Sun Peaks is about 50 kilometres north of Kamloops, British Columbia. It’s a quick and easy drive up to the ski hill formally known only as Tod Mountain to the main Burfield lodge that has been there since 1961. Before 1993 when Nippon Cable bought the area, only the locals knew about the fantastic powder skiing. Now Sun Peaks caters to thousands of people in all seasons on three different mountains including Tod Mountain, Sundance Mountain and Mt. Morrisey.

With over 3, 500 acres of ski area, Sun Peaks boasts 12 lifts and some 121 runs over the three mountains. There are hundreds of different kinds of accommodation for all walks of life ranging from hotel rooms and condos, chalets, bed and breakfasts to entire house rentals. The Sun Peaks village has over 30 eateries including pubs, restaurants and night clubs.

If shopping is your thing, Sun Peaks has everything from souvenirs, clothing, ski/snowboard rentals and sales, to art galleries and fine wine. There is even a Chocolate Factory. You can even store up for the week’s groceries at the chalet at the local grocer.

If it is possible to get bored of the fabulous skiing, there are many other things to do at Sun Peaks. Tobogganing at the Tube Time park is a big hit with the kids. Or you could take the family snowshoeing, dog sledding, ice skating, snowmobiling, or even snow biking (with skis instead of wheels). And don’t forget the sleigh rides!

For a fun and affordable family ski vacation, Sun Peaks is not only easily accessible but features award winning accommodations and dining. The second larges ski area in British Columbia and the third largest in Canada is but a 4.25 hour drive north of Vancouver with daily flights from Kamloops and Kelowna. Enjoy BC’s finest powder (over 220” per year) for yourself at Sun Peaks Resort.

Skiing at Whistler

Perhaps one of the most well known places to vacation and ski in Canada, let alone the world, is Whistler, British Columbia.  Both skiers and snowboarders alike recognize this Canada resort destination as a powdery, snowy paradise amidst B.C.’s coastal mountains.  Whistler Village boasts several top-notch hotels such as the Four Seasons and the Westin Resort and Spa.  A standard daily lift ticket is around $80.

While there, take a zip line tour! Experience the sensation of flying through the air at tremendous speeds.  Companies offer tours that combine some hiking and some zip line rides with education and information about the surrounding ecosystems.  Most tours offer a safety training and orientation.

Hiking & Cycling in Saskatchewan

The Big Muddy Badlands have been formed by millions of years of environmental and historical happenings.  Today, thousands of tourists from all over flock to the badlands to witness the amazing scenery.  This area, located in south central Saskatchewan, just north of the Canada/USA border, has been punctuated with landmarks – both natural and man-made – that tell its exciting story.  Nature lovers and history buffs will enjoy a landscape that holds so many secrets.

While there, camp out in Coronach.  Comfortable campgrounds offer the experience of a lifetime.  Catch something special at one of the local fishing holes, and then take an interpretive tour.

River Rafting on the Ottawa River

Warm water all summer long combines with impressive rapids to make Canada’s premier river rafting destination – the Ottawa River.  The Ottawa is situated along the border between Quebec and Ontario.  Take a guided tour down the Main Channel or guide your own raft down the Middle Channel.  Serene scenery framed by waterfalls and artistic rock formations is balanced by challenging rapids and waves.

While there, go bungee jumping on the Ontario side.  You’ll enjoy stunning views of the Ottawa River from atop the 150-foot tower.  Plunging toward the sparkling waters of the river below will top off this experience of a lifetime.  Book your jump along with your river rafting adventure for a great deal on both.

Climbing the Canadian Rockies

There’s no greater adventure or better way to experience the Canadian outdoors than to climb the Rocky Mountains.  A mountain-climbing escapade to Canmore, Alberta can be a life-changing experience.  The amazing vistas are ones witnessed by very few.  Experienced and well-equipped climbers will enjoy the thrill of a lifetime.  Novice climbers can benefit from the safety of guided tours.

While there, stay at the Canmore Mountain Lodge and let the outdoor hot tub melt away the exhilaration while you take pleasure in views filled with snowy-peaked mountains.

Ontario

Ontario offers the best of all worlds, from lush forests and sparkling lakes to the hustle and bustle of Canada’s largest city – Toronto.  Starting and ending your romantic excursion in Toronto is a great idea.  Explore city sites and savor Canadian fare at its best.  Plan a day trip up north to the Muskoka region for  hiking and swimming, or visit Ontario’s last remaining covered bridge – “The Kissing Bridge” in Waterloo County.

Victoria, BC

This clean, quaint and picturesque city is located on the very tip of Vancouver Island.  Stroll the Inner Harbor arm in arm and enjoy street performances, art exhibits, window-shopping and romantic dining.  At night, head over to Butchart Gardens and witness the magic of flowers and plant life illuminated by floodlights.  Top off your romantic getaway with a horse-drawn carriage ride through James Bay.  Enjoy lovely vistas of the harbor, stately homes and the Juan de Fuca Straight.

