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Small, liberal countries admire canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare grandness So much land! A G8 member! Large, conservative countries admire its tolerance Gay marriage! Open immigration! Canada is impossible to dislike, but go ahead and give it a shot. Motor to a wee Atlantic fishing village, accessible only by boat. Try a slow ride through the wheat-waving prairies. You want a nosh lighter than Alberta beef or Arctic whale blubber?
Of course, the country has a few issues. The most pressing ones are shaping up to be immigration, provincial squabbling, and striking a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment. The only shared sentiment seems to be that the federal government is insensitive to their particular needs.
But the grumbling is now getting loudest from the western provinces and territories, which desire more control over their crazy-huge amounts of natural resources. Even the mild-mannered Atlantic provinces are bickering about federal claims to fishing and mineral rights off their продолжить. Could these provinces be next to mount secession movements? And the Clarity Act actually makes it possible. Natural resources are also at the crux of our third issue.
And oil and natural gas are driving the bus. But an economy reliant on natural resources is tricky, because the resources are bound to run out memo to Canada: see past history of fur and codfish industries. And then what? After 12 years of center-left Liberals running the show, the Conservatives won the majority in the elections.
To be sure, the quality of care is high and getting treatment for minor ailments is easy. But try seeing a specialist or getting a hip replacement and you could be on a waiting list for months. So are progressive views on same-sex marriage and marijuana use.
The former is entirely legal; the latter is legal only for medicinal use, though broader decriminalization bills flutter through Ottawa from time to time. Issues they cast a critical eye toward include gun control most prefer restrictionschild care issues increased funding is appreciated and taxes too high. Harper and his posse may not be the number-one fans of pot-smoking gays who want to get married, but heck, why canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare changing now?
Canada likes to think of itself as peaceable, and it keeps its military involvement fairly low-key. As of August70 soldiers had died in the operation. When it comes to actual peacekeeping for the United Nations, the country contributes military personnel to UN missions, ranking it 55th out of troop-contributing countries.
Take a pull on your beer, dip into the poutine, draw your fleece up tighter and feel the warmth surround you. Backpackers, jet-setters and those in between will all find their needs and expectations met. In the northern regions, however, summer starts as late as mid-June and ends, often abruptly, with the first snowfall in early to mid-September. In most areas, March to May and September to October bring fewer tourists and often surprisingly pleasant weather.
Fall, which finds forests cloaked in a spectacular mantle of color, is a great time to visit. По этому сообщению winters are long, cold and dark. With most outlying attractions closed, your explorations are pretty much limited to the ссылка на продолжение resorts and cities. Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are more costly than other provinces, but not as bad as the three northern territories Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
The total cost is only a little bit more for a couple traveling together. For those on a tight budget, costs can be brought down by staying canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare hostels or camping, self-catering from local markets, taking public transportation when available and limiting entertainment options. Canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare spray Click here to prevent mosquitoes and blackflies from feasting on your flesh; especially useful in northern and woodsy regions.
Transportation and sleeping reservations, especially in July and August. With a little research, you can certainly travel the country in a responsible way. Amtrak www. Greyhound www. Flights from other countries are rather unavoidable. Though not a solution to the problem, you can offset your carbon emissions with Vancouver-based Offsetters Carbon Neutral Society www.
Slow Travel Try skipping the cross-Canada plane journey in favor of traveling slowly. VIA Rail www. Greyhound Canada www. Or focus your trip on a small region of Canada instead of dashing from one coast to the other. See www. Camp Green Canada www. In Vancouver, such fare is marked with an Ocean Wise www. Responsible Travel Organizations Provincial groups that do a great canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare of promoting sustainable travel include: Green Tourism Association www.
Saskatchewan Nature and Ecotourism Association www. Many attractions also offer a family admission price, which can save dough for two adults and their brood. Somehow, she makes the bruising business of mushing sound attractive in Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman, filling her pages with mischievous huskies, glistening hoar frost and northern lights that weave red and green across the sky.
Victoria Jason is another plucky female with a chilly Far North tale. Walter Stewart first zipped across the Trans-Canada Hwy in Thirty-five years later he did it again, and this time he wrote a book about what he saw.
Environment Canada www. Snowing in Whistler? Foggy in Halifax? Check here по этому адресу the forecast. Government of Canada www. Lonely Planet www. Podcast Alley www. Sierra Club of Canada www. For a list of more events, Click here. For food fests, Click here. More scenic drives are highlighted throughout the regional chapters. For more on local music, Click here. Day-trip to pounding Niagara Falls, then begin your eastward haul. From there, the misty, mansion-covered Thousand Islands dot the St Lawrence River; Gananoque makes a good break in their midst.
Had your fill? Swing over to the Laurentians to hike, cycle or ski yourself back into shape. The charismatic old town, walled and dramatically poised on a bluff, will leave an impression long after you return home. Allow at least three weeks for the route, which circles around via boat, car and train. Hop on a ferry to Victoria, fill up with tea and crumpets, then rent a car and head up-island.
Northern Vancouver Island delivers raw, Вас usa map test online удалил BC in all its glory. The national parks of Jasper and Banff form the dramatic core of the Canadian Rockies. Finally, work your way back to Vancouver via the lake-studded Okanagan Valley, famous for its fruit orchards and wineries.
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Malaspina Coach Lines ; ; www. The first Europeans on the scene were 17th-century French перейти на источник traders, who established basic forts to facilitate trade links hwalthcare the Mississippi Vancouber. Then again, I know never to expect the expected when reading Caitlin. Money American Express; www. What makes it fun to me is that all of the research in this book has been genuinely carried out, and some of it is surprisingly sensible when you learn about the rationale behind it. Reservations not required.
Canada day vancouver island’s business community healthcare
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I tend to hold a grudge against YA books, because of the kind of YA that glorifies introverts The fault in our stars Before Black Jack showed up their only tactic was to attack and attack more after tha. The book is in desperate need of a definition to word index, otherwise the practical use of these bon mots is limited.
With an abusive family, her best friend in a toxic relationship, and more problems arising every day, Mona knows her future is unsure. Mona must decide to keep her relationship with Isaac and risk losing her friendship with Karalina forever, or come clean and possibly lose them both.
But, honestly, sometimes I’m guilty of forgetting the the characters in YA books are actually Her major strain of work is science fiction with the technology in the background and an emphasis on social and personal relationships, a deep concern for people combined with a sharply satirical social analysi. Her character Theodosia Browning, left a lucrative marketing job to open and run a tea shop in the historic district in Charleston South Carolina, her books are all quick reads and she always has good endings-I just hate it when you know who done it way before the end of the boo.
As the real relationships and identities of the characters are revealed over the course of the story, Dickens delves into themes of love, loyalty, honesty and reveng.
I fly a bit and thought this book sounded interesting to give me the behind-the-scenes scoop on what it’s like to be a flight attendant. Is it as glamourous as it seems to be? There is still so much to be told in this story, which I think is a perfect place for the reader to be at the end of the first book in a serie. For those too young to remember, Niven and Pournelle both accomplished hard-science-fiction writers themselves teamed up throughout the s and ’80s to produce a series of novels that crossed over into mainstream Michael-Crichton-style succes.
