Canada

[101]

This is my first long haul flight and I don’t mind flying but 8 hours is such a long time! Which sounds stupid but it really dragged on the flight. Done the first stint of my trip very much enjoyed Toronto and the Whistle Stop Brewery, Hockey Hall of Fame and the tour out the he falls - the town itself is pretty suspect however really like Niagra on the Lake it was a really nice town and luckily not to busy and ice cream shop was outstanding. Train up to Montreal was really nice and on board service in buisness was great decent scran and plenty to drink. Today was my first full day in Montreal not sure I’m enjoying it as much as Toronto however happy to give it time, been round the city chambers and Notra-Dame today planning on going round the parks tomorrow and one of the islands on Saturday anyone get anything else I must see before departing Quebec. Still waking up at like 5am hoping that stops soon.

[MONKMAN]

As you said; Niagara is a shithole, Niagara on the lake is a stunning little town.

[senorsoupe]

On 10/4/2018 at 20:12, Adam101 said:

This is my first long haul flight and I don’t mind flying but 8 hours is such a long time! Which sounds stupid but it really dragged on the flight. Done the first stint of my trip very much enjoyed Toronto and the Whistle Stop Brewery, Hockey Hall of Fame and the tour out the he falls - the town itself is pretty suspect however really like Niagra on the Lake it was a really nice town and luckily not to busy and ice cream shop was outstanding. Train up to Montreal was really nice and on board service in buisness was great decent scran and plenty to drink. Today was my first full day in Montreal not sure I’m enjoying it as much as Toronto however happy to give it time, been round the city chambers and Notra-Dame today planning on going round the parks tomorrow and one of the islands on Saturday anyone get anything else I must see before departing Quebec. Still waking up at like 5am hoping that stops soon.

Montreal is all about the food and drink man.  The old port is pretty nice as well, but the food and drink is where it's at, here are a few suggestions

1. Dominion Square Tavern.  Great old time decorated place, unbelievable drinks and excellent food

2. Schwartz's.  Looks like a shitehole on the outside but has the best smoked meat you will ever have.

3. St. Viatuer Bagel.  Great breakfast place, best bagels IMHO

4. Benelux.  A great Belgian themed brewpub, really tasty beers

5. Brutopia, another great brewpub on Crescent street

Other neighborhoods to check out to find something to eat

1. St. Denis/St. Laurent area.  Lots of great places to eat and drink, pick your pleasure

2. Crescent street.  More upscale, but some great bars and live music venues

3. The Plateau, some excellent cocktail bars as well as a fantastic nightlife

[senorsoupe]

19 hours ago, MONKMAN said:

As you said; Niagara is a shithole, Niagara on the lake is a stunning little town.

This, there are some great wineries in other parts of the Niagara peninsula but the town of Niagara Falls itself is a complete dump

[101]

15 hours ago, senorsoupe said:

Montreal is all about the food and drink man.  The old port is pretty nice as well, but the food and drink is where it's at, here are a few suggestions

1. Dominion Square Tavern.  Great old time decorated place, unbelievable drinks and excellent food

2. Schwartz's.  Looks like a shitehole on the outside but has the best smoked meat you will ever have.

3. St. Viatuer Bagel.  Great breakfast place, best bagels IMHO

4. Benelux.  A great Belgian themed brewpub, really tasty beers

5. Brutopia, another great brewpub on Crescent street

Other neighborhoods to check out to find something to eat

1. St. Denis/St. Laurent area.  Lots of great places to eat and drink, pick your pleasure

2. Crescent street.  More upscale, but some great bars and live music venues

3. The Plateau, some excellent cocktail bars as well as a fantastic nightlife

Thanks! I can’t really get to pished because I’m on my own but will pass in a few of your suggestions of a drink. 

[doulikefish]

16 hours ago, senorsoupe said:

This, there are some great wineries in other parts of the Niagara peninsula but the town of Niagara Falls itself is a complete dump

Ice winetastic

[101]

On 06/10/2018 at 13:53, doulikefish said:

Ice winetastic

I got some, I thought it was very decent and it was on special offer

[sparky88]

On 06/10/2018 at 02:15, senorsoupe said:

This, there are some great wineries in other parts of the Niagara peninsula but the town of Niagara Falls itself is a complete dump

Flipside is it is the best place in Canada for seasonal work, if you find yourself doing a working holiday there. Stayed there for the summer a  few years ago.

