What's Your Favorite Canadian Major City and Why?

[LuminousVelocity]

What's your favorite Canadian major city and why?

I've only been to Niagra Falls, so I can't justly answer my own thread. Shame, I know! I'd LOVE to see Montreal. How about you all, though? Preferences based on experience, just passing through, because your favorite Alphan lives(d) there, or maybe you just saw a particular one featured on the Travel Channel? Share, please!

[LuminousVelocity]

I just realized this thread is in the totally wrong section. My apologies. Anyone know how to move it?

[Transmetropolitan]

Admittedly, my experience has been limited, and I'm not sure what constitutes a "major city." I'll just go with my favorite stopovers

1) Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver was just fun.
2) Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Reminds me of home so much I almost cried when I left.


Hmmm... got a couple more. Will edit as I go back down memory lane.

[Adam]

What's your favorite Canadian major city and why?

I've only been to Niagra Falls, so I can't justly answer my own thread. Shame, I know! I'd LOVE to see Montreal. How about you all, though? Preferences based on experience, just passing through, because your favorite Alphan lives(d) there, or maybe you just saw a particular one featured on the Travel Channel? Share, please!

I'm from Niagara Falls, if we're a major city I'll eat my hat.

I love Quebec City, well, old Quebec. I haven't really been outside the walls.

[Canucklehead]

Vancouver, bar none. Montreal was beautiful to visit but I think too big for my tastes. Vancouver was just so easy to get around, no snow on the streets and so many things to do all year round. I cleaned snow out of my boot on top of a mountain one morning, then got a tan on the beach that afternoon. Great people too.

[Powersurge]

I've lived in Toronto, Winnipeg, and now Victoria, and have passed through Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Vancouver (amongst others)... as well as having been all over the Maritimes as a young child. I was born in New Brunswick.

I have to say that while I initially had some trouble adjusting to Victoria, it is a beautiful city... virtually everything is within walking distance, ie. 1 hour, very few if any buildings soar above 10 stories and none of them are downtown, there are trees, flowers and greenary everywhere and everywhen, and there seems to always be something going on... even if it isn't BIG pop-culture stuff.

[RolandT]

Saskatoon. Little crime, lots of trees, a river, a great university, friends up their, good bookstores and libraries, nice swimming pools, clean.

[syvalois]

Personnally, I would go back in Quebec City anytime. No sex club downtown, great architectures, downtown is in uppertown :P . Most of all a great sense of history, great view, lot of hills lot of place to walk. Lot of wind, big winter. A little bit of Europe in North America. Good beer, good restaurants. What can I say? I'm a little bit biased. :wink: :lol:

[SephirothsKiller]

From personal experience I'd have to say Quebec City, but if I could say a city I've never even been to it would be Vancouver, for several reasons, such as UBC and the fact that its the number one city in the world to live in (tied with Oslo.) The only thing bringing it down is all that crime.

[HappyCanuck]

Well, having only been to five 'major' cities in Canada (Yellowknife - my hometown -, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Whitehorse), I'd say my experiences are a bit for naught.

As I said, I was raised in the North, and while it has it's own nostalgia, you won't get me back up there without a LOT of kicking and screaming. Same with the Prairie cities (Edmonton is just plain UGLY, any time of the year. Calgary's not that bad, but still too flat for my tastes). And Vancouver... Well, that city is just too plain BIG for me, tho and interesting place nonetheless.

What can I say, I'm a small-town boy at heart.

[LuminousVelocity]

Wow! Amazing replies, people. Thank you so much! I have to admit my knowledge of Canada is limited to the Alpha Flight comics and what research I could do online (I know, I know, horrible). Oh, and I also saw the South Park movie tonight for the first time ever. Such bashing of our northern border friends! Still...kinda funny. :) Anyway, from reading what you all have had to say, though, it sounds like a great place to visit. Of course, visiting "Canada" is easier said than done, but maybe a few major hotspots or cities. Keep your replies coming, though, I'd love to hear more! Who knows, maybe a trip is on the horizon. Thanks, again!

[PWalk]

Montreal, beautiful city, good food, and some of the best strip joints I've ever been in.
{sas}

[Julesville]

I've only ever been to Toronto. I liked it, it seemed very cosmopolitan. Ontario Place was fun.