It is at this time that she really starts to discover just who she is and takes a hard look at her pas. It-s a hobby that is highly addictive yet highly rewarding, though it may take a little bit more than a rainy afternoon and a ball of yarn to get started. Whether you-re a first-time crocheter or looking to expand your skills, Crocheting For Dummies shows you how to choose the right tools, create basic stitches, and finish off your wor. The poems all flow beautifully, but you really have to read carefully and think hard to determine the meaning of some of the.
I have loved Llywelyn’s novels in the past and was very disappointed with this on. He discovers along the way that prayers that are answered cause more pain than those that remain ignored. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would!!!!! So lucky to have gotten this ARC! The Smart One is an introspective look at the lives of all the female Coffey family member.
A lot of what Candace talked about in her book, I at first was expecting more on weight loss, exercising, that kind of thing, but it was based more on a spiritual, biblical level, and the more I thought about it, it made sens. This one didn’t provide the excitement and angst I was expecting to find with this non PC her.
There is no saying more real than that. And Rosie! I hated, really hated, the way she let her husband convince her into something she was not at all comfortable wit.
In Red Handed, Phoenix is a recovering drug adult trying to redeem herself in her mother’s eye. The issues in the collection first appeared in , and These include frequent Harbour Air Seaplanes , ; www. Boat BC Ferries , ; www. Services also arrive here from the Southern Gulf Islands. Greyhound Canada ; www. Perimeter Tours , ; www. Quick Coach Lines , ; www. If you want to go downtown, turn left onto Hastings and follow it into the city center, or continue on along the North Shore toward Whistler.
All the recognized car rental chains Click here have Vancouver branches. VIA Rail ; www. Amtrak ; www. Note that only the first service of the day from Seattle is by train, with buses used for the remaining four services. Alternatively, the Vancouver Airporter , ; www. Bicycle With routes running across town, Vancouver is a relatively good cycling city. Cyclists can take their bikes for free on SkyTrains, SeaBuses and rack-fitted transit buses.
Bike rentals: Reckless Bike Stores Map; ; www. Spokes Bicycle Rental Map; ; www. Its cutthroat rival is False Creek Ferries Map; ; www. Try the alternative Second Narrows Bridge. Parking is at a premium downtown: there are few free spots available on residential side streets and traffic wardens are predictably predatory.
Underground parking at either Pacific Centre shopping mall or the Central Library will have you in the heart of the city. Public Transportation The website for TransLink ; www. A ticket bought on any of the three services is valid for 90 minutes of travel on the entire network, depending on the zone you intend to travel in.
The three zones become progressively more expensive the further you journey. Many buses have bike racks and are wheelchair accessible. Exact change or more is required since all buses use fare machines and change is not given.
These buses have their own limited arrival and departure points and do not use regular bus stops. There is also a route night bus system that runs every 30 minutes between am and 4am across the Lower Mainland. The last bus leaves downtown Vancouver at am. Look for the night-bus signs at designated stops. The original minute Expo Line takes passengers to and from downtown Vancouver and Surrey, via stops throughout Burnaby and New Westminster. The newer Millennium Line alights near shopping malls and suburban residential districts in Coquitlam and Burnaby.
Trains depart every two to eight minutes between 5am and am Monday to Friday 6am to am Saturday, 7am to pm Sun. All SkyTrain services are wheelchair accessible. Services depart from Waterfront Station between am and am Monday to Saturday am to pm Sunday. Vessels are wheelchair accessible and bike-friendly. For green travelers, Yellow Cab has a large fleet of low-emission vehicles. A drive or transit trek over the soaring Lions Gate Bridge will deliver you to the forest-fringed doorstep of North Vancouver and West Vancouver, complete with their outdoors attractions and waterfront views, while a short-hop ferry from Horseshoe Bay takes you over to Bowen Island for a rustic day excursion.
For information on what to do here, check out the municipal website www. The grounds also include rainforest walks, totem poles and a swinging network of smaller cable bridges strung between the trees. In summer, Skyride gondola passengers can access mountain restaurants, lumberjack shows, alpine hiking trails and a grizzly-bear refuge.
You can also harden your calf muscles on the Grouse Grind, a steep 2. There are also plenty of excellent hiking trails and some great picnic spots. Like Grouse, the area transforms in winter, when Mt Seymour Resorts ; www. It has a playground, outdoor pool and free continental breakfast. Lonsdale Quay Hotel Map; ; www. Interiors will be familiar to the business-traveler crowd but there are also two colorful family rooms with bunk beds and bath toys. There are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby to keep you occupied.
Quality pub food in a ski-lodge setting. From the bus terminal at the quay, bus runs to Capilano Suspension Bridge then up to the base of Grouse Mountain. Rocky Mountaineer Vacations runs its popular Whistler Mountaineer , ; www. You can check out all the local information and parochial intrigue at the city council www.
About 13km of hiking trails crisscross the area, including a recommended trek that leads to Point Atkinson Lighthouse and some shimmering views across lovely Burrard Inlet. Each suite has a fridge and DVD player, as well as a decanter of sherry for that essential al fresco evening tipple. You can sober up with a stroll to nearby Point Atkinson Lighthouse.
Proving just how authentic the food is, there are usually a few expat Iranians here, tucking into large platters of Barbary bread with eggplant dip and long-simmered stews. The recommended fish, chicken and beef kabobs dominate the menu.
You can also catch a minute ferry ride to Bowen Island from here. For Horseshoe Bay information, check www. Bowen Island has its own Visitor Centre ; www. West of Horseshoe Bay, Whytecliff Park off Map; ; block Marine Dr attracts scuba divers to its protected waters, hikers to its rocky trails and rock climbers to its granite cliffs. Hiking trails and picnic grounds similarly abound on Bowen.
Scenic kayaking tours are offered by Bowen Island Sea Kayaking , ; www. Carrying 22 million passengers a year, the BC Ferries system has a few unusual stories to tell.
There have been 21 on-board births, several weddings and a missing dog that disappeared from a boat in , only to arrive bedraggled on Bowen Island two days later, following an exhausting doggy paddle. Pub grub is the main focus here and the fish and chips are recommended.
BC Ferries , ; www. In addition, a handful of attractions aim to keep you away from the shops. For information, contact Tourism Burnaby ; www. Offering a peaceful environment minus the hectic energy of downtown, the pathways of Deer Lake Park Map crisscross the meadows and woodlands, circling the lake where fowl and other wildlife hang out.
The adjoining Burnaby Village Museum Map; ; www. To get there, take the Sperling Ave exit off Hwy 1 and follow the museum signs. An ever-expanding homage to materialism, Metropolis at Metrotown Map; ; www. The mall is a minute SkyTrain ride from downtown Vancouver. For information, drop into the Visitor Centre Map; , ; www. At the time of writing, the market was considering a new location: check its website for location updates before you set off. Kuan Yin Temple Map; ; www.
Rooms are tastefully lined with reproduction antiques and landscape paintings. The best feature is the chintzy guest lounge, which opens directly onto a large, secluded swimming pool. Fairmont Vancouver Airport Map; , ; www. A great option for boarding your long-haul flight in trance-like state of calm.
The rooms are elegantly furnished with high-end flourishes including remote-controlled drapes and marble-lined bathrooms. The giant, naturally occurring Buntzen Lake off Map; reservoir is surrounded on three sides by steep, tree-covered mountains and on its fourth side by a gently curving beach, complete with picnic tables, old-growth trees and those ambling, ever-present Canada geese.
