◆ Country guide · North America

Top 10s across Canada

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The second largest country on Earth, with most of its people living within a couple of hours of the American border and almost everything else left to forest, tundra and water. Canada is a country you visit one region at a time.

Canada at a glance

Best months

Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep

Ideal length

10–14 days

Budget / day

C$140–300

Language

English and French

Getting around

Domestic flights & road trips

When to visit Canada

A short, busy summer, a long winter that is worth planning around, and two good shoulders.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best, long June days and empty September trails Peak, July and August, when the parks and the prices fill up Good, ski season in the mountains, quieter cities either side of summer Off, the April thaw and the grey weeks of November

Quick answer · where to go in Canada

Pick one region and do it properly. Banff and the Rockies out of Calgary is the scenery trip, Québec City and Montréal the one that feels furthest from home, and the Atlantic coast the one people come back raving about. Vancouver is the easiest first landing, with Victoria and the Okanagan within a day of it. Summer runs June to September, and the mountains have a second season on snow.

7 Canada city guides

Each guide ranks the things worth your time, with a map and a daily budget.

Kelowna

North America · 10 picks

St. John's

North America · 10 picks

Charlottetown

North America · 10 picks

Toronto

North America · 10 picks

Vancouver

North America · 10 picks

Montréal

North America · 10 picks

Whistler

North America · 10 picks

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

Canada has the longest coastline of any country, about 243,000 kilometres of it once the Arctic islands are counted, which is roughly a sixth of the world total.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to fit in.

"It is cold all year"

The realityToronto and Montréal run hot and humid in July, the Okanagan is desert country, and southern Ontario grows wine. The cold is real, seasonal and concentrated in the months most visitors skip.

"It is basically the United States with better manners"

The realityTwo official languages, a different founding story, publicly funded health care and a legal system that carries Indigenous title. Québec alone reads as a separate country to most first-time visitors.

"You can see it in two weeks"

The realityCanada is wider than the Atlantic is across. Two weeks buys one region done well. Vancouver to Halifax is a longer flight than London to New York.

"Everyone is unfailingly polite"

The realityCanadians are direct about queues, hockey and their own politics. The apology reflex is real, and it is often a way of getting past you, with no apology in it.

Apologising to furnitureEnding sentences with ehMaple syrup on everythingMoose in the roadHockey as the national religionMilk sold in bagsThe double-double at Tim Hortons

Cultural notes that actually help

A land acknowledgement opens many public events. It is a courtesy with a legal history behind it, not a formality to sit out.
Open in French in Québec, even badly. The switch to English usually comes from the other side, and it comes faster once you have tried.
Prices on shelves exclude sales tax and tips are expected on top, so the final number is always higher than the label.
Queue discipline is taken seriously, at the bus stop and at the bar alike.
Take your shoes off inside a house. In winter this is not politeness, it is drainage.
Do not treat Indigenous communities and their art as scenery. Ask before photographing people, and buy direct from the artists.

Famous Canadian faces

The names behind Canadian sport, screen, music, science, art and politics. Pick a field.

Wayne Gretzky

Hockey's all-time leading scorer, and still the record by a distance

Margaret Atwood

Novelist of The Handmaid's Tale and twice a Booker Prize winner

Leonard Cohen

Montréal poet and songwriter behind Hallelujah and Suzanne

Céline Dion

The best-selling French-language recording artist in history, from Charlemagne, Québec

Frederick Banting

Shared the 1923 Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin

Viola Desmond

Challenged cinema segregation in Nova Scotia in 1946, and now fronts the ten dollar note

Sidney Crosby

Captain, Stanley Cups, and the golden goal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Hayley Wickenheiser

