7 Best Sights in Canada

This stunning library, housed in a former 19th-century Methodist church, is a true gem for design, architecture, and culture enthusiasts alike. Completely revamped a few years ago, its now whitewashed, design-heavy interior earned international acclaim and architectural awards. Inside, you'll find compelling permanent exhibitions on French Canadian literature and culture, along with weekly showings of various genres of French-Canadian movies.

Once the city hall of the former municipality of Maisonneuve before it was annexed by the City of Montréal, the Beaux-Arts building became the home of the public library for the Montréal borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in 1981. The growth of the borough and the changing needs of the community prompted a C$42.6 million restoration and expansion project begun in 2020. The heritage building's stone facade, stained glass windows and skylight, mosaic floors, grand central staircase, among other architectural features worth preserving, were all meticulously restored to their former glory. With the addition of two light-filled glass wings, which adjoin either side of the main stone building, the library's surface area was tripled. The result of the project, completed in 2023, is nothing short of magnificent, and well worth a visit.

Architecture buffs should plan a visit to Calgary’s newish central library. When it opened in 2018, it was one of Architectural Digest's most anticipated buildings of the year. The building’s curved surface is composed of hexagonal panels that give way to an expansive archway at the entrance, created entirely of western red cedar planks from British Columbia. Inside, six floors provide all the trappings of a modern, tech-enriched library, from a children’s library on the main floor to the Great Reading Room on the top floor, designed so Calgarians and visitors can ruminate over their books and computers in the glow of natural light.

Honoring the memory of the city's first children's librarian, this branch houses the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books, which contains over 90,000 items, including a cuneiform tablet dating all the way back to 2,000 BC. In addition, the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy includes another 80,000-plus items covering everything from parapsychology to UFOs.

This recently renovated, award-winning library is the second-most visited place in Edmonton, in part because of its new multi-story simulation wall in the lobby; made up of 278 screens, it's North America's biggest digital exhibit. Other innovations include a 10,000-square-foot makerspace area with 3D printing facilities, recording studios, robotics, and fabrication tools, and the Gamerspace that includes the latest gaming consoles as well as retro video games. Pîyêsîw wâskâhikan (Thunderbird House) is a dedicated Indigenous gathering space that includes an independent HVAC system, making it the first public space in the city to support unrestricted smudging.

Early writing artifacts such as a Babylonian cuneiform tablet, a 2,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus, and books dating to the beginning of European printing in the 15th century are shown here in exhibits changing three times annually. Subjects of these shows might include William Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, Italian opera, or contemporary typesetting. Registration is required to use the collections, so bring government-issued ID with you, but there's no admission fee to view the exhibition area.

Designed by one of Canada's most admired architects, Raymond Moriyama, who also created the Ontario Science Centre, this five-story library is arranged around a large atrium, which gives a wonderful sense of open space. One-third of the more than 6.2 million items—spread across 82 km (51 miles) of shelves—are open to the public. Audio carrels are available for listening to nearly 40,000 music and spoken-word recordings. There's an impressively large performing arts collection, and, lest you think libraries have to be quiet, listening stations and piano rooms are on the fifth floor—as is the Arthur Conan Doyle Room, which is of special interest to Baker Street fans. It houses the world's finest public collection of Holmesiana, including records, films, photos, books, manuscripts, letters, and even cartoon books starring Sherlock Hemlock of Sesame Street. The fourth-floor Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room opened in 2022, with collections from the man who founded Canada's most prestigious literary award, the Giller Prize.