Calgary

This famous city is located in the southern region of Alberta province.  Its close proximity to the Canadian Rocky Mountains puts it at driving distance.  Whether you’ve popped the question or not, a visit to one of Calgary’s most popular “proposal” locations is a must.  The Calgary Tower offers panoramic views of the city as well as a revolving restaurant.  Check out Devonian Gardens for an indoor extravaganza of plant life, waterfalls and marine animals.  Calgary offers several romantic lodging options, from 4-star luxury hotels to cozy bed and breakfast inns.

Montreal

Montreal’s artistic mix of old and new makes for a magical experience for couples in love.  Explore the cobblestoned roads of Viex Montreal by L’Amphibus tour.  You’ll ride the amphibious bus through the old neighborhood, and before you know it, the entire vehicle will plunge into the clear waters of the Bateau Mouche.  For a more conventional experience, stroll through Rue Jaques-Cartier, a wide pedestrian access road filled with live entertainment, arts and crafts, and sidewalk cafes.

Prince Edward Island

Canada’s smallest province also serves as a serene place where couples can rediscover each other and reconnect.  Long drives through inspiring scenes of red cliffs, sandy beaches and countryside landscapes provide a relaxing change of pace.  Visit Charlottetown and feel time moving backwards as you stroll through the 19th century-era historic district.  Long walks through dunes and red-sand beaches make Prince Edward Island Park a top romantic destination.

Romantic Canada

No matter what the occasion or which region of Canada you choose, there are romantic getaway options to suit all tastes.  After selecting which province and city you will visit, make sure to seek out special couples packages or honeymoon specials.  Hotels, inns, bed & breakfasts, spas and even restaurants offer discounts or deals to make your stay even more special.

Montreal
This French/English bilingual city is full of fun and educational experiences to be had by children of all ages.  Both parents and kids will take pleasure in experiencing life as it was hundreds of years ago in Old Montreal.  Fast-forward a few centuries and learn about technological advances of today and tomorrow at the Montreal Science Centre.  Explore natural environments by visiting the Biodome, or enrich your family’s cultural appreciation at the Museum of Fine Arts.  Want an adventure? Take a jet boat tour down the Lachine Rapids.

Stay
For the budget-conscious, the Holiday Inn Montreal-Midtown offers a family-friendly stay at a wallet-friendly price.
The ritzy Loews Hotel Vogue specializes in luxury and comfort –for parents and kids.  They have games to lend out, a children’s menu at the hotel restaurant and a welcome gift at check-in.

Niagara Falls
For an unforgettable family vacation, check out the amazing splendor of cascading currents up to 183 feet tall.  Enjoy waterfall tours such as Maid of the Mist or Journey Behind the Falls.  Families can enjoy much more than natural aquatic beauty with a vacation to Niagara Falls.  Tall buildings, hotels with indoor water parks and Ferris wheels are only a few of the things to see and do in this area.

See
Take a break from your action-packed, fun-filled family vacation and take the kids to the Bird Kingdom at the Niagara Falls Aviary.  This exotic, four-time “Attraction of the Year” award winner offers special tours and packages for families.

Calgary
This city, widely known as the gateway to the Canadian Rockies is one of the most child and youth welcoming cities in the country.  Must-see attractions in Calgary include the Calgary Tower, where you can enjoy panoramic vistas of the city from a 525-foot vantage point.  The TELUS World of Science boasts exhibits geared toward different age groups.  The Calgary Zoo, Fort Calgary and Canada Olympic Park offer additional family fun.

Eat
Breakfast at Color’s Café is a must.  Parents will love the unique décor and kids will love the generous buffet.  Colors Café is located in The Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel.

Whistler
Whether your kids are avid snowboarders or just ready to try skiing for the first time, Whistler has something for everyone.  Follow a day on the lifts with a walk through Whistler village where you can sip hot chocolate or window-shop.  If skiing isn’t your thing, camping and zip lining (as well as mountain-climbing and hiking) are all popular family activities.

Do
Get away from the kids for while and treat yourself to luxurious pampering with a spa package at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
Toronto

What better family vacation spot than a large city located on the shore of a lake? Toronto is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and happens to be the most populous city in Canada.  This combination makes for a travel destination surrounded by beauty and chock-full of family activities.  Some of the must-see attractions in Toronto include the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Center, the Toronto Zoo and Black Creek Pioneer Village.

Play
Head to lakefront Ontario Place for a day of fun. Take a pedal boat trip, enjoy a round of mini golf, get shot out of a tube of water, zip down water slides and float on rafts at the Soak City water park.

Image courtesy Flickr

MONTREAL occupies a 50-kilometer (30-mile) long island at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa River. The city core, where many sights are found, is fairly compact and lies to the south and east of Montreal’s main landmark, Mont-Royal. Vieux Montréal, the old city, is nestled on the shore of the St. Lawrence, while the modern downtown lies between it and Mont-Royal. Streets follow a fairly consistent grid pattern making the city easy to navigate.

