Travel Stories & Guides

Ottawa's best winter attraction is not a building: it is the frozen Rideau Canal, a 7.8-kilometre skating rink that runs through the city centre and is the largest in the world. It opens when the ice is thick enough, usually in January, and stays open into February or March depending on the year. Skating the canal Access points are marked along the route, with heated changing huts at the main ones. Rent skates at Dow's Lake or the National Arts Centre end, and buy a beaver tail and hot chocolate from the stands on the ice. A full run from downtown to Dow's Lake takes about an hour at an easy..

Washington's cherry trees came from Tokyo in 1912, and the city still celebrates them with a festival that draws more than a million visitors. The trees ring the Tidal Basin, which means the best views are also the most crowded ones: timing is everything. When to go Peak bloom usually falls between late March and early April, and the window is short, about a week once the buds open. The National Park Service publishes a forecast in March; treat it as a forecast rather than a promise, since a cold snap can push it back by days. Early morning before 8:00 gives you soft light and space on the b..

Washington is the rare capital where the main sights cost nothing: the memorials, the Mall and the Smithsonian museums are free. Two days is enough for the memorials, two museums and the Capitol if you plan the walking. Day 1: the Mall at sunrise, museums after Start at the Lincoln Memorial before 7:00, when the reflecting pool is still and the tour buses have not arrived. Walk east past the Vietnam Veterans and Korean War memorials to the World War II Memorial, then look up at the Washington Monument, 169 metres of marble. Spend the afternoon in one or two Smithsonian museums: Air and Space..

Old Montreal is the part of the city that looks like Europe, and the Old Port is the part that feels like a weekend. Both fit into one walking day of about six kilometres, with a long lunch in the middle. Morning: the basilica and the old streets Start at Notre-Dame Basilica on Place d'Armes. The Gothic Revival interior, with its deep blue ceiling and carved wood, is the reason people queue, and the guided visit explains more than the self-guided route. Then walk Rue Saint-Paul and Place Jacques-Cartier, and climb to the Chateau Ramezay for the small museum and the garden. Afternoon: the Ol..

Mount Royal is the hill that gives Montreal its name, and the Plateau is the neighbourhood that gives it its reputation. Together they make the best free day in the city, as long as you accept one long staircase and a lot of eating. Up the mountain Enter the park from Peel Street and follow the switchback path to the Kondiaronk lookout, about 30 minutes uphill, for the classic view over downtown and the river. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also worked on Central Park. From the lookout, the wooded loop to Beaver Lake is another 20 minutes and much quieter than the main p..