[birdygirl]

I've been to several Canadian cities over the past twenty years-- Windsor, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal -- and I'd be hard pressed to say which one I liked best, as I've loved them all.

If I HAD to pick an absolute favorite, I would have to give Ottawa a slight edge. It was a city which combined the old and the new in a charming way. I especially liked the Parliament buildings and Rideau canal; plus, a restaurant I once visited, called Memories. (Wonder if it's still there? It's been twenty years! :wink: )

Incidentially, I went by 138A Laurier Drive, (the Hudsons' old address). It looked NOTHING like the comic. Instead of a two-family, frame house, I remember it as a small glass-and-steel office-type building. I wonder where John Byrne got this for an address.

[Inkdaub]

Hello all...

My favorite Canadian city is Vancouver but Toronto would be a close second.

[Effexxor]

I have to say Calgary. I have family in Calgary and it was beautiful. Big lakes, beautiful neighborhoods, public transit, and there's a total lack of subarbs.... God, it's incredible. Besides, Crows Nest Pass is only an hour and a half away, banff is two and a half and Glacier National park is two hours away.

Lethbridge is pretty neat as well, just because there is the coolest chasm in the city.

[Northcott]

Most cities leave me cold. I dislike the smog, and I hate how snarly people get when you cram a half million or more into a limited space.

That said, I liked Ottawa enough that I considered moving somewhere near there. The Rideau is fantastic, and I loved skating it in the winter -- I'm a cold weather boy at heart. :) The history to be found there is fantastic, and the museums are great. The restaurants are fantastic, too! The Italian section of town has a wonderful little family-owned business that has me wanting to take another vacation just to eat there again.

St. John's was fantastic, too. Not nearly as large as most cities, the history in the region is some of the oldest in North America. Hiking on Signal Hill is a blast (if somewhat perilous), and from there you're within an hour's drive of all kinds of cool little towns with their own flavour -- and again, some great restaurants. If you're a party animal, it's hard to beat George Street: nothing but bars, and the smell of beer is overwhelming the moment you turn onto that little road. Plus some of the friendliest people in the world are in that province, you just need to stop and talk to them to see it in action. If you can understand the accent. ;)

[syvalois]

St. John's was fantastic, too.


I too, liked it very much for the hours I had there.I went to see a junior hockey game there. And St Georges street is famous all around the world for it's bar. But the view is very beautiful too.

But I still like Québec better :P

[Northcott]

St. John's was fantastic, too.


I too, liked it very much for the hours I had there.I went to see a junior hockey game there. And St Georges street is famous all around the world for it's bar. But the view is very beautiful too.

But I still like Québec better :P


I forgive you. I know you only say that because they'll kick you out of the province if you don't. ;)

[syvalois]

[quote=syvalois]


I forgive you. I know you only say that because they'll kick you out of the province if you don't. ;)

No they won't ! Actually I don't care about Montréal, I find it dirty and full of striptease club, with too graphics and not very much taste insigna which annoy the hell out of me.

No, I like Québec better, it got class, and goes well with the snobish part in myself :P

And 1 thing I like about the maritimes and mostly newfoundland was the beer. local beer that taste like something other than piss. Yes, I liked it a lot. And I even learn there was a big fire in newfoundland in 1800 something because of the name of 1 beer. I liked that very much.

[Northcott]

No they won't !

That's right, Sylvie... keep playing along and they'll leave you alone. It's safer that way. ;)


And 1 thing I like about the maritimes and mostly newfoundland was the beer. local beer that taste like something other than piss. Yes, I liked it a lot. And I even learn there was a big fire in newfoundland in 1800 something because of the name of 1 beer. I liked that very much.

Yeah. St. John's pretty much went up in flames. A huge chunk of the city was reduced to ash. It's a miracle that there were so few deaths.

[sinisterLemon]

...Same with the Prairie cities (Edmonton is just plain UGLY, any time of the year. Calgary's not that bad, but still too flat for my tastes)....What can I say, I'm a small-town boy at heart. {poster's italics}

Oh now you've done it---you've gone and smited the reputation of the city of my habitation by boldly deriding its visual appeal. