Top Canada hotels
Tipping Toronto
13 Reviews Think. Don't listen to ignorant people about tipping. 10% is an insult at a sit down restaurant. Remember, 15% is an average standard tip all over the world, and included in EVERY bill in most...
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Drugs & alcohol Vancouver
5 Reviews A clever new nickname for Vancouver that I just heard recently. Let me dispel the rumours somewhat. Yes the laws towards marijuana are somewhat less strict here (and everyelse in Canada) than other...
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Bilinguism Montreal
34 Reviews I was somewhat worried about communicating in Montreal, especially as most of the signs are in French, but I didn't have a problem at all. We didn't run into anyone who didn't speak english....
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Local food and drinks Quebec
26 Reviews Through our trip to the provences of Quebec and New Brunswick we would stop at a restaurant and see the mysterious word "Poutine" on the menu. Finally I was brave enough to ask, "What the heck IS...
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Drinking/Buying alcohol Ottawa
10 Reviews It happens for three days, once a year. The Ottawa Wine and Food Show is an excellent place to try different wines, food and other spirits prepared and presented by local businesses among others....
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Cultural/Historical Victoria
24 Reviews An artist and writer concerned with the culture of the First Nations of British Columbia, and thoroughly appreciative of the natural beauty of the place, Emily Carr is probably helped develop the...
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Cultural Mosaic Edmonton
4 Reviews The Festival usually takes place the first weekend in August . Hawrelark Park serves as the venue where all the different ethnic groups have their tents and stages up. You can learn about the...
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Calgary Stampede Calgary
8 Reviews One of Calgary’s symbols is a White Cowboy Hat. This is the home of the Stampede and of course you'll want to be one of the good guys wearing a white hat rather than wearing a black hat. White Cowboy...
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General city Information Winnipeg
1 Review The legal drinking age in the province of Manitoba is 18 years. If you look 20ish, you will be asked for ID when buying alcohol or entering a pub. It is illegal to drink alcohol in public other than...
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Birds/ Animals/Flowers Banff National Park
25 Reviews These cheeky little fellows popped up everywhere and were a joy to see. Please do not feed them although they will squeek for your attention = when tourists are thin on the ground they have to survive...
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Summer festivals Charlottetown
3 Reviews In August, there's Old Home Week at the Charlottetown Driving Park. The main event is the big horse race, but there's also a midway with carnival rides and games, as well as farm animal exhibits. All...
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People / Different cultures Toronto
37 Reviews Tastes of Thailand offered a wealth of activities that surely made a mark to event goers who like cultural dance and music. I have enjoyed the parade of native Thai costumes. It was colourful. You...
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Language, accents & slang Vancouver
8 Reviews Take note of Vancouver's proprietary geographical terms. “The Valley” is the Fraser Valley, roughly from Surrey to Hope. “The Island” is Vancouver Island. There are other islands, but this rule is...
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Français Montreal
18 Reviews If the red octogon isn't obvious enough, "Arrêt" is the French word for "Stop". Apparently the province of Quebec is the only place in the world where they have translated the word "Stop" on stop...
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Languages (French, English) Quebec
20 Reviews Outside the Old City, very few people speak fluent English, but in the tourist area, most everyone speaks English. Signs, however, are often only in French (unless the English is smaller), so take...
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French and English Ottawa
11 Reviews Canada is English speaking, apart from Quebec which has remained French speaking, with people of French origin. Ottawa and Gatineau are divided by Ottawa river, Ottawa being in Ontario on the English...
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Currency/Tipping Victoria
6 Reviews Please excuse me if you think this is a silly tip but I just wanted to point out that American coins (quarters, dimes, nickels etc) are NOT considered eligible for preferential exchange in stores or...
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Fort Edmonton Park Edmonton
1 Review Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest open-air history park, is a recreation on the city’s early history. There’s an evocative reconstruction of the original Hudson’s Bay Company trading post of 1846,...
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Mountains Calgary
1 Review 1.Canadians in general are very friendly and helpful, if asked for information about locations or history (although in Calgary there is NOT MUCH history left... i mean places, older than 5-10 years)!...
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Winnipeg Festivals Winnipeg
2 Reviews Winnipeg is a cultural mosaic. There are people here from every part of the world. For the first two weeks of August each year, there is a two week long festival (called Folklorama) where 40 different...
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Presents/Souvenirs Banff National Park
5 Reviews All these wonderful items were found at the shops along Banff Avenue. I took these pictures because I've learned to curb my spending on decorative items. You wouldn't believe the amount of things I've...
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Liquor / Beer / Wine Toronto
10 Reviews The laws concerning alcohol consumption in Toronto follow mostly Ontario laws. The government regulates all sales of beer, wine and liquor, so you can expect prices to be expensive here. Even local...
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Multiculturalism Vancouver
9 Reviews Vancouver is often considered one of the most integrated cities in the world with more interracial couples and less racial segregation than any other city in Canada. Since its beginnings as a city in...
