Canada's must-sees

Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the strong coastal mountains, Vancouver is by far the most picturesque of Canadian cities. For the traveling traveler as for its residents, Vancouver is above all a city of outdoors, eminently appreciative of its quality of life................................................................................................. influenced by the City of Seattle, the bastion of American counter-culture, Vancouver is a bohemian town, the spirit of the major centers on the west coast. About 150 years ago, the gold rush and personal enrichment frenzy shaped the region. Today, it is the quest for freedom and the large spaces that, every year, attract thousands of young people from all over the world. With nothing in your pockets, these young adventurers hope to find temporary work, to enjoy the ski season or simply flirt with the West Coast soul.

With its skyscrapers that look down on the rest of the world, Toronto has a taste for America. Industrial and financial, quickly rising to the top, with more than six million inhabitants within and around the city, Canada's largest city is home to one-sixth of the country's population. In the heart of a myriad of villages with accents from all over the world, there are the polished facades of skyscrapers, the unusual painted walls, the city's speciality, and the many parks with their lush vegetation. Although the French showed their nose in 1650 to trade in fur, their community today is one of dozens of others. Toronto means "meeting place": the diversity of its population proves it. Half of the population was not born in Canada! Some of the reasons to enjoy Toronto include its cleanliness, safety, diversity of cuisine and variety of stores, of which the Eaton Centre is the flagship.

What can we say that has not already been said? That Niagara Falls remains the favourite destination for newlyweds from all over the world (according to legend, this fashion was started by Napoleon's brother, who came here on his honeymoon), that it is the most photographed site in the world and that it could fill a million bathtubs per second... One thing is certain, they impress even the most jaded, and some filmmakers have not been mistaken in seeing an incomparable dramatic potential, such as Henry Hathaway (Niagara, 1953, with Marilyn Monroe). All tourists, and there are more than ten million of them every year, are trapped and participate joyfully in the general fascination. Apart from these natural wonders, which are worth seeing on the Canadian side, the rest of the city looks like a Luna Park. Fortunately, all this deployment of lights and agitation is slightly - but sufficiently - set back from the falls.

Nestled at the foot of two peaks, Whistler (2,182 m) and Blackcomb (2,287 m), Whistler is home to 10,000 residents, more than half of whom are seasonal. Whistler has an obvious alpine feel and its village feel, although a bit overrated, has made it the top ski resort in North America. Whistler has become THE ski resort of choice, the Megève of Western Canada. The cost of living was already relatively high before Vancouver was selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. But since then, prices for all services have jumped dramatically and are often beyond comprehension. And yet, there is always that "little" thing that keeps you coming back: its unparalleled setting.

Canada's second largest city after Toronto, a particularly dynamic financial and commercial centre, and a major port on the Great Lakes-Atlantic waterway, Montreal is the fourth largest French-speaking city in the world. It is the only city in Canada that has been able to reconcile Old World influences with North American modernity, to bring together the English and French communities that history has long opposed, and to have succeeded in integrating an ethnic mosaic resulting from immigration. It is also an agglomeration of formerly distinct towns and villages and a cultural metropolis of great vitality.

The Canadian Rockies are a majestic environment straddling two provinces, Alberta and British Columbia. The scenery on the Alberta side is made up of mountains with sharp peaks, lakes and rivers with crystal clear waters as well as glaciers of impressive dimensions. There are many tourist facilities in Banff and Jasper National Parks as well as in the towns and villages along the major highways. One can imagine the shock experienced by the explorers who, after months of walking, sometimes guided by the Indians, reached these exceptional places. Even today, hikers are still overwhelmed by unspeakable emotions, even if the trails are now very well marked. The Rockies continue to impose their raw, unshakeable power on us...

The Gaspé Peninsula is one of Quebec's favourite destinations. Moreover, she is frequently ranked in various National Geographic magazine charts, nothing less. When we say Gaspésie, we immediately think of lobster, salmon, shrimp. We also think of Percé Rock, Bonaventure Island, Northern Gannets, Baie des Chaleurs, Forillon, Métis Gardens, coniferous forests, rivers, capes, coves, strikes, fossils and agates. A huge advance in the ocean where the sea and the mountains, millions of years old, constantly confront each other, territory of the Micmacs, the Indians of the sea, who have occupied it for more than 2,500 years. Located between the St. Lawrence Estuary, New Brunswick and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Gaspé Peninsula is dominated to the north by the Chic-Chocs Mountains, on the slopes covered by the thick boreal forest. On the estuary side, its coastline is dotted with peaceful fishing villages, while its rocky eastern tip, cut and brushed by the waves, is particularly wild and spectacular.

The Dinosaur Trail is located in the Drumheller Valley, 138 km northeast of Calgary. More than 10,000 years ago, the melting of glacier waters carved a deep valley in this region and exposed the dinosaur fossils that lived on these subtropical plains. The Red Deer River is the main axis of these territories, known as the Badlands, or "bad lands", which break up the expanse of the Alberta plains. The visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum must be complemented by a tour on Route 898, also known as the Dinosaur Trail. We will follow the Red Deer River to admire the view from a point of view called "Horsethief Canyon". The road then goes down to the river that can be crossed on a ferry (Bleriot Cable Ferry), to discover other admirable vantage points.

The village of Churchill, with a population of less than 1,000, is located in the far north of the province at the mouth of the Churchill River on Hudson Bay in the Arctic Ocean. In a wild environment, you will surely meet the man who saw the man who saw the man who saw the man who saw the polar bear! You may even have the opportunity to see this fetish animal for yourself. Every summer, more than 3,000 belugas come to feed, socialize and raise their young in the waters of the Churchill River and in the subarctic tundra, a true paradise for observers. Historically, the powerful Hudson's Bay Company was known as the largest trading company in the world.