The most decorated player in women's hockey, with four Olympic golds

Steve Nash

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, raised in Victoria

Maurice Richard

The Rocket, first to score 50 goals in 50 games for the Canadiens

Bianca Andreescu

First Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 2019 US Open

Denis Villeneuve

Québec director of Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Dune

James Cameron

Director of Titanic and Avatar, from Kapuskasing, Ontario

Sandra Oh

Actor of Killing Eve and Grey's Anatomy, from Nepean

Ryan Gosling

Actor and producer, out of London, Ontario

Mary Pickford

Silent film star from Toronto who co-founded United Artists

Xavier Dolan

Montréal writer-director who was making features before he was 21

Joni Mitchell

Songwriter of Blue, and one of the most covered writers alive

Neil Young

Songwriter and guitarist, from Toronto by way of Winnipeg

Oscar Peterson

Montréal jazz pianist, and one of the great technicians of the instrument

Shania Twain

Northern Ontario singer behind the best-selling country album by a woman

Drake

Toronto rapper who made his city's name a global shorthand

Charles Best

Co-discovered insulin with Banting, as a 22 year old student

Donna Strickland

Shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for chirped pulse amplification

John Polanyi

Shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for reaction dynamics

Ursula Franklin

Metallurgist and pacifist whose work on fallout helped end atmospheric nuclear testing

Emily Carr

Painter of the British Columbia forest and the coastal villages within it

Tom Thomson

Painter of Algonquin Park, and the reason the Group of Seven exists

Kenojuak Ashevak

Inuit graphic artist from Kinngait, and the country's best known printmaker

Bill Reid

Haida sculptor whose Spirit of Haida Gwaii sits in two national collections

Michael Ondaatje

Novelist of The English Patient, and a poet first

Lester B. Pearson

Won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for inventing modern peacekeeping, then led the country.

Pierre Trudeau

Prime minister who patriated the constitution and wrote the Charter into it

Nellie McClung

Suffragist of the Famous Five, who won women legal recognition as persons

Elijah Harper

Cree MLA whose single vote stopped the Meech Lake Accord in 1990

Normand Laprise

Montréal chef of Toqué!, and the case for Québec produce

Terry Fox

Ran the Marathon of Hope across Canada on one leg to fund cancer research

Chris Hadfield

Astronaut who commanded the International Space Station and sang from it

Donovan Bailey

Olympic 100m champion and world record holder in 1996

Glenn Gould

Pianist whose Goldberg Variations changed how Bach is played

Roberta Bondar

Neurologist and the first Canadian woman in space

Tommy Douglas

Saskatchewan premier who built the country's first public health insurance

Susur Lee

Toronto chef who put Chinese technique on fine dining menus here first

Vikram Vij

Vancouver chef whose kitchen changed how the country eats Indian food

Anita Stewart

Food writer who founded Food Day Canada and argued Canadian cuisine into existence

Must-try Canadian food

The classics first, then Québec, the coasts, the prairies and the sweets. Pick a category.

Montréal smoked meat

Brisket cured for days, steamed, piled on rye with mustard.

Bannock

Indigenous fry bread, eaten with everything from stew to jam.

Tourtière

Spiced meat pie from Québec, on the table every Christmas Eve.

Pouding chômeur

Depression-era cake baked under maple syrup until it makes its own sauce.

Cretons

Cold pork spread on toast, the breakfast Québec never explains to visitors.

Lobster roll

Atlantic lobster, minimal mayonnaise, a toasted bun and nothing clever.

Fish and brewis

Newfoundland salt cod and hard bread, with scrunchions on top.

Saskatoon berry pie

A prairie berry somewhere between blueberry and almond.

Flapper pie

Custard under meringue on a graham crust, the prairie diner classic.

Nanaimo bar

Three no-bake layers from Vancouver Island, and no oven involved.

BeaverTails

Fried dough stretched flat, eaten hot on the Rideau Canal in winter.

Poutine

Fries, cheese curds and gravy. The curds have to squeak.

Peameal bacon sandwich

Toronto's market breakfast: cornmeal-crusted loin on a soft bun.

Donair

Halifax's late-night export, spiced beef under a sweet garlic sauce.

Montréal bagel

Hand-rolled, honey-boiled, wood-fired, and thinner than the New York kind.

Soupe aux pois

Yellow split pea soup with salt pork, the Québec winter staple.