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Festival Montreal
8 Reviews Montreal is a city which takes pride in its summer festivals. I happened to be in town for the World Beer Festival: can you say "happy coincidence"? The "Mondial de la Biere" provides a space for beer...
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History, culture and politics Quebec
8 Reviews When walking through an old city you will always come across some nice brass monuments preserving the history of the district and the way of life. We found this brass monument whilst walking the old...
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We take our shoes or boots off when we enter peoples homes. It is considered rude not to do so. I know that in my American Grandmother was always offended that I took my shoes off in the house, because she said that the house was for living in, but I guess here we just don't want to deal with the constant intake of mud, leaves and snow.
This tipping thing is a bit strange for us brits (even more so for the scots lol) anyway the general rule is to leave the same as the tax which is approx 15%. My wife always moans at me when I forget to leave anything and goes on and on about how these poor waiter and waitresses supplement their income with tips. And then she goes on and on about what she'd do to customers who didn't tip her when she worked in Pizza hut as a kid (involved a very scary glance). So to avoid any embarrasment leave the same at the tax rounding it up or down to the nearest dollar. That said I refuse to tip my hair dresser becasue he charges $23!! so there are times when you need to use your judgement.
Funny money. That's how some folks south of the border call the Canadian money. Yes it is interesting, fascinating and different. What you see on this image is the one dollar coin, (Loonie). Why is it called a loonie. If you enlarge the image, you might see there is a Canada loon on it. We also have a two dollar coin, called the toonie.Canadian money is hard to counterfeit and it will fit in your wallet where American money fits. The bills are approximately the same size. The smallest bill is $5- and the largest is $100- Canada also released $1000- bills for a limited time but these are no longer in circulation. Please check out my off the beaten path page about Ottawa to see my tips on the Canadian currency museum. To see how much your money worth in Canada, check the web site below.
Canadians love to laugh! If you'd like to get a sampling of some great Canadian and International comedians then tune into CJAD at these times: Saturday: 5pm - 7pm (ET) Sunday: 12pm - 2pm (ET)This comedy show is hosted by Ernie Butler, a well known figure in the Montreal comedy scene.For other comedy venues around Montreal and other parts of Canada check out Just For Laughs. Their main event is a comedy extravaganza, held every summer in Montreal.
Thanks to Karin, our Canadian friend who sent us the new coins you can see here the front of the new 1 dollar coin. And on the back here you can see the Kodiak bear, that inhabits northern Canada and Alaska.
Thanks to Karin, our Canadian friend who sent us the new coins you can see here the back of the new 1 dollar coin. And if you guessed that what you see is a Canadian Goose, then I think you may be right, the goose is the most outstanding Canadian symbol after the maple leaf.Today 17-1-2004, I got a correction from Scotch95, my "guess" that it was a Canadian Goose was wrong and he points out that it is a Loon, thanks Scotch95....sorry for the mistake. He also told me that the coin is know as a "LOONEY", now I know WHY ^O^
Ok, so it's North American football and not "real" football. I've played both the Canadian rules (Junior Football) and the American rules (NAIA). As a wide receiver I liked the wider field in Canadian ball and the ball was thrown more.
Canada is officially a bilingual country, representing the two major languages of the Europeans who developed the country. Part in parcel of this is that all food & drink labels must be shown in both English & French.I'm embarassed by the fact that when it was first adopted many fellow Western Canadians complained about French being on their box of cornflakes. People are under real oppression in many other parts of the world but us Canadians complain about what's displayed on our cereal boxes!Nowadays I thankfully see very little controversy over this issue. While travelling around Montreal I frequently learn new French words by reading the advertising!
Thanks to Karin, our Canadian friend who sent us the new coins you can see here the front of the new 2 dollar coin.That is the Queen of England on the coin, celebrating their being in the British Commonwealth of nations.
The rue du Trésor is named after the building where colonists paid their taxes to the royal treasury. Over time, this charming little street became a gathering place for artists, who now exhibit their paintings, prints and drawings. The rue du Trésor is extremely popular with tourists and residents alike.
Residence Inn Toronto Downtown / Entertainment District Toronto
4 Reviews and 508 Opinions I like it really much. Very clean, personnel was very professional, the suites are like a real home...
Opus Hotel Vancouver
5 Reviews and 653 Opinions A contemporary hotel located in the very cosmopolitan Yaletown. Top-notch service from a very...
Le Square Phillips Hotel Montreal
5 Reviews and 696 Opinions The stay was unremarkable. The hotel was drab. Dark, old, office building appearance. Our bedroom...
Reviews and photos of Canada attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Canada sightseeing.
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Q: Hi, I'm traveling to Vancouver next week, and I wondered if anyone knows whether there might be a problem with withdrawing...
A: The only issue that you may run into is trying to withdraw money from a machine that is not part of the Visa network. Most Canadian banks are on this network; the only...
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