Take the Ioco exit and follow Ioco Rd to the left. Turn right on First Ave and continue to Sunnyside Rd. Turn right again and continue to the Buntzen Lake entrance. The journey should take around an hour. It can get crowded here in summer, so arrive early if you want your pick of the picnic tables.
Vegetarians are also well served on a menu that stretches to almost 50 dishes. Drive here from Vancouver via the Steveston Hwy exit off Hwy 99 for an early-evening stroll along the boardwalk. Most of the machinery is still in place and you can learn all about what a horrible job it was working the production line here.
Fort Langley is 45 minutes southeast of Vancouver via Hwy 1. Head to the slick new visitor center, named the Squamish Adventure Centre , ; www. The underground train tour May to October only into the mines is a highlight, especially for kids who like a fright.
West Coast Railway Heritage Park ; www. This volunteer-driven outdoor museum has around 90 railcars, including 10 working engines. A few minutes past Squamish, riverside Brackendale village is a fancy-free spot with a major claim to fame. The winter feeding ground for thousands of salmon-scoffing bald eagles, it draws legions of binocular-clad visitors, who flock around Thor Froslev, the eccentric owner of Brackendale Art Gallery ; www.
Activities Home of a sheer, m granite rock face that attracts climbers from across the region, Stawamus Chief Provincial Park www. Call Squamish Rock Guides ; www. Known for its high wind quotient, Squamish Spit is a popular kiteboarding and windsurfing destination.
There are two shower buildings with flush toilets, and campers often indulge in activities like swimming, hiking and biking rentals available. Consider an interpretive ranger tour through the woods July and August only to find out a little more about the region.
Squamish Inn on the Water , ; www. These are among the best producers and their recommended beers : Dead Frog Brewery www.
Granville Island Brewing www. Phillips Brewing www. Russell Brewing www. Storm Brewing www. Vancouver Island Brewery www. The slightly more salubrious Perimeter Squamish Shuttle , ; www. Summer hikers seem magnetic- ally drawn here but the trails also double as cross-country ski routes in winter.
The trailhead is 8. The Elfin Lakes trail 11km is a lovely and relatively easy day trek. For overnighters, the trail continues on to the extinct volcano of Opal Cone. The trailhead parking lot is 16km east of Hwy The bright aqua hue of the undisturbed lake contrasts with the dark, jagged peak of Black Tusk rising behind it. A short stroll through the forest leads to a leg-jellying platform overlooking the top of the falls, where water drops suddenly out of the trees like a giant faucet.
A 7km looped trail leads further through the dense forest and ancient lava beds to Cal-Cheak Suspension Bridge. If you fancy staying, there are 15 drive-in campsites ; www. Co-hosting the Winter Olympics www. Once little more than an off-season afterthought, the area has seen summer visitor numbers leaping in recent years, with many people dropping by to try mountain biking, alpine hiking and a full roster of adventurous outdoor activities.
Luckily, there are plenty of street signs and lots of people around to snag directions from. Pick up The Pique or Whistler Question newspapers for further local insights. Armchair Books ; Village Sq; 9am-9pm Central bookstore with strong travel section. Whistler Activity Centre , ; Whistler Way; 9am-5pm Recommendations and bookings for local activities. Whistler Visitor Centre , ; www. Whistler was originally called Alta Lake and Whistler Mountain was named London Mountain in the s by some evidently homesick British naval officers.
Whatever season you arrive, head to the visitor center or Whistler Activity Centre for tips and recommendations.
There are dozens of lifts to transport skiers and snowboarders and a hotly anticipated 4. Snowshoers are also well served at Lost Lake: you can stomp off on your own on 10km of trails or rent equipment and guides.
Outdoor Adventures Whistler ; www. Prices include equipment rentals and the company also offers a wide range of non-snowshoe tours and activities. The cool, line course operated by Ziptrek Ecotours , ; www.
Hiking With more than 40km of flower-and-forest alpine trails, most accessed via the Whistler Village Gondola, this region is ideal for those who like nature of the strollable variety.
Favorite routes include the High Note Trail 8km , which traverses pristine meadows and has stunning views of the blue-green waters of Cheakumus Lake. Pick up a route map from the visitor center for other trails. Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau ; www. Rafting Tumbling waterfalls, dense forest and a menagerie of local wildlife are some of the visuals you might catch as you lurch along the Elaho or Squamish rivers on an adrenalin-rushing half- or full-day rafting trip.
Whistler River Adventures , ; www. Kokanee Crankworx www. Cornucopia www. Whistler Film Festival www. The visitor center has a handy accommodation reservation service , ; www.
Budget HI-Whistler Hostel ; whistler hihostels. Dorms are predictably institutional, but private rooms are also available. Book ahead year-round. The on-site restaurant serves great breakfasts have the salmon eggs Benedict. Fireside Lodge ; www. Midrange Blackcomb Lodge , ; www.
It offers lofts and studios with full kitchens, and a selection of cheaper but very comfortable standard rooms. Alpine Lodge ; www. Crystal Lodge , ; www. Both share excellent proximity to village restaurants and are less than m from the main ski lift. Or you can just hop in the hot tub and dream about the large buffet breakfast coming your way in the morning. Edgewater Lodge , ; www. Pinnacle Hotel , ; www. Top end Adara Hotel , ; www. The front desk loans iPods. The region hits the international spotlight when it joins Vancouver to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February and March Go to www.
Choose a room overlooking the slopes and you can watch from your balcony as the skiers slide home. Fairmont Chateau Whistler , ; www. The hallways, lobbies and rooms are adorned in rich hues and tastefully furnished with classic west coast elegance.
Also recommended: Sundial Boutique Hotel , ; www. Suites have full kitchens, heated bathroom floors and rooftop hot-tub access. Legends , ; www. Fight your way to the counter and buy as many cookies and muffins as you can eat: smiling while stuffing your face has never been easier. Try a glass of hot sake on a cold winter day.
The loungey, sometimes raucous, bar will keep you occupied here until past midnight when you can stagger back to wherever your hotel might be. Save room for dessert: the cheese menu is small but perfectly formed and the Okanagan apple cheesecake will have you licking the glaze off your plate.
You can treat your hangover to a late breakfast the next day by coming in for a good-value fry-up. From its wrought-iron chandeliers to its stone hearth and giant picture windows, you can tell anyone who will listen here all about your daring escapades on the slopes.
They might even believe you. The food, including pasta, pizza and great fish and chips, is superior to standard bar fare. Thursday is the best night of the week, attracting locals with indie and funk tunes, but be prepared to line up for weekend entry when everyone within a 25km radius seems to be trying to get in. MY Place ; www. Motor coach services from Perimeter Tours , ; www.
Snowbus , ; www. Alternatively, you can grab a taxi from Resort Cabs ; www. Check the website of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership www. The Sunshine Coast Transit System ; www. Malaspina Coach Lines ; ; www. This service is also handy for traveling up and down the highway between the Sunshine Coast communities.
West of town, Roberts Creek Provincial Park ; www. Exactly what a great hostel should be, Up the Creek Backpackers , ; www.
Its large upstairs suite, complete with kitchenette, is popular with families but the lovely Renaissance Room is perfect for some romantic canoodling. Return to beginning of chapter SECHELT pop A useful base for active travelers, with plenty of hiking, biking, kayaking and diving opportunities in the area, Sechelt is the second-largest town on the Sunshine Coast. For information, drop by the Visitor Centre , ; www. About as far from camping as you can get, each luxurious canvas-walled cabin has a heated rock floor, Jacuzzi tub and a private deck overlooking the bay.
Your first stop should be Pemberton Museum ; Prospect St; admission by donation; 10am-5pm Jun-Sep where you can wander around a village of rescued pioneer shacks and imagine the Gold Rush sweeping through. Next, don your Stetson and saddle up with Adventures on Horseback ; www. An even better way to see the area is from the air. Head to the Pemberton Soaring Centre , ; www. Tell the pilot you like rollercoasters and see what happens next.
Finally, roll back to your cozy bed at the Whistler-style Pemberton Valley Lodge , ; www. Hop aboard a steel-hulled water taxi operated by High Tide Tours ; www.
West of downtown, Willingdon Beach City Park is an ideal spot for a waterfront picnic. Or you can hit the water with a kayak from Powell River Sea Kayak , ; www. For a quirky sleepover, the Old Courthouse Inn , ; www. In keeping with the historic theme, the rooms are nicely decorated with antique furnishings.
Nearby, the old Rodmay Heritage Hotel ; www. For an introduction to the island, contact Tourism Vancouver Island , ; www. This was a surprise to anyone who actually came from Britain, since Victoria promulgated a dreamy version of England that never really was: every garden complete with the occasional palm tree was immaculate; every flag pole was adorned with a Union Jack; and every afternoon was spent quaffing tea from bone-china cups.
Thankfully this tired theme-park version of Ye Olde England has been gradually superseded in recent years. Fuelled by an increasingly younger demographic, a quiet revolution has seen lame tourist pubs, eateries and stores transformed into the kind of bright-painted bohemian shops, wood-floored coffee bars and surprisingly innovative restaurants that would make any city proud.
Visitor Centre Map; ; www. Parliament Buildings Map; ; www. The BC legislature welcomes history-hugging visitors. Consider stopping for lunch Click here. This tiny strip of businesses is fronted by an incongruously large Chinatown gate. Consider a guided tour to learn all about days of opium dens and anti-Chinese sentiment.
Check the online calendar of events if you want to rub shoulders with the locals at lectures, presentations and even singles nights aimed at lonely arts fans. The multiturreted Craigdarroch Castle Map; ; www. The elegant, wood-lined stone mansion is dripping with period architecture and antique-packed rooms. Enter the park via Douglas St. Emily Carr House Map; ; www. When you get to Victoria Bug Zoo Map; ; www. This clutch of scrubbed colonial strongholds is now home to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia Map; ; www.
Some operators: Orca Spirit Adventures Map; , ; www. Some operators: Ocean River Sports Map; , ; www.
Sports Rent Map; ; www. Cycle Treks Map; , ; www. Gray Line West Map; , ; www. Hidden Dragon Tours Map; , ; www. Victoria SkaFest www. Victoria Jazzfest International www. Moss Street Paint-In In mid-July artists demonstrate their skills at this popular one-day community event. Symphony Splash www. Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival www. Victoria Cycling Festival www.
A great place to meet fellow travelers. Daily guided excursions and tours include city, bike and history treks. HI Victoria Hostel Map; , ; victoria hihostels. Free weekly city tours are offered. Geometric bedspreads and pastel paintwork color most interiors but the courtyard suites are much larger and suitable for small groups. Ocean Island Suites Map; , ; www.
James Bay Inn Map; , ; www. There are some kitchenettes but the downstairs neighborhood bar also serves good pub grub. Add extra time for the painfully slow elevator to arrive. Queen Victoria Map; , ; www.
The rooms here have abandoned the floral bedspreads in favor of a smart business hotel feel. All have new bathrooms and fridges, some have kitchenettes and many overlook Beacon Hill Park from their little balconies.
Shamrock Suites Map; , ; www. Call ahead for year-round room discounts. Rosewood Victoria Inn Map; , ; www. Bring your laptop to the library-like lounge for wireless access or hit the selection of board games.
The Heritage House is a restored family home with antiques, fireplaces and private patios. The larger Garden Suites have a contemporary feel and a smattering of Asian design flourishes.
Gourmet continental breakfast is included. Swans Suite Hotel Map; , ; www. Most of the rooms are spacious loft suites where you climb upstairs to bed in a gabled nook, and each is decorated with a comfy combination of wood beams, rustic chic furniture and deep leather sofas. Oswego Hotel Map; , ; www. Cleverly, the smaller studio rooms have space-saving high-end Murphy beds.
Fairmont Empress Hotel Map; , ; www. Check out the handmade candies on display near the entrance and pick up some marzipan teeth for the road. Hulking sandwiches of the melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork variety beef brisket and smoked chicken variations are also offered dominate the simple menu and you can wash that down with a pail of homemade ice tea.
Expect lunchtime queues better to arrive early or late and consider perking up your order with a side of succulent cornbread or a fried-banana-and-peanut-butter sandwich dessert. Signature sarnies feature roast beef or pastrami but the bulging vegetarian sandwich is also popular.
Soups, wraps and sandwiches dominate the menu and there are plenty of vegetarian-friendly options. Heaping Belgian waffles are served with homemade cream cheese, and those who come for dinner can choose from a medley of international comfort foods, from calamari to pierogies.
Even meat-eaters have been known to swoon here, as they tuck into surprisingly tasty spring rolls, dim sum and potstickers. Combo meals are the best option, since they offer an array of different flavors. Carnivores will be just as happy here, though, with hearty savory dishes like shitake-tofu potstickers and an array of dense fruit smoothies.
Weekend brunch is popular and heavily patronized by hung-over students moaning quietly from the corners. The excellent beer selection includes Phillips and Lighthouse craft brews. Try the salmon-and-cream-cheese bagel melt at ReBar above. Save room for dessert: a frightening array of giant cheesecakes. With a great wine menu, this spot invites adventurous foodies.
Locally sourced produce is de rigueur, so the menu constantly changes to reflect seasonal highlights like figs, salmonberries and heirloom tomatoes.
We recommend the lamb shank, served with mustard-creamed root vegetables and braised chard. Unassuming from the outside, the ever-changing dishes might range from a hearty squash soup with butter-fried sage to a mouth-melting sablefish, served with rapini and poached eggs. Savvy diners drop by on Saturdays, when a creative five-course tasting menu hits the blackboard.
Extensive first-hand research was undertaken for these reviews. Summer drinkers often enjoy the lighter Honey Blonde Ale, while those with darker palates should make for the Nut Brown. Save room for dinner: the menu of seasonal, locally-sourced dishes is superior to most pubs and includes some excellent seafood. Irish Times Map; ; Government St; 11am-1am Colonizing a former downtown bank building, this lively Celtic bar is a cut above standard Irish pubs.
The interior is a pleasing fusion of high ceilings and dark wood finishes and the draft selection is a buffet of classics from Ireland, France and Belgium.
Friday is also popular and there are also regular live acts. The Friday and Saturday night dance parties here are the main attraction. The latter is also home of the Victoria Symphony ; www.