[Stu]

On 19/08/2018 at 18:18, Stu said:

Thinking of going to Vancouver with Air Transat. Anyone any experience of them?

Not long back (although it feels like a lifetime ago). Air Transat weren't much different to what BA has become in all honesty. Got a meal and a snack before landing both ways, free soft drinks which was fine for me. Leg room was fine for the longer flights.

Vancouver was great for a week. Went up Grouse Mountain and the view from the top was stunning. Stanley Park was lovely and we also went whale watching. Went to a Cannucks game, where one of the players put another in the hospital after a fight, and did a tour of BC Place which had just three people on it!

[The Minertaur]

Planning a trip to Canada in September. Any suggestions for must do's in Vancouver?

[welshbairn]

9 minutes ago, The Minertaur said:

Planning a trip to Canada in September. Any suggestions for must do's in Vancouver?

Chinatown's good for a night out.

[Fullerene]

16 hours ago, The Minertaur said:

Planning a trip to Canada in September. Any suggestions for must do's in Vancouver?

I have been there twice.  Stanley Park, Gastown and along the waterfront are obvious tourist locations.

The smallest building in the world is located in Gastown.

I also went over to Vancouver Island and stayed the night in Victoria.  That was followed by a trip to Butchart Gardens - easily the prettiest quarry I have ever been to - now a major tourist attraction.  I took my bags down to the harbour in Victoria.  They took me by bus to the Gardens and later I wandered down to the pier where a boat collected me and took me back to Vancouver (along with my bags which had already been transfered to the boat).

I also went to Point Roberts which is a small suburb of Vancouver located below the 49th parallel and therefore in the USA.  Since I had already been to the USA two months earlier the guy at passport control said "hey your previous visit is still valid so I don't need to ask you any questions apart from 'do you need a map?'".

Edited February 14, 2020 by Fullerene

[welshbairn]

I found Gastown a bit naff, like most designated tourist/heritage zones in North America. It was quite a few years ago though, might have found its way by now.

[Stu]

4 hours ago, The Minertaur said:

Planning a trip to Canada in September. Any suggestions for must do's in Vancouver?

Grouse Mountain is fantastic if you get it on a good day. The views back down to Vancouver are incredible. The suspension bridge on the way there is decent enough but a bit pricey for what it is (not that Grouse Mountain is cheap). Neither are that far from downtown and they have free buses running to them.

Stanley Park is great to walk around, you can walk all the way round the outside or do bits in the middle. Queen Mary Park is nice, although we were there on a driech day. The Bloedel Conservatory is worth a visit - it's like a big dome with birds flying about and almost smacking into you.

You can do a boat trip of the harbour which isn't too expensive, if you get a Groupon - and if you have more money burning your pocket you could go whale watching, although that was bloody cold. And if you have even more you could get a trip in a sea plane (didn't do that!). There's also wee water taxis that go around False Creek and Granville Island has a fantastic food market.

Also your usual selection of sport teams depending when you go. You can do a tour of BC Place but it's pretty much your standard stadium tour (there were only three folk on it!). It does have the British Columbia Sports Museum which I found interesting mainly for the Greg Moore exhibit.

Probably not the best person to recommend food or bars as I'm teetotal, but this place was good for breakfast as it was right beside the hotel: https://www.chezcora.com/ And, of course, you have Tim Hortons everywhere.

[arab_joe]

On 13/02/2020 at 19:52, The Minertaur said:

Planning a trip to Canada in September. Any suggestions for must do's in Vancouver?

How long do you have?

If you have a spare month then a must-do is to explore Vancouver Island, get the ferry along the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, get the two-day train to Jasper, then hire a car to drive through the Icefileds Parkway to Banff... the most spectacular part of the world that you'll ever see!  

On 13/02/2020 at 20:03, welshbairn said:

Chinatown's good for a night out.

I don't know if I am being whooshed, but in Vancouver's Chinatown last summer I literally saw a man inject heroin then pass out standing upright in the middle of the pavement, needle still in arm. 

It was the worst neighbourhood I have ever been in (and it seems that I am not the only one: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d155843-Reviews-Vancouver_ChinaTown-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html)...

