Holidays

Canadian cities can lead the world. Vancouver is a fixture in all the lists of the world’s best places to live. It scores highly for overall quality of life – as do Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. Crime and pollution tend to be relatively low while living standards are wonderfully high. The country’s other main attraction is simple: Canadians. It sounds silly, but returning holidaymakers say they’ve rarely been made to feel more welcome anywhere else in the world.



If you fancy putting one leg in America while you leave the other in Canada then the best place to do it is on the bridge that links the two countries at the Niagara Falls. There’s a plaque in the middle of the bridge, hundreds of feet above the foaming waters and the Maid of the Mist boats. And if you have the time you can walk to the other side, go through US immigration and head to some of the casinos on that side of the water. Just don’t forget your passport.

If you want to see some partying try to be in the country on July 1st. That’s Canada Day and most cities have great firework displays and there are theme nights in many restaurants. Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving in November, Chinese New Year triggers a lot of fun in Vancouver while Montreal is said to be best for St Patrick’s Day. Quebec has an annual gastronomy festival every April and the Niagara Wine Festival is in Ontario every September. Cooking courses are also springing up across the country – culinary tourism is big business with some fantastic chefs offering day, weekend or week-long courses.