Shopping While Government St is a magnet for souvenir shoppers, those looking for more worthwhile purchases should head to the Johnson St stretch between Store and Government. Tops and skirts with insect prints are hot items, but there are also lots of cute handbags, socks and brooches to tempt your credit card. You can pick up all manner of tea paraphernalia here or sidle up to the tasting bar to quaff some adventurous brews. A minitheatre walks you through the process, a tasting bar serves those who like to quaff before buying and an impressive selection of vintages is offered for sale.
Flavors range from peppermint to chocolate nut. Government St Public Market ; Government St; Sun May-Sep An eclectic mix of vendors and performers transform this stretch at the block of Government St into a bustling pedestrianized street market on summer Sundays.
Air Canada Jazz , ; www. Both airlines offer connections across Canada. Harbour Air Seaplanes , ; www. Similar West Coast Air , ; www.
Regular services also arrive from the Southern Gulf Islands. Victoria Clipper , ; www. Black Ball Transport ; www. Pick up a copy of the Peninsula Times for local stories and happenings or drop by the Saanich Peninsula Visitor Centre ; Patricia Bay Hwy; ampm Jun-Sep near Sidney for tips and insights on the area.
Drop by the Visitor Centre ; www. The Marine Ecology Centre ; www. A floating barge in the marina on our visit, it was scheduled to move to swanky new premises in the Sidney Pier Hotel. You can check out the sea critters for yourself at Sidney Spit. Accessed via a short ferry ride ; www. Dominating the waterfront, the new Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa , ; www.
Victoria Regional Transit ; www. More than a century later, the cement operation is dust but the huge, elaborately manicured Butchart Gardens , ; www. Summer is crowded with the usual tour bus hordes but daily afternoon and evening music performances and Saturday-night fireworks July and August make it all worthwhile. Yuletide-loving December visitors are treated to thousands of fairy lights draped among the wintering plants.
Perched atop Observatory Hill, this government facility houses the Plaskett Telescope in use since along with several hands-on exhibits and a miniplanetarium for the astronomically inclined.
Starry-eyed visitors can crash the Star Party on Friday or Saturday evenings May to October , when the astronomers chill out, show off their equipment and tackle thorny themes from asteroids to zero gravity.
Hungry bald eagles are attracted to the fish and birdwatchers come ready with their cameras. Drop by the Sooke Region Visitor Centre , ; www. This route goes a step further by getting cyclists off the highways and into some usually unseen backcountry. Getting on and off the trails is easy since bus lines along both routes are bike-rack equipped.
You can download free maps and guides for both these routes from the Capital Regional District ; www. With surf crashing against the bluffs and a dense canopy of Douglas fir trees, it offers short strolls to the beach as well as a tough 10km coastal trail.
Sooke is also the end of the line for the popular Galloping Goose cycling trail see boxed text. Rent a bike from Sooke Cycle ; www. Paintings, sculptures and carved wood line its interiors. Be aware that some sections are often muddy and difficult to hike and bear sightings are not uncommon.
The most popular is the family-friendly China Beach Campground , ; www. Booking is also required on the West Coast Trail Express , ; www. An ideal place to wind down after a long hike, its facilities include barbecues and hot tubs.
Hikers are often found lolling around outside on the picnic tables here. Contact Tourism Cowichan , ; www. Visit the Visitor Centre , ; www. Must-scoffs here include giant vegetable pakoras and the kind of cinnamon-infused rice that addictions are made of. The nearby South Shore Motel , ; www.
After fuelling up, duck into the Maritime Centre ; www. Continue to the Caycus River Bridge and, just south of the bridge, turn right and follow Rosander Main for 29km to the park. Instead of submitting to a slow death, town officials commissioned a giant wall mural depicting local history. People took notice, 34 more murals and 13 sculptures were ordered, and a new tourism industry was born. Check the Visitor Centre ; www.
Favorite stops include Cherry Point Vineyards ; www. For more information on the wineries of this area and across Vancouver Island, check www. In the evening, the surprisingly large Chemainus Theatre , ; www. Rooms are slick and comfortable and many include kitchens. Polar Bear, meet Walrus. They used to be strangers, until global warming brought their habitats together.
Most hiking and camping advice is common sense. First, know what you are getting into. Get trail maps and take a few minutes to talk to a ranger about trail conditions, dangers and closures.
Rangers can also confirm if your abilities and equipment match the needs of your trip. Once in the wild, do everything possible to minimize your impact. Stick to established trails and campgrounds.
Use a gas stove for cooking or make fires in established fire pits only. When you leave, take out everything you brought in and remove every trace of your visit. Try to learn about local conservation, environmental and cultural issues before your trip and during your visit.
Ask questions and listen to what locals have to say. And finally, support tourism companies and environmental groups that promote conservation initiatives and long-term management plans. Along the same lines, companies strip huge areas of forest and soil cover to access coal, iron, nickel and other mineral resources. These ore deposits are developed all the time, particularly in seldom-visited northern regions such as Labrador and the Northwest Territories, where there is little public scrutiny or attention.
Recently there has been a spate of oil and natural gas development in the Atlantic provinces, much of it on the ocean floor, with untold consequences for marine life for an example of such actions, Click here. In northern Alberta, oil is coaxed from oil sands, a messy process that requires huge amounts of energy and poisons the atmosphere with greenhouse gases Click here for more. Nearby, plans are underway for a controversial km-long pipeline, the Mackenzie Gas Project, to be tunneled beneath the wilderness of the Northwest Territories.
Their website www. Is that good enough? Stay tuned. Not even close. And I can explain it all in two simple words: endless and staggering. No matter what your ability, no matter what your taste, there is something here for you.
Adventures for the rank beginner or the seasoned veteran are all over the place, even just on the edge of, and sometimes within, city limits. Whatever outdoor activity you can imagine, it exists in the highest of quality, right here in Canada. But, for nearly half the year, much of Canada really is snow-covered, and hockey and beer-drinking really are favorite pastimes. But there is so much more here than that oversimplified pictorial and those stereotypical flannels.
Welcome to the most abundant, most breathtaking, least busy playground on the planet. Welcome to half the world. Hills in the flatlands, like Saskatchewan and southern Ontario, are built on available or creatively used geography river hills or garbage dumps.
Damn cold. But instead of complaining about it, Canadians are apt to do something in it. Find a snow-covered hill not too big and slide uncontrollably downhill. Combine this motorized activity with backcountry skiing to access tons of powder. Canadians have a chronic fishing problem. Fish from inside an ice shack, drill into the ice, turn on the space heater and drop your line. Snowpack ranges from 2m to 6m-plus, depending on how close the resort is to the Pacific Ocean. Medicine Hat, Alberta, with days sans rain.
Cross-Country Nordic Skiing Instead of swishing through the snow, go straight on a set of Nordic skis. Most ski resorts in Canada offer a groomed network of cross-country ski trails which are much cheaper than a downhill lift ticket.
Compare lung capacity with Canadian national team members at the Olympic site in Canmore, Alberta. Ski Touring Ski touring, downhill skiing with a backpack instead of a lift, is the cheapest way to tap into the deep and dry snow that is world-renowned in BC. Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park has the most beautiful glacier tours and tree skiing within a single-day tour.
