Exploring Montreal, Museums and Galleries

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. Read more

Via Rail Tours – Toronto to Vancouver

If you are looking for a unique and incredible family vacation in Canada, you might consider a train trip with Via Rail. The Canadian, an original flagship passenger train owned by Canadian Pacific Rail, began service on April 24, 1955. The original train route was a bit more southernly than what is used today, but the scenery and wildlife is just as spectacular.

The tour begins with an overnight stay in Toronto, Ontario. Spend your day taking in the sights and sounds of the biggest city in Canada. The next morning, your passenger train tour begins on its journey through Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in 6 days. On your journey from Toronto to Vancouver, you’ll pass through Winnipeg, Saskatoon and then to Edmonton and Jasper, Alberta. Read more

Jasper National Park – Seasonal Sensations

Jasper Forest Park was established in 1907 on the Hudson’s Bay Company trade route from New Caledonia (Fort St. James) to Vancouver. 13,000 kilometers were set aside for the park at that time. It wasn’t until 1930 that Jasper National Park was established as a national park in Alberta. But since then it has included many wondrous sites for visitors to see; including the Icefield Parkway, Pyramid Mountain, The Jasper Tramway, Maligne Lake and canyon, the famous Spirit Island, Marmot Basin Ski Resort and many glacial fed emerald green lakes in the Athabasca River valley. Read more

Visit Victoria British Columbia: Canada’s Most Beautiful City

Victoria British Columbia is the garden city of Canada; its refreshing ocean climate is the reason why flowers grow here all year long.  The natural beauty it possesses lures several million tourists from all over to Victoria BC.

Although Victoria BC has so many wonderful features to share with the world, many people are simply unaware of where it is because of its location on the south tip of Vancouver Island, and just over an hour from Vancouver by ferry.  And, the people who do come to see Vancouver sometimes won’t go to Victoria BC because of how far they have to travel; however, they are really missing out on a lovely city that is safe enough to explore by walking.  And getting there is not as bad as it seems.  The three typical ways: if you are coming in by plane then fly to the International Airport, if you coming from Vancouver or Tsawwassen then take the BC Ferry, or if you are coming up from Washington State then take the Coho Ferry at Port Angeles.  Both the BC Ferry and the Coho Ferry take approximately and hour to cross over the Strait of Georgia. Read more