1180 Best Sights in Canada

The Georgian mansion of Sir William Campbell, the sixth chief justice of Upper Canada, is now one of Toronto's best house museums. Built in 1822 in another part of town, the Campbell House was moved to this site in 1972. It has been restored with elegant early-19th-century furniture, and knowledgeable guides detail the social life of the upper class. Don't overlook the Lost & Found garden exhibit, salvaged from heritage buildings.

Exhibited here is Canada's most comprehensive collection of vintage aircraft, including a replica of the model that made the country's first powered flight, and myriad aeronautical antiques. You can also book a flight over Ottawa in a Cessna 172 or a de Havilland Chipmunk.

One of the sites of the 1988 Winter Olympics, Winsport operates this year-round attraction featuring a brand-new (2024) day lodge. Summer activities include mountain biking and mini-golf. In winter the slopes are open to the public for skiing and snowboarding and tubing; lessons are available. The new day lodge houses a food court, the Eighty-eight Bar and Grill, and a coffee shop, as well as the Olympic Hall of Fame.

Canada's first and largest theme park, filled with more than 200 games, rides, restaurants, and shops, includes favorite attractions like Planet Snoopy, home of Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang; Windseeker, which features 32 301-foot swings; and Skyhawk, where riders take control of their own cockpit. But Wonderland isn't just for the smallest members of the family; one of 18 roller coasters in the park, The Bat takes riders forward, and then back, through stomach-churning corkscrews and loops. Bring swim gear to take advantage of Splash Works, a 20-acre on-site water park, which boasts 17 waterslides and Canada's largest outdoor wave pool.  Order tickets online in advance for discount prices.

Formerly known as the Canadian Museum of Civilization, this superb institution officially changed its name in 2013 when it received C$25 million in funding from the Canadian government in order to renovate and expand. More than 50,000 square feet of the existing museum has been renovated, and a Canadian History Hall showcasing the people and events that have shaped Canada over the last 15,000 years. Other highlights include the First Peoples Hall, which has some 2,000 objects on display, and the Children's Museum.

Family

Across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Québec, is one of the area's most architecturally stunning buildings, with striking, curved lines that appear to have been molded more by natural forces than by human design. Exhibits trace Canada's history from prehistoric times to the present. Six west coast longhouses, towering totem poles, and life-size reconstructions of an archaeological dig are in the Grand Hall. Kids can enjoy hands-on activities in the Children's Museum. The Cineplus holds the larger-than-life IMAX and Omnimax.

In a castlelike building, the museum and its exhibits explore the earth's evolution, plus the birds, mammals, and plants of Canada. The High Definition Cinema shows nature documentaries that let you dive with whales and sharks or step back to when woolly mammoths roamed North America.

Built in 1953–54 and added to the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2006, Field's International-style train station (not open to the public) is located next to the tracks at the foot of the Big Hill up to Kicking Horse Pass. Another historic Canadian Pacific Railway building, and the only pre-WW2 building remaining in Field, is the old stone and brick telegraph building built in 1931 at the base of the Field townsite. While it's no longer in operation and you can't go inside, it's a great spot to sit a spell and watch for one of the trains that pass through here 25 to 30 times a day.

The potato is one terrific tuber: that's the message delivered by this museum. Earnest and intriguing, it has exhibits devoted to the "Amazing Potato," displays of antique potato-farming equipment, a Potato Hall of Fame, even a gift shop selling potato-themed goods. The museum also runs fun add-on tours, which include a guided spin through the facility, plus a trip out to a potato farm, a potato fudge-making lesson, and a lunch of (you guessed it) potato-based dishes.

Emerging from the ground on a slant that reaches a peak of 24.5 meters (80 feet), the dramatic architecture of the new Canadian War Museum echoes the undulating European landscape where Canadians fought in the two World Wars. A path leads onto the grass-covered roof; the greenery symbolizes earth's regeneration over formerly bloody battlefields. The $136 million museum, opened May 2005, traces Canada's military history with artifacts and a re-creation of a walk-through trench, complete with bursting shells, to a replicated Peacekeepers' command post. In one cavernous gallery, you can walk around a huge collection of artillery and military vehicles including Hitler's Mercedes-Benz. The restaurant's outdoor patio overlooks the Ottawa River.