Or fly into a backcountry lodge like Blanket Glacier Chalet www. BC towns like Revelstoke, Nelson and Golden are touring hubs and have a number of shops that can provide gear, maps and information on snow conditions, where to park etc. That said, Canada has revolutionized mountain biking and provides an expansive landscape for two-wheeled exploration.
The entire 18,km trail some of it river routes will link communities from coast to coast to coast and provide for multi-use access to cyclists, snowmobilers, horseback riders and hikers.
Check www. Most popular ski areas like Panorama www. Or you could choose shorter regional rides. The east coast, with more small towns and less emptiness, is a fantastic place to pedal, either as a single-day road ride or a multi-day trip. Sure, we use plastic and fiberglass today, but boat design and techniques have hardly changed.
No longer used for hunting, this double-bladed, covered-deck paddlesport is still the most efficient human-powered way to move across lakes and along coastlines. Make sure you have a solid Eskimo Roll for righting yourself when you flip. Luckily www. As old as kayaking, and equally Canadian, is the canoe. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature.
Here are some of our favorites, to help you decide which way to turn your toes. Also, k. Also visit the Parks Canada site www. Watch wild animals, cross unbridged rivers and see not a soul.
Access is via Whitehorse. Take a compass and GPS; the alpine plateau is crisscrossed by a web of caribou trails. An offshoot will head northwards from Calgary through the Yukon to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, with a branch extending east through Nunavut to Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay.
The TCT will be the longest such trail in the world, linking millions of travelers, hundreds of communities and dozens of landscapes. Its entire length will take about days to cycle, days to ride on horseback or days to walk.
The now-disbanded organization in charge of the celebrations wanted to leave a lasting legacy, and provided enough seed money to launch the project in This entitles them to have their name inscribed on one of dozens of Trail Pavilions along the route.
So far approximately , people have immortalized themselves in this fashion. The TCT is knitted together from existing and new trails. Much of it, including all of the Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island sections, will run along former railway tracks.
For now, the TCT remains a work in progress. More than half of it is currently unstable; it is scheduled for completion in the fall of From here you can march through dense spruce and pine forests that burst into a stunning bright-yellow canopy in the fall.
Then ascend into alpine meadows that are carpeted with wildflowers and surrounded by crumbling glaciers and azure lakes. This trail network weaves together pristine lakes with some of the largest peaks in the Rockies. And the BC Parks system www. There are sizable mountains out east, too. For the serious backpacker looking for the least beaten path and the biggest mountains east of the Canadian Rockies, plan on visiting Torngat Mountain National Park in Labrador. Though portions are near cities like Hamilton and Toronto, it is surprisingly serene.
Backroad Mapbooks will show you the way. Outdoor recreation and camping overviews accompany each book, but make sure you cross-reference with the locals. Canmore, just outside Banff, is the ideal place for beginners and beyond. Climbing shops, a climbing school www. All levels of climbers bask in the spring sun while climbing the plus gneiss and nice, too! It features hundreds of tours, from day trips to summit missions to epic traverses.
While Canadians are practically born on skates, it might take you a couple of hours to get the hang of it. Skating has spawned many a Canadian pastime and takes regional forms.
Grassroots hockey, aka pond hockey, takes place in communities across Canada every night on a frozen surface. All you need is a puck, a hockey stick and a few friends to live the hockey dream.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, notorious for chilly winters, has 3km of cleared ice on the Assiniboine and Red rivers. In Alberta, you can race in the Sylvan Lake 50km Marathon on a 10km track, the longest in the world. They just don a pair of warm mitts, a down jacket, crampons and an ice axe, and are pretty well ready to take on the most abundant and consistent ice climbing in the world. Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper national parks remain frozen for six months a year, and by early November notorious routes like Polar Circus and Curtain Call are in full form.
As in summer, Canmore is the place to get started and take a lesson. With www. Great for climbers, hikers and sightseers. Give yourself a couple of weeks to work your way up ft or m this ice-riddled Kluane National Park massif. For better odds all around, watch out for the more common and visible Canadian critters. The Arctic has tusked narwhals and belugas, while Nova Scotia has humpbacks, minkes and the rare North Atlantic right whale. Polar bear can be spotted in Churchill, Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay.
Operators will tour you around the Polar Bear Capital of the World in elevated tundra buggies. At one time 60 million bison roamed the North American plains. Over 50 grizzlies live on this 45,hectare refuge. A few eco-tour operators have permits for viewing this at-risk species. The mountain national parks Banff, Jasper, Kooteany, Yoho also offer a chance to see these rare omnivores. But driving, hiking or cycling in Algonquin Provincial Park is a golden opportunity to see each and every one.
Return to beginning of chapter FISHING It should probably come as no surprise that some of the best fishing in the world can be found in a country that harbors more freshwater than any other. Elaborate native societies based their entire nutritional structure around fish, and fishing has since become a sacred recreation. Calgary Stampede www. Logger Sports www. See pros carve chairs, hand-saw at lightning speeds and cut trees with pinpoint precision in this heritage event held in Squamish, BC, in the first week of August.
Yukon Quest www. Survivor Kananaskis www. Last one standing wins. Held the last weekend in May on the Kananaskis River, one hour west of Calgary. Less controversial than a hockey scrum, fights at the end of a fishing line are equally exciting.
The fiercer, the longer and the more unpredictable the fish fight, the better. And on just about any Canadian freshwater lake, you could get yourself into a serious brouhaha. Northern Saskatchewan contains some of the most productive lakes, and many are serviced by fishing lodges. Check local, provincial and federal fishing regulations wherever you are; most hardware or fishing shops can tell you everything there is to know. Scuba divers can become one with one of the most abundant and diverse marine areas on earth from the perfectly-placed ocean cities of Vancouver and Victoria.
Ocean life here also benefits from the cold, nutrient-rich water. June and September are best for mere mortals, but if you want to test some of the fiercest storms the Pacific can dish out, try surfing in winter.
First-timers will enjoy the challenge with many great surf schools both east and west. Tofino, outside Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, has a superb choice of surf schools and offers the most variety for learning. Squamish, BC Click here, benefits greatly from a wind-funneling venturi effect, which gets wild in Howe Sound.
No trees hold back the wind; only power-generating wind farms compete for a chunk of the gust. Sheltered lagoons offer safe learning locations for testing kiteboards or seeking shelter during heavy days. Today, horses help all kinds of people, from couch potatoes to the uberactive, get out to enjoy the landscape. Be ready to get down and dirty. Most Ontarians live in the south within a few hundred kilometers of the US border, where winters are bearable and steamy summers lure folks outside.
No longer a steadfast political filing cabinet, contemporary Ottawa is as hip as you want it to be. Year-round, Ontario celebrates its diversity with a cavalcade of festivals. And if you must seek out wildlife, there are some excellent national parks here too. The first Europeans on the scene were 17th-century French fur traders, who established basic forts to facilitate trade links with the Mississippi River.
With the arrival of the British Loyalists around , large-scale settlement began. The northern continental climate sees bitterly cold winters and mild summers. This creates steady precipitation throughout the year, heavy summer humidity and much milder winters than in the north. That said, the entire province is blanketed with heavy snowfalls during winter. In the south, where most of the population lives, winter snow melts rapidly in spring. As summer draws closer, the strip of land bordering the USA gets increasingly hot and sticky, particularly the Niagara Peninsula.
