Why you should visit Canada

There are many reasons to visit Canada.  Canada is the second biggest country in the world, in terms of size.  The country does not have as much climatic variation or big cities and people as its southern neighbor, but it still has a great deal of variety.

Canada has everything from big, cosmopolitan, multicultural cities filled with people from all around the world, small towns and farmland, unspoiled wilderness, and seemingly endless expanses of flat prairie to rugged mountain ranges.

Canada is often considered to be a cold country, and this is in fact the case for much of the year in most parts of the country.  But most of the most populated parts Canada experience short, hot, summers from June or July to August.

Canada is a country that is full of both natural and man made wonders.  Among the former is Niagara Falls, one of North America’s most popular tourist destinations for more than a century.  About an hour’s drive from the falls is Toronto, Canada’s largest city. 

Toronto is a thriving metropolis of several million people, with suburban sprawl spreading in all directions from the city core.  The city’s economic clout and Canada’s liberal immigration policies help to draw large numbers of immigrants from around the world, making it one of the world’s most multicultural cities. 

Perhaps the best thing about Toronto is that, unlike many cities in the United States, its downtown core is still alive and thriving.  In downtown Toronto you will find a wide variety of different neighborhoods and communities packed together in close quarters, from the upscale Yorkville, to the University of Toronto Campus and the small, eclectic Kensington Market.

North of Toronto, near the border of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec is Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.  Here the country’s Parliament Buildings overlook the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River.  In the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, visitors were find a unique culture that stands apart from anything else you will find in North America.  Canada’s second largest city, Montreal, is a laid-back, fun-loving town with thriving nightlife, where even many of the panhandlers speak both of Canada’s official languages.

Further up the St. Lawrence River from Montreal is Quebec City, a staunchly Francophone town whose old city is laid out in Old World style.  Old Quebec City’s old, narrow, 18th