On 14/02/2020 at 00:51, Stu said:

You can do a boat trip of the harbour which isn't too expensive, if you get a Groupon - and if you have more money burning your pocket you could go whale watching, although that was bloody cold. And if you have even more you could get a trip in a sea plane (didn't do that!). There's also wee water taxis that go around False Creek and Granville Island has a fantastic food market.

A few years back I did a Victoria day trip from Seattle (I'm sure there are similar trips from Vancouver), and although it was a long/expensive day, seeing whales in the wild is a magical experience.  It was absolutely brilliant and I would recommend to anyone.

[The Minertaur]

9 minutes ago, arab_joe said:

How long do you have?

If you have a spare month then a must-do is to explore Vancouver Island, get the ferry along the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, get the two-day train to Jasper, then hire a car to drive through the Icefileds Parkway to Banff... the most spectacular part of the world that you'll ever see!  

Think we are having 3 days in Vancouver before driving to Banff and then onwards to Calgary.  If you could create my an itinerary for Vancouver then that would be great  

[arab_joe]

35 minutes ago, The Minertaur said:

Think we are having 3 days in Vancouver before driving to Banff and then onwards to Calgary.  If you could create my an itinerary for Vancouver then that would be great  

I'll be honest I have only ever spent a few days in Vancouver, so others may be more useful - I did very touristy stuff (Gastown, Stanley Park, Yaletown, Granville Island, waterfront etc.) and was left slightly traumatised by my walk through Chinatown.

I have been to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper on a number of occasions and genuinely put them up there with the best places I have ever visited.  The scenery, wildlife and hiking are absolutely mind-blowing.

I've not driven from Vancouver to Banff, but have driven between Banff and Jasper a few times and was even lucky enough to spot a bear from the comfort of the car.  If you have a few spare hours then it would be well worth detouring along the Icefields Parkway (if nothing else, seeing Lake Moraine is worth it if you can fight your way past all of the influencers posing for photos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moraine_Lake).

[The Minertaur]

33 minutes ago, arab_joe said:

I'll be honest I have only ever spent a few days in Vancouver, so others may be more useful - I did very touristy stuff (Gastown, Stanley Park, Yaletown, Granville Island, waterfront etc.) and was left slightly traumatised by my walk through Chinatown.

I have been to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper on a number of occasions and genuinely put them up there with the best places I have ever visited.  The scenery, wildlife and hiking are absolutely mind-blowing.

I've not driven from Vancouver to Banff, but have driven between Banff and Jasper a few times and was even lucky enough to spot a bear from the comfort of the car.  If you have a few spare hours then it would be well worth detouring along the Icefields Parkway (if nothing else, seeing Lake Moraine is worth it if you can fight your way past all of the influencers posing for photos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moraine_Lake).

The plan is to do Lake Louise etc from Banff as we're there for a few days.

I'll be sure to avoid Chinatown  

Best restaurants in Vancouver?

[paul wright scores]

3 hours ago, The Minertaur said:

Think we are having 3 days in Vancouver before driving to Banff and then onwards to Calgary. 

We're going in the opposite direction in July , starting in Calgary for the Stampede.  We have one other day there before heading onto Banff, Emerald Lakes, Kelowna, Vancouver Island before finishing in Vancouver.

If anyone has suggestions on what to do and see in Calgary and Kelowna it would be helpful.

[Mon_The_Fife]

The plan is to do Lake Louise etc from Banff as we're there for a few days.
I'll be sure to avoid Chinatown:lol:  
Best restaurants in Vancouver?

If you’re going to Lake Louise, you will need to head all the way up the Parkway to Jasper. The road is by far the most scenic I’ve ever driven on with plenty stops on the way including ‘near jams’. I was lucky enough to work at a resort next to Sunwapta Falls on the Parkway so managed to get all the touristy stuff for free such as the Colombia Icefield and white water rafting on the Sunwapta River.

I’ve only spent a few days in Vancouver and all the highlights have been covered already. Stanley Park, Gastown and Grouse Mountain all worth a visit. I was ‘lucky’ to see a Whitecaps game when I was there too. A team littered with quality such as Kenny Miller and Nigel Reo Coker at the time.