There are also provincial parks here, offering hiking and camping facilities. Make reservations with Ontario Parks ; www. Charismatic megafauna has largely been evicted from southern Ontario due to development and agriculture, but the further north you travel, the more likely you are to spot hairy roadside individuals no, not lumberjacks.
Two Weeks Feel like a road trip? Heading northwest, take a paddle through the expansive Algonquin Provincial Park, visit Manitoulin Island for a dose of aboriginal culture, and try Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie for a history lesson on shipping and mining in northern Ontario. Continue westward and base yourself in Wawa for a few days. Greater expanses of unexplored nature lie ahead as you roll on toward Thunder Bay and beyond. Air Canada www. CanJet www. First Air www. BUS Greyhound Canada www.
Booking bus tickets at least seven days in advance can sometimes halve the fare. The big car-hire companies have offices in larger towns. Click here for key highways.
Ontario Northland www. Its Northlander service connects Toronto with Cochrane, from where buses go to Hearst and Kapuskasing. Dramatic shifts in weather elicit almost schizophrenic behavior from the locals. Humidity clogs the avenues and the streetlife hum approaches a roar. Spanked across the face by bitter February, locals head underground into the PATH network of subterranean walkways. And of course, winter is hockey season! Overlayed by typically laconic Canadian attitude, Toronto is as unpretentious and tolerant as it is complex.
Tommy Thompson Park, an artificial wildlife oasis, juts abstractly into Lake Ontario; the Toronto Islands rustle their leafy boughs at the city skyline. In the British took over and John Simcoe, lieutenant governor of the new Upper Canada, chose the site as the capital formerly at Niagara-on-the-Lake and founded the town of York.
The Americans looted and razed York, but held sway for only six days before Canadian troops booted them out and hounded them back to Washington. Like many big cities, Toronto had a great fire; in about five hectares of the inner city burned, leveling buildings.
Amazingly, no one was killed. Well over one million immigrants have arrived since: Italian, Portuguese, Chilean, Greek, Southeast Asian, Chinese and West Indian immigrants have rolled into the city in waves.
Just offshore are the Toronto Islands. The Church-Wellesley Village is a gay parallel universe a few blocks to the east. Lester B Pearson International Airport is 27km west of downtown.
MapArt www. Shuffle over to St Lawrence Market for lunch then head up to Bloor-Yorkville to splash some cash in the shops. Compensate with a thrifty dinner in Chinatown. Afterwards, ride the ferry to the Toronto Islands; hire a bike and wheel away the afternoon. Back on the mainland, nibble on late-night mezes Greek tapas and drinks in Greektown. A trashy night club-hopping through the Entertainment District is a mandatory T. TheatreBooks Map; ; www. Metro www. Now Toronto www.
Toronto Life www. Toronto Star www. Toronto Sun www. Where Toronto www. CIUT Edge Hospital for Sick Children Map; ; www. Money American Express , ; www.
Instead, tackle the banks, or try Money Mart Map; ; www. Thomas Cook www. Tourism Toronto Map; , ; www. Most homeless people are more likely to be assaulted or harassed than to do so to you.
The Toronto Islands are where locals retreat for a bit of peace and quiet. North from the lake, modernity and history collide at Dundas Sq: shopping centers, office blocks, museums and majestic theatres all stake their claim. Suburban East Toronto and The Beaches are less edgy but are still interesting to explore. Car-parking in Toronto is expensive and traffic congestion is an issue; public transportation is usually the best option.
Ferries for the Toronto Islands dock here. 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. Tours include a brain-scrambling video wall screening footage of past sporting glories, concerts and events, a sprint through a box suite, a locker-room detour sans athletes and a memorabilia museum.
In between times the facility hosts everything from wedding expos to Wiggles concerts. Rooms overlooking the field can also be rented at the Renaissance Toronto. Performances sometimes take place on the covered outdoor concert stage by the lake.
Today, a handful of the original log, stone and brick buildings have been restored. In summer, men decked out in 19th-century British military uniforms carry out preposterous marches and drills, firing musket volleys into the sky. Tours run hourly from May to September. When lakeside fishers noticed that northern pike were spawning here each spring, the city took it upon itself to create this new habitat. Aside from the pike, look for monarch butterflies, mallard ducks, goldfinches, dragonflies and red-winged blackbirds.
Contact the Harbourfront Centre box office left for performance schedules and guided tour details. Additional attractions like the human-sized MegaMaze and House of Blues concerts at the Molson Amphitheatre ; www.
Discounted passes may be available after 5pm and for grounds-only admission. On rainy days, many of the rides, activities and restaurants close. The shuttle runs daily from June to August, and on weekends in May and September, departing every half-hour between 9am and 7pm.
Other events held at Exhibition Place throughout the year include the Grand Prix of Toronto and a slew of spectator sports and indie design shows. At other times the grounds are often spookily bereft of visitors. Financial District The area around Union Station is busy night and day with hot-dog vendors, shivering office workers smoking in doorways and fans heading to hockey games at the Air Canada Centre.
Even visitors unfamiliar with this super-fast, ultraviolent sport will be impressed with the interactive multimedia exhibits and hockey nostalgia. A succession of glass cases displays otter, bear, eagles and carved Inuit figures in day-to-day scenes. Old York Historically speaking, the old town of York comprises just 10 square blocks.
But today the neighborhood extends east of Yonge St all the way to the Don River, and from Queen St south to the waterfront esplanade. The restored, high-trussed South Market houses more than 50 specialty food stalls: cheese vendors, fishmongers, butchers, bakers and pasta makers.
Inside the old council chambers upstairs, the St Lawrence Market Gallery ; admission free; 10am-4pm Wed-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun has rotating displays of paintings, photographs, documents and historical relics. A few steps further north, the glorious St Lawrence Hall is topped by a mansard roof and a copper-clad clock tower that can be seen for blocks.
Chemicals, sewage and fertilizer runoff have traditionally fouled the waters, and, although the situation is improving, only the brave and stupid dare to swim at city beaches. For most citizens, Lake Ontario is simply a big, gray, cold thing that stops the Americans from driving up Yonge St.
For the record, Lake Ontario is the 14th largest lake in the world and the smallest and most easterly of the five Great Lakes: km long, 85km wide and m deep. Be sure to tell the locals all about it. Wedding parties shoot photos against a backdrop of redbrick and cobblestone; clean-cut couples shop for leather lounge suites beneath charmingly decrepit gables and gantries. In summer expect live jazz, exhibitions and food-focused events.
You can peek at the radio newsrooms anytime or attend a free noontime concert in the world-class Glenn Gould Studio. Both are east of the Queen St shopping district. Out the front is Nathan Phillips Square, a meeting place for skaters, demonstrators and office workers on their lunch breaks. The fountain pool becomes an ice-skating rink in winter Click here. Now housing legal courtrooms, the hall has an off-center bell tower, interesting murals and grimacing gargoyles. Constructed in , the stunning Winter Garden was built as the flagship for a vaudeville chain that never really took off, while the downstairs Elgin theater was converted into a movie house in the s.
Public tours are worth every cent. Click here. When it opened in , it was the first church in Toronto not to charge parishioners for pews. Workshops teach batik making, weaving, knitting and all manner of needle-stuff. Prices will rise once renovations are complete and opening hours are subject to change; check the website for updates.
