The Canadian Explorer
The Canadian ExplorerDiscover Canada · Explore Beyond

Cities

Iconic Canadian stays.

Mountain towns, coastal gateways, and historic capitals — 51 guides to the cities that anchor a great Canadian trip.

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City guides

51 of 51
Banff, Alberta

Alberta

Banff

A mountain town carved into the heart of the Rockies.

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Jasper, Alberta

Alberta

Jasper

A wilder Rockies basecamp beneath dark-sky peaks.

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Whistler, British Columbia

British Columbia

Whistler

Two mountains, one village, an endless season.

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Quebec City, Québec

Québec

Quebec City

A walled European capital on the edge of the wild north.

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Vancouver, British Columbia

British Columbia

Vancouver

Where the rainforest meets the Pacific — and the skyline meets the sea.

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Tofino, British Columbia

British Columbia

Tofino

Surf, storm-watching, and rainforest on Vancouver Island's wild edge.

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Toronto, Ontario

Ontario

Toronto

Canada's largest city — and one of the world's most diverse.

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Niagara Falls, Ontario

Ontario

Niagara Falls

A thundering icon with wine country at its shoulder.

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Montréal, Québec

Québec

Montréal

A French-speaking island city with European bones and a North American pulse.

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Calgary, Alberta

Alberta

Calgary

A modern prairie city with the Rockies on the horizon.

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Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Halifax

An Atlantic port city where every street ends at the sea.

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Ottawa, Ontario

Ontario

Ottawa

Canada's capital — gothic spires, a frozen canal, and small-town charm.

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Victoria, British Columbia

British Columbia

Victoria

Garden-laced capital on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

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Edmonton, Alberta

Alberta

Edmonton

Alberta's festival capital above a 48 km river valley.

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Winnipeg, Manitoba

Manitoba

Winnipeg

Where the rivers meet — and the polar bears wait.

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Churchill, Manitoba

Manitoba

Churchill

Polar bears, belugas, and aurora on the edge of Hudson Bay.

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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's

North America's oldest city, painted in jellybean colours.

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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon

The Paris of the Prairies — bridges, bistros, big sky.

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Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown

The birthplace of Canada, on an island of red roads and oysters.

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Squamish, British Columbia

British Columbia

Squamish

Granite walls, eagle skies, and the Sea-to-Sky's outdoor capital.

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Nanaimo, British Columbia

British Columbia

Nanaimo

Vancouver Island's harbour city, a launchpad for the wild east coast.

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Port Hardy, British Columbia

British Columbia

Port Hardy

The end of the road on Vancouver Island, where the ferry north begins.

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Bella Bella, British Columbia

British Columbia

Bella Bella

Heiltsuk homeland on a remote island in the Great Bear Rainforest.

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Prince Rupert, British Columbia

British Columbia

Prince Rupert

The misty deep-water port where the Inside Passage meets Alaska.

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Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

British Columbia

Haida Gwaii

The misty archipelago at the edge of the continent.

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Drumheller, Alberta

Alberta

Drumheller

Hoodoos, dinosaurs, and the strangest landscape on the prairie.

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Canmore, Alberta

Alberta

Canmore

A former coal town turned alpine playground at the gates of Banff.

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Regina, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Regina

Saskatchewan's quiet capital, ringed by wheat and big skies.

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Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Moose Jaw

Tunnels, mineral pools, and prairie murals.

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Algonquin, Ontario

Ontario

Algonquin

Ontario's first provincial park — a canoe country of moose and maple.

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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie

Locks, canyons, and Group of Seven horizons at the edge of Lake Superior.

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Thunder Bay, Ontario

Ontario

Thunder Bay

Where the Sleeping Giant guards Lake Superior's north shore.

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Charlevoix, Québec

Québec

Charlevoix

A meteor-crater landscape of artists, whales, and great farm tables.

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Gaspé, Québec

Québec

Gaspé

Where Jacques Cartier landed and the Chic-Chocs meet the sea.

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Mont-Tremblant, Québec

Québec

Mont-Tremblant

The Laurentians' alpine village, founded by Algonquin and finished in pastel.

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Sainte-Adèle, Québec

Québec

Sainte-Adèle

Lakeside Laurentian town of cafés and ski hills, 45 minutes from Montréal.

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Saint John, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

Saint John

Canada's oldest incorporated city, where the Bay of Fundy reverses a river.

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St. Martins, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

St. Martins

Covered bridges, sea caves, and the start of the Fundy Trail.

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Baddeck, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Baddeck

Lakeside village on Bras d'Or Lake and Alexander Graham Bell's beloved home.

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Ingonish, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Ingonish

Mountains meeting the Atlantic on Cape Breton's east coast.

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Cavendish, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Cavendish

Red cliffs, green gables, and the Anne of Green Gables homeland.

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North Cape, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

North Cape

The wind-swept top of PEI, where two seas meet and reef extends a kilometre out.

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Souris, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Souris

Fishing harbour with Magdalen Islands ferries and Singing Sands beach.

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Bonavista, Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland & Labrador

Bonavista

Where John Cabot saw land in 1497 — fishing-stage village turned design destination.

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Twillingate, Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland & Labrador

Twillingate

Iceberg capital of the world, on a string of islands in the North Atlantic.

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Whitehorse, Yukon

Yukon

Whitehorse

Yukon's capital on the Yukon River — small city, vast wilderness on its doorstep.

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Dawson City, Yukon

Yukon

Dawson City

The Klondike gold-rush town frozen at the moment of its 1898 fever.

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Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

Yellowknife

Gold-rush capital on Great Slave Lake, beneath some of the world's best auroras.

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Iqaluit, Nunavut

Nunavut

Iqaluit

Nunavut's capital on Baffin Island, where Inuit culture and Arctic tundra meet.

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Pond Inlet, Nunavut

Nunavut

Pond Inlet

An Inuit community on the floe edge at the entrance to Sirmilik National Park.

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Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

Nunavut

Cambridge Bay

A Kitikmeot hamlet on Victoria Island and a stop on the Northwest Passage.

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