Browse through the displays at this museum and learn about the history of Canmore and the region from millions of years ago to the present day. Enjoy a fun virtual tour of a coal mine and learn about the geology of the region, too.

You get great views of the Kananaskis River from this day-use site along Highway 40, and if you're lucky you can watch kayakers navigating artificial rapids. There are toilets, a picnic shelter, and a water pump.

This archaeological dig site provides a glimpse into the past of the local First Nations people. Long before Western civilizations developed the Miles Canyon area, the First Nations people used it as a seasonal fish camp. From mid-June to late August, the Yukon Conservation Society sponsors free two-hour, kid-friendly natural and historical hikes starting at the Miles Canyon bridge, which hangs between rock canyon walls over the Yukon River. Hikes provide the opportunity to experience the surrounding countryside with local naturalists and are occasionally led by topic experts like botanists, entomologists, and First Nations historians. The views of the Yukon in the area's hiking trails are worth checking out even without a guide in summer, or on cross country skis or snowshoes in winter. A bookstore in the society's downtown office ( 302 Hawkins St.) specializes in the Yukon's history and wilderness and sells souvenirs, maps, and posters.

A provincial historic site on the point, about 1 km (½ mile) outside town, the lighthouse was built in 1843 and has been restored to the way it looked in 1870.

Here you can learn about the difficult lives of the local men whose job it was to extract coal from undersea collieries. After perusing the exhibits, you can don a hard hat and descend into the damp, claustrophobic recesses of a shaft beneath the museum with a retired miner who'll recount his own experiences toiling in the bowels of the earth. The 15-acre property also includes a replica village that gives you a sense of workers' home life, and it has a theater where the Men of the Deeps choir, a world-renowned group of working and retired miners, performs on certain evenings in summer.

Miles of untouched coastline, more than 10,000 acres of old-growth forest harboring deer, moose, and eagles, and a variety of unique geological features are preserved in Nova Scotia's largest provincial park. It's circumnavigated by a 51-km (31-mile) hiking trail along rugged cliffs that rise 600 feet above the bay, and there are other trails of varying lengths. Wilderness cabins and campsites are available.

The explorer Samuel de Champlain poetically, but inaccurately, named Cape d'Or—there's copper in these hills, not gold. The region was actively mined a century ago, and at nearby Horseshoe Cove you may still find nuggets of almost pure copper on the beach, along with amethysts and other semiprecious stones. Cape d'Or's hiking trails border the cliff edge above the Dory Rips, a turbulent meeting of currents from the Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy punctuated by a fine lighthouse.

If the name of the cape isn't enough of a hint, the 140-year-old (still-working) lighthouse perched on the end of its rocky promontory says much about the nature of the waters here. Add tides that rise as much as 16 vertical meters (53 feet) and this becomes a must-see. If the ziplining, rappelling, and rock-climbing opportunities represent too much excitement, you can walk the boardwalk to a viewing platform below the lighthouse, and from there head down to the long "wilderness" beach below (check tide times and leave at least two hours before high tide; staff can advise).

It isn't the South Shore's most photogenic lighthouse—the one at Peggy's Cove wins that award—but this one scores points for its dramatic vistas and the dearth of other camera-clutching tourists. Erected in 1962 on the site of an earlier lighthouse, the concrete structure rises 75 feet above the entrance to Yarmouth Harbour. The adjacent keeper's quarters house a small museum with interactive exhibits, a fully equipped light-keeper's workshop, a restaurant, and a gift shop. There's also a new accessible viewing platform.

The National Wildlife Area here covers 1,800 acres of salt and brackish marshes, and large numbers of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other species can be seen. The outstanding interpretive center includes a museum and exhibit hall with displays on natural and human history, a restaurant specializing in local fare, and a boutique with nature art and fine crafts. You will also find a viewing tower, 11 km (6.8 miles) of trails (come prepared to deal with insects, and wear long pants and enclosed footwear), and daily guided tours in July and August. This is the best location to photograph the striking architecture of the 13-km (8-mile) Confederation Bridge that links New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island.

