Canada

[Hacker]

It looks like I will be travelling to canada in January with five locations to visit in 9-10 days, I will have a weekend to myself and wanted to know which cities people would recommend.

I've never been to Canada and upon looking at Google Earth I've tried to work out a rough itinerary starting in the East and going West:

Halifax (1 day)
Travel
Ottowa (1 day)
Travel
Toronto (1 day)
Travel
Edmonton (thinking of spending the weekend here)
Travel
Vancouver (1 day)
Home

In your experience would this be the best way or should I work from West to East and so have a shorter flight home at the end. Which ever way I go I will have a weekend over there and want to make the most of it.

 

[WildWalker]

I would definately want to go to Toronto, it looks cool. And (apparently) the veiw of Niagra falls from the Canadian side (Ontario) is much better

 

[frank]

I've done Toronto and Vancouver in that order, 5 days in Toronto & 10 days in Vancouver. As you only have one day in each then your pretty much limited as there is so much to see. The CN Tower boast some spectacular views across the city and if memory serves me correctly they have a special kind of glass at the top so it does'nt affect taking photos so much. Given the choice in Toronto I'd go for daytrip to Niagra Falls, it would be a shame to travel all that way and not see one of the 7 wonders of the world. I did it a few years ago and would love to do it again.

Vancouver, again one day is not really enough, Grouse Mountain which is just a bus ride and ferry ride away has spectacular views but if you cant see the top of the mountain from the bottom then it's a waste of time going up the cablecar, I don't know if cablecar will be open in January. If it looks like a nice evening for a sunset then head along to English Bay (Nth side of Burrard Bridge)...Nice sunset shots there. Daytime you could have a (weather permitting) a nice walk past Coal Harbour round Stanley Park with a few photo opportunities especially when you get round to Lions Gate Bridge.

 

[mindcrime]

Just make sure you bring a lot of warm clothing when you come over in January as that's when the Winter really starts to bite. Winter has come early this year and we've currently over a foot of snow in Toronto and it's about -15c. Toronto will probably be the warmest city you visit on that list. Expect it to get to about -30c with wind chill!!

You'll enjoy Toronto a lot, it's a fun city to walk around even in bad weather. If you want to know of good bars to go to let me know and I'll point you in the right direction. Also, to see Niagara Falls remember it's about a 90 minute drive in good weather from Toronto, so if the roads are bad it could take nearly double that. It will be worth it though, the Falls are great when it's really cold as everything ices up (apart from the Falls, of course), and if you time it right you'll get to see the light show they do of an evening.

I think working East to West would be better on your body. It's only a 3 hour difference across Canada but that way you'll get more sight-seeing time.