Museums and Galleries

Musée Marc-Aurèle Fortin

THIS MUSEUM, housed in an old stone warehouse belonging to an ancient order of nuns, has an extensive collection of Fortin’s work, and it also mounts exhibitions of new painting by local artists.

Marc-Aurèle Fortin transformed landscape painting in Canada. He was born in 1888, when European styles dominated North American art.

Fortin loved the light of his native province, and used many unusual techniques. To capture the ‘‘warm light of Quebec,’’ for example, he painted some of his pictures over gray backgrounds. By the time he died in 1970, he left behind not only a staggering amount of work but a whole new way of looking at nature, especially the various rural areas of his native Quebec.

Centre d’Histoire de Montréal

THIS MUSEUM is housed in a handsome, red-brick fire station, which has a gracefully gabled roof built in 1903. The exhibits trace the history of Montreal from the first Indian settlements to the modern age, with the focus on everyday life. There are two floors of permanent exhibits. On the first floor, “Montreal, 5 Times” traces five passages in Montreal’s history, beginning in 1535 with the meeting of First Nations peoples and European explorers and ending with the cultural boom of the 1960s. The second floor houses “Montreal of 1000 Faces,” focusing on trade and immigration through the city’s history. News reel footage from the 30s, 40s and 50s is fun and informative, while a third floor observation deck offers a scenic view of the Old Port and Old Montreal.

Musée d’Art Contemporain

OPENED IN 1964, THE MUSEUM of Contemporary Art is the only institution in Canada dedicated exclusively to modern art. Located in downtown Montreal, more than 60 percent of the approximately 6,000 paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, and installations in the permanent collection are by Quebec artists. Works date from 1939, but the emphasis is on the contemporary. There are also works by innovative international talents, such as the controversial Bill Viola, Louise Bourgeois, and Andrès Serrano. The exhibits are in wide, well-lit galleries whose elegance helped to earn the Musée a Grand Prix from Montreal Council. The exhibition space is built around a rotunda, which runs up through the core of the building.

McCord Museum of Canadian History

LAWYER DAVID Ross McCord (1844–1930) was an avid collector of virtually everything that had to do with life in Canada, including books, photographs, jewelry, furniture, clothing, documents, papers, paintings, toys, and porcelain.

In 1919, he gave his considerable acquisitions to McGill University with a view to establishing a museum of Canadian social history. That collection, now more than 90,000 artifacts, is housed in a stately limestone building that was once a social center for McGill students. The museum has a good section of early history, as well as exceptional folk art. A particularly fine collection of Indian and Inuit items features clothing, weapons, jewelry, furs, and pottery.

A separate room is devoted to the social history of Montreal.

The museum’s most celebrated possession is the collection of 700,000 photographs that painstakingly chronicle every detail of daily life in 19th-century Montreal.

Musée des Beaux Arts

THE OLDEST AND LARGEST art collection in Quebec is housed in two dramatically different buildings that face each other across Rue Sherbrooke. The Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, fronted with four white marble pillars, faces the huge concrete arch and tilting glass front of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion. The former focuses on Canadiana, with Inuit art, furniture, and church silver from early settlers, and paintings from the 18th century to the 1960s. The galleries in the Desmarais Pavilion (illustrated here) focus on European art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, especially the Renaissance. Linking the two pavilions is the gallery of ancient cultures, with rich collections of artifacts, including Roman vases and Chinese incense boxes.

Centre Canadien d’Architecture

VISITORS ENTER through an unobtrusive glass door in an almost windowless façade of gray limestone that fronts this large U-shaped building. Well-lit exhibition rooms house a series of regular exhibits in rotation.

The three primary exhibits focus on architecture, design and landscape architecture.

The two arms of the modern building embrace the ornate, grand Shaughnessy Mansion, which faces Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest. Now part of the Centre, the house was built in 1874 for the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, and has an artnouveau conservatory with an intricately decorated ceiling.

The Centre is also a major scholarly institution. Its collection of architectural plans, drawings, models, and photographs is the most important of its kind anywhere. The library alone has over 165,000 volumes on the world’s most significant buildings.

Maison Saint-Gabriel

THIS ISOLATED little fragment of New France at first appears lost among the apartment buildings of working class Pointe-Saint-Charles. It was a farm when the formidable Marguerite Bourgeoys, Montreal’s first schoolteacher and now a canonized saint, bought it in 1668 as a residence for the religious order she had founded in 1655.

The house, rebuilt in 1698 after a fire, is a fine example of 17th-century architecture, with thick stone walls and a steeply pitched roof built on an intricate frame of original heavy wooden timbers.

Marguerite Bourgeoys and her tireless sisters worked the farm and ran a school on the property for native and colonial children. They also housed and trained the filles du roy (the “king’s daughters”), orphaned young girls sent abroad to be the women of his new colony. The house’s chapel, kitchen, dormitory, and drawing rooms are full of artifacts dating from the 17th century. These include a writing desk the saint used herself and a magnificent vestment and cope, embroidered in silk, silver, and gold by a wealthy hermit who lived in a hut on the property.