This small, but spectacular, park is where you'll find old-growth Douglas fir trees approaching 61 meters (200 feet). There are 26 km (16 miles) of hiking trails and footbridges over the Capilano River, which cuts through a dramatic gorge. At the park's Capilano River Hatchery (4500 Capilano Park Rd., 604/666–1790), viewing areas and exhibits illustrate the life cycle of the salmon. The best time to see the salmon run is between July and November. The Cleveland Dam (Capilano Rd., about 1½ km [1 mile] past main park entrance) is at the north end of the park. Built in 1954, it dams the Capilano River to create the 5½-km-long (3½-mile-long) Capilano Reservoir. A hundred yards from the parking lot, you can walk across the top of the dam to enjoy striking views of the reservoir and mountains behind it. The two sharp peaks to the west are the Lions, for which the Lions Gate Bridge is named. The park is off Capilano Road in North Vancouver, just north of Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

At Vancouver's oldest tourist attraction (the original bridge was built in 1889), you can get a taste of rain-forest scenery, and test your mettle on the swaying, 137-meter (450-foot), cedar-plank suspension bridge that hangs 70 meters (230 feet) above the rushing Capilano River. Across the bridge is the Treetops Adventure, where you can walk along 198 meters (650 feet) of cable bridges suspended among the trees. If you're even braver, you can follow the Cliffwalk, a series of narrow cantilevered bridges and walkways hanging out over the edge of the canyon. Without crossing the bridge, you can enjoy the site's viewing decks, nature trails, and totem park, as well as history and forestry exhibits. There's also a massive gift shop in the original 1911 teahouse, and a restaurant. May through October, guides conduct free tours on themes related to history, nature, or ecology, while fiddle bands, and other entertainers keep things lively. In December, more than 1.5 million lights illuminate the canyon during the Canyon Lights winter celebration. Catch the attraction's free shuttle service from Canada Place; it also stops at hotels along Burrard and Robson Streets.

Many museums are closed Monday, particularly in winter, but the staff at the kiosk can help you locate the ones that are open.

This Designated National Historic Site of Canada was constructed from 1913--1923 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the eighth temple constructed by the church. The monumental granite structure is built on a hill with large landscaped grounds and views of Chief Mountain in the distance. It was designed by American architects, Hyrum Pope and Harold Burton, in the Prairie School style of Frank Lloyd Wright. The building’s interlocking geometric shapes form a pyramidal shape, evocative of Pre-Columbian architecture. Only members of the church are allowed inside the temple, but there is a visitor's center that can be explored and anyone is welcome to walk around the grounds.

The four-level tower, a great place from which to survey the harbor and Partridge Island, was built during the War of 1812 as a precaution against an American attack. During World War II, a structure was added to watch for German submarines entering the harbor—an audiovisual presentation in the visitor center outlines the tower's role in the defense of Saint John. Kids can dress in replica Royal Engineer uniforms and there's a collection of military artifacts to observe. Special events programming, including concerts and kite flying, happen throughout the summer months. While the tower itself is under renovation until the fall of 2025 the grounds and visitor center are open. 

This 300-seat air-conditioned theater has been hosting live theater performances since 1989. Productions run regularly throughout July and August with a variety of family-friendly shows on offer. There are also some winter community theater productions.

A European-style castle, Casa Loma was commissioned in 1911 by financier Sir Henry Pellatt, who spent about C$20 million building his dream home—only to lose it to the taxman a decade later. Some impressive details are the giant pipe organ, the 60-foot-high ceilings in the Great Hall, and the 5-acre estate gardens. The rooms are copies of those in English, Spanish, Scottish, and Austrian castles. Exhibits feature antique cars and hyper-realistic statues of celebrities (paying homage to the many movies, from Chicago to X-Men, that have used Casa Loma as a location), alongside other rotating attractions and events. Included in the admission price is a self-guided multimedia tour (available in four languages).  A tour of Casa Loma is a good 1½-km (1-mile) walk, so wear sensible shoes.

This 4-acre park was built in the 1930s and showcases gardens terraced into a hillside, water features, pavilions, gazebos, and more. The park is behind the administration building, a short walk from downtown Banff. It blooms from late June to early September and is a great place for a picnic or a short escape from the busy downtown area.