The Leafs lost their first game to the Chicago Blackhawks in , but went on to win 13 Stanley Cups before relocating to the Air Canada Centre in Over the years, Elvis, Sinatra and the Beatles have all belted out tunes at the Gardens.
Rumors that this much-loved piece of city history was going to be demolished were only partly true. The Gardens were bought by grocery chain Loblaws in , with a shopping complex redevelopment slated to begin in early we hope the chunky art-deco facade survives.
The new work involves a magnificent explosion of architectural crystals on Bloor St, housing an array of new galleries. The Chinese temple sculptures, Gallery of Korean Art and costumery and textile collections are some of the best in the world. Kids file out of yellow school buses chugging by the sidewalk and rush to the dinosaur rooms, Egyptian mummies and Jamaican bat-cave replica. The on-site Institute of Contemporary Culture explores current issues through art, architecture, lectures and moving image.
Peruse some 19th-century French chestnut-crushing clogs, aboriginal Canadian polar boots or famous modern pairs worn by Elton John, Indira Gandhi and Pablo Picasso. Permanent and rotating exhibits cover the evolution of shoemaking, with a focus on how shoes have signified social status throughout human history.
Spread over three floors, collections cover several millennia; various rooms focus on 17th- and 18th-century English tavern ware, Italian Renaissance majolica, ancient American earthenware and blue-and-white Chinese porcelain. The central St George campus is venerable indeed. West and north of U of T lies The Annex, a residential neighborhood populated primarily by students and professors.
It overflows with pubs, organic grocery stores, global-minded eateries and spiritual venues. He later lost everything in land speculation, the resultant foreclosure forcing Hank and his wife to move out.
The castle briefly reopened as a luxury hotel, but its big-band nightclub attracted more patrons than the hotel ever did, and it too failed. Lit by Victorian gaslights, the interior contains three generations of furnishings, art and fabrics.
Viewing is free, but security regulations are in full force. Dating from , sociable Hart House ; www. Eating here is an absolute joy, and shopping is a blast.
The streets are full of artists, dreadlocked urban hippies, tattooed punks, potheads, junkies, dealers, bikers, goths, musicians and anarchists. Shady characters on bicycles whisper their drug menus as they glide by; hooch and Hendrix tinge the air. The further west you go, the more traditional things become, with aromatic bakeries, sidewalk gelaterias and rootsy ristoranti. Permanent holdings only number about works, curated since , but award-winning temporary exhibitions promote new artists from Nova Scotia to BC.
Completed in , the m bridge arcs 40m above the Don River, linking east and west Toronto. Structural engineer Edmund Burke cunningly included a lower deck for future rail transport in his design. At a peak rate of one every 22 days, around folks decided to call it quits here. The solution? The park is open to the public on weekends and holidays; cars and pets are prohibited. Summer schedules offer interpretive programs and guided walks, usually with an ecological theme. To get here on public transportation, take any streetcar east along Queen St to Leslie St, then walk m south to the gates.
Alternatively, hire a bike or some in-line skates and follow the Martin Goodman Trail all the way here. Kids follow the farmer around as he does his daily chores, including milking the cows at am. Toronto Islands Once upon a time there were no Toronto Islands, just an immense sandbar stretching 9km into the lake.
On April 13, , a hurricane blasted through the sandbar and created the gap now known as the Eastern Channel. The islands are only accessible by a minute ferry ride Click here.
Squeezed together on a few hundred acres are an antique carousel, goofy golf course, miniature train rides and a sky gondola. Far Enough Farm zoo presents kids with plenty of opportunities to cuddle something furry and step in something sticky.
Further south are changing rooms, snack bars, bicycle rentals opposite and a pier striking out into the lake. Thanks to climate change, winters nowadays are too mild for it. Bus 30B picks up at High Park subway station, then loops through the park on weekends and holidays from mid-June to early September. The High Park streetcar drops off on the east side of the park. If you exit the park by Colborne Lodge at the south gates, walk down to Lake Shore Blvd W and catch any streetcar back east to downtown.
Elizabeth Simcoe named the spot in after Scarborough in Yorkshire, England. Several parks provide access to clifftops, from where views shoot across Lake Ontario. You can also access the shore at Galloway Rd further east. Unless you have wheels, getting to the bluffs can be a drag, and if you do have a car, parking is limited. One option is to take the subway to Victoria Park, then bus 12 along Kingston Rd. Nature paths start near the bridge and wind back to the secluded Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve www.
Along the way you can connect to the Don Valley mountain-bike trails at Cherry St. On the Toronto Islands opposite the south-shore boardwalk and the interconnecting paved paths are car-free zones. You can also cycle or skate around hilly High Park opposite. A recreational cycling club, the Toronto Bicycling Network ; www. Rental operators include: Community Bicycling Network Map; ; www. Alternatively, hook up with one of the following groups for hardy day hikes: Hike Ontario ; www.
These artificial rinks are open daily weather permitting from 10am to 10pm, mid-November to March. Toronto Windsurfing Club Map; ; www. Get off the bus at Commissioners St and walk 10 minutes south. Beyond the digital stock-market displays, turn left and take the stairs up to the Design Exchange 9; ; www. Shuffle through the basement, diverting right through a zany striped corridor and up some stairs to be spat out onto Temperance St.
Pursue the signs to the Eaton Centre 14; Click here , window-shop your way to the north end of the mall then take the escalators up two levels. Queues can be lengthy; most rides operate rain or shine.
Wonderland is a minute drive northwest of downtown Toronto on Hwy Exit at Rutherford Rd, 10 minutes north of Hwy Climb a rock wall, catch a criminal with DNA fingerprinting and race an Olympic bobsled at the excellent, interactive Ontario Science Centre Map; ; www. Over high-tech exhibits and live demonstrations wow the kids and the adults at the back, pretending not to be interested. Also here is the giant domed Omnimax Cinema. Black Creek Pioneer Village ; www. The village is on the southeast corner of Steeles Ave and Jane St, a minute drive northwest of downtown.
A handy online resource for parents is www. Seats 20; bring your own food and drink. Since the s, its cutting-edge productions have focused on radical new plays with contemporary Canadian themes. Post-performance chats with cast and producers happen regularly. Sign up for a workshop on erotic photography or Bondage ! Need a comic book fix? Beguiling Map; ; www. Check the website for events. Shuffle in under the rusty ballroom sign for live bands playing honky-tonk and classic rock.
Some of the weirder city festivals include Caribana, with its booty-licious carnival parade; Nuit Blanche a sleepless night of kooky urban art experiences; and the always in-your-face Toronto Buskerfest.
Favorites include: New Tribe Map; ; www. Tat-a-Rama Map; ; www. Way Cool Tattoos Map; ; www. For shorter excursions, just show up and buy a ticket at the quay; reservations are recommended for brunch and dinner cruises.
Keep in mind that ferries to the Toronto Islands offer spectacular city views for half the price! Mariposa Cruise Lines Map; , ; www. Sunday brunch and dinner-and-dance cruises, too. Toronto Tours Map; ; www. Bus Toronto bus tours are convenient, but with TTC day passes Click here being so cheap, a do-it-yourself tour makes perfect sense. Gray Line Tours Map; , ; www.
Buy tickets on board. Moose Travel , ; www. ROMBus Map; ; www.