I have a chance to go to Canada this spring. Which city should I choose to fly into? Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal or Vancouver? Thanks in advance!

I'm sure youll get a few questions on this. What are your interests? When in the spring? How long do you have?

Although your heading said 'visit' your question said 'fly into' which is slightly different. The three central Canada cities you mentioned as well as Vancouver all have good connections to the US while Toronto has good connections to virtually everywhere. Vancouver has a very user friendly but busy airport and is a good choice for visiting the West Coast and/or the Rockies. Visitors to the West Coast and the Rockies often fly into Vancouver and leave from Calgary or vice versa.

But Susan is of course right when she says your question of which place to 'visit', (assuming you're only going to visit one), is unanswerable unless you let us know where you're coming from both geographically and for personal preferences because each of them is unique.

Each city has it's own quality.

For history and outdoors experiences such as hiking the Gatineaus or rafting down the Ottawa River - choose Ottawa.

For a French flair, walking about, fine restaurants, art galleries, antiques shopping, a great old quarter, wood fired bagels, casinos, interesting shopping choose Montreal.

For a mountain and ocean scenic experience, Vancouver is without equal.

For "Everything all the Time" experience such as
theatres, shopping, pubs and clubs, fabulous restaurants of all the world's major cuisines, hip village neighbourhoods, choose Toronto.

Each city has it's own complement of museums and art galleries - all worth investigating.

Vancouver.

BAK

Sorry for the confusion - We are planning a trip to somewhere in Canada for May or maybe later next year. We will take a week and will be renting a car - unless the city we choose is walking friendly. And our interests are varied: we love New York, Paris and London, but had a great time in Lake Tahoe and Yellowstone last summer. HogtownJim thanks for hitting the highlights - they all sound wonderful and my decision just got harder But this has given me some ideas so I can try to narrow down what type of vacation I want next year. Thanks a million!

Hello Donna,

I suspect BAK recommended Vancouver because spring arrives there considerably sooner than the other cities you mentioned. Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, for example, may still experience a snow fall in the middle of April, whereas the cherry blossoms are well established in Vancouver by the beginning of March.

Now that you've returned and clarified that you want to travel in May or later, it opens up the field. In May the weather would be somewhat comparable in all of those cities.

So it comes back to a question of how you'd like to spend your time, and I guess only you can decide that.

If you want to try something new, I feel that Vancouver is rather different from the other places you've mentioned, and would round out your previous set of experiences very nicely.

You could explore Vancouver itself, hop over to Vancouver Island and see the smaller city of Victoria, and perhaps even pay a visit to the mountain resort town of Whistler back on the mainland.

There would be many aspects of such a trip that you would be able to do by public transportation. However, depending on what you wanted to see, it probably would be helpful to have a rental car for a couple of days.

But those really are logistical questions that only will become relevant when you've chosen which city you want to fly into.

To add to your city options, consider:

Quebec City - North America's oldest city - strolling the old quarter, eating good food, practicing your French.

Halifax - the eastern Martime region is great - friendly people, Atlantic coastlines, ships and lighthouses, lobster, Scottish and Irish culture.

Tourists from all over the world come to experience Canada's great outdoors.

If you are into wilderness adventure, kayaking in the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia or rafting the Yukon River are for you.

For a more leisurely pace, try hiking the Banff region by day and dining in a good restaurant by night

Visit Churchill Manitoba in the fall to see the Polar Bears as they wait to head out to sea.

Hello Donna,

Oooo - you have so many great choices, it'll be tough to decide!!

You could "double up" on some of your locations, for example:

Montreal for its French flavour and Ottawa the national capital (and Gatineau across the Ottawa River).

Halifax and Cape Breton Island (rugged Atalntic coast)

Toronto and Niagara Falls

Vancouver, Victoria and Pacific Rim National Park (rainforests and Pacific Ocean)

Calgary and Banff and Banff National Park (if "later than May" means sometime in July, then take in the Calgary Stampede - cowboys galore!! - and drive one hour west to Banff for a visit to the Rocky Mountains).

Other suggestions:
Quebec City
Newfoundland and St. John's

Browse the Travel Canada website below for more ideas, information and links:

http://www.travelcanada.ca/tc_redesign/app/

Good luck with your plans!!

Halifax, Nova Scotia. Late June or early July or even later if possible.

