and unreliable. Seemed like a better place to live than visit. Montreal on the other hand has a distinct vibe - can’t think of any other city that feels so North American and European at the same time. Love the Outremont and Le Plateau areas.

Agreed. Montreal has character, Vancouver is superficially attractive but bland. No surprise it’s the birthplace of LuluLemon.