Best Canada Day Trips & Things to Do

Occupying the vast northern half of the continent, Canada is a mosaic of wilderness and high-functioning urbanity where "the outdoors" is a way of life. In the west, the Canadian Rockies serve as a cathedral of nature, with the turquoise waters of Lake Louise and the rugged peaks of Banff National Park offering world-class skiing and hiking. In contrast, the French-speaking province of Quebec provides a slice of Europe in North America, particularly in the cobblestoned Old Quebec City, North America's only fortified city north of Mexico. Modern life pulses in Toronto, a multicultural skyscraper-metropolis on the shores of Lake Ontario, and in Vancouver, where you can surf in the Pacific and ski on a mountain in the same afternoon. From the thundering Niagara Falls to the remote, aurora-lit tundra of the Yukon, Canada is a destination defined by its immense scale and famously polite, welcoming spirit.