Vancouver was my first Canadian city (thanks to advice from the lovely posters on this forum) and it was certainly wonderful. There is so much to do and it combines sophisticated city with breathtaking nature.

On the other hand, I loved Toronto too--and I keep wanting to expand my Canadian list!

I would visit:

1. Ottawa
2. Quebec
3. Vanocuver
4. Montreal

Plus Rockies (Lake Louise, Jasper, Banff).

NO Toronto.

Either four are good, but all four cities are so different from eachother, it will really depend on what you want to see and do, and what sounds more attractive to you. In my opinion, these four cities are like trying to choose between Chicago, New York, San Francisco and ermm... Baltimore, as your first visit to the USA.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, and it's Canada's "headquarters" city. As a result, it's Canada's most corporate-culture city. Toronto's also the country's media headquarters and the largest city in terms of restaurant options, nightclubs, shopping. Because of this, many locals will refer to it to visitors as Canada's "New York". It's located in a very urban part of the country not particularly known for its scenery, but it is located on one of the great lakes. Toronto seems to pride itself on its multiculturalism and its various neighbourhoods. I guess in this way it might be like New York, but in terms of the vibe of the city as a whole, I'd actually compare it more to Chicago.

Ottawa is unlike any other city. It's actually quite small and modest for a capital city, but its perks are that it's relatively quiet and has all the amenities of a larger city. It's also possibly the only city in all of Canada where you'll hear English as often as French being spoken. Ottawa is located on the Ottawa River and also has a canal which runs through the city, so there are tons of paths for strolling and cycling. There's also a lot of great museums - the National Gallery (for art), the Canadian War Museum, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Museum of Civilization (across the river in Gatineau), the Science museum, etc. It's a very government-oriented city, quite small, but has plenty of attractions to visit. Gatineau Park is across the river in Quebec, which makes for a nice day trip.

Montreal is definitely the coolest city in Canada. Being the only city that you chose located in Quebec, it is a predominately French city that's bilingual. The architecture is the most unique in all of North America, and it's definitely the most fashion-conscious in Canada. There's lots of history in Montreal, including the Vieux Montreal port, with cobble-stone roads and buildings from the 1600's. Montreal's known for great shopping, nightlife and restaurants. There's also a huge Jewish population in Montreal, which partially explains the city's excellent smoked meat and bagels. In my opinion, it shares similar vibes with New York. Out of all Canadian cities, Montreal is the most eccentric and exciting.

Ottawa and Montreal are within a relatively short (2 hour?) drive from eachother. Toronto's a further drive (4 hours?) from Ottawa.

Vancouver is the most modern city out of the bunch and the most scenic in terms of natural environment. It's the only city you've listed on the Pacific and the most differen

Whoa... I was on a role there. It looks like my message was cut up. Here's the remainder:

Vancouver is the most modern city out of the bunch and the most scenic in terms of natural environment. It's the only city you've listed on the Pacific. Spring will be at its tail end by May as the flowers start blooming in Vancouver in February. It will definitely be the most green out of the cities you've listed. Vancouver is good if you're looking for equal opporunities to see nature and city life, as the city's located at the foot of mountains, on the edge of the ocean. Vancouver has more of an Asian influence in its culture than the others. The cuisine scene is also some of the best, especially if you're into sushi and seafood. The ski resort of Whistler is a short drive away from Vancouver, and you can also take the ferry across to Vancouver Island, where you can visit the rainforests and open Pacific beaches in Tofino, or the quaint British-ness of Victoria.

As you can see, it really depends on what you want your first experience of Canada to be. If you're travelling in May, I'd opt for Vancouver because the scenery and weather will be ideal over the other cities, however, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal will give you completely different experiences if those sound more attractive.

Donna,

Because you spoke of renting a car I thought I'd voice my leaning toward VANCOUVER for your trip.

The city itself is made to be quite compact by the many surrounding waterways, and the outlying areas just can't be beat for scenery!

I've been to most of the bigger cities in Canada during the past few years (everywhere but Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and for scenic driving only Nova Scotia can hold a candle to what BC offers.

If you're really into shopping, the world's largest shopping mall is in Edmonton, Alberta and a drive there from Vancouver takes you through stunning mountain ranges. (check www.westedmontonmall.com just for fun)

Otherwise the day trips from Vancouver include oceans and islands and mountains which can't be equaled so conveniently elsewhere in southern Canada.