Tire d'érable

Hot maple syrup poured on snow and rolled onto a stick at the sugar shack.

Malpeque oysters

Prince Edward Island's cold-water oyster, briny and worth eating at the source.

Digby scallops

Sweet and thick from the Bay of Fundy, seared hard and left alone.

Arctic char

Northern fish between salmon and trout, best cooked simply.

Spot prawns

British Columbia's short spring season, and the coast plans around it.

Alberta beef

Grain-finished and cut thick. The province built its reputation on it.

Perogies with kielbasa

Prairie Ukrainian cooking, onions and sour cream compulsory.

Bison

Leaner than beef and back on menus across the plains.

Butter tart

Pastry, butter, sugar, egg. The runny-versus-firm argument is national.

Maple syrup

Québec makes most of the world's supply. Grade it by colour, not by price.

Tarte au sucre

Québec sugar pie, cream and brown sugar, served in small slices for a reason.

Persian

A Thunder Bay cinnamon roll under pink berry icing, sold nowhere else.

Caesar

Vodka, clamato, hot sauce and a celery salt rim. Invented in Calgary.

Icewine

Grapes pressed frozen on the vine in Niagara and the Okanagan.

Canadian rye whisky

Lighter and grain-forward, and the base of most bars here.

Double-double

Coffee, two creams, two sugars. The national order, ordered by name.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning a Canadian trip.

Language

English and French

Both are official federally. English carries most of the country, French carries Québec, and New Brunswick is bilingual. Dozens of Indigenous languages survive, and the country's name comes from one.

Visa

eTA for visa-exempt fliers

Visa-exempt travellers flying in need an Electronic Travel Authorization, linked to the passport and valid up to five years. US citizens and arrivals by land or sea are exempt. Confirm with IRCC.

Getting around

Domestic flights & road trips

Distance is the constraint. Toronto to Vancouver is over four hours in the air and four days on the train, so pick one region and drive it. VIA Rail is a journey in itself and saves no time.

Driving

On the right

Right-hand traffic and long empty stretches. Québec requires winter tyres on its registered vehicles, rentals included, from 1 December to 15 March. BC and Alberta mountain roads set their own rules.

National parks

Discovery Pass

Parks Canada charges admission at most of its parks and historic sites. The annual Discovery Pass covers more than 80 of them for a calendar year, which pays for itself quickly on a Rockies trip.

Time zones

Six

Newfoundland, Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific. Newfoundland runs half an hour off the rest, which catches out anyone booking a connection through St. John's.

Tipping

15–20% expected

Table service, bars and taxis all expect a tip, and card terminals will suggest one. Sales tax is added at the till and missing from the shelf price, so the tag is not what you pay.

Canada travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Canada?+

Plan 10 to 14 days and spend them in one region. That is enough for Vancouver and the Rockies, or Montréal, Québec City and the Atlantic coast, without living in airports. Crossing the country properly takes a month.

When is the best time to visit Canada?+

June to September for almost everything: long days, open roads and every park and coastal town running. September is the sweet spot, with fall colour in the east and the summer crowds gone. December to March is a separate trip built around snow.

Do you need a visa for Canada?+

Visa-exempt travellers flying in need an Electronic Travel Authorization, applied for online and linked to the passport they travel on. It lasts up to five years or until that passport expires. United States citizens do not need one, and neither does anyone arriving by land or sea. Check your own nationality with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Is Canada expensive to visit?+

It sits in the middle. Our Canadian city guides work out around C$140 to C$300 per person per day mid-range, with domestic flights and national park fees the line items people forget. Sales tax is added at the till and tips run 15 to 20 percent, so budget above the menu price.

Do you need to speak French in Canada?+

No, but it helps in Québec. Montréal works in English without friction, Québec City is more French in daily life, and rural Québec and northern New Brunswick are French first. Opening in French and switching is the courtesy that changes the reception.

Canada by theme

Themed Top 10s across the country.

All themes →

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Canada on Wimup Videos

City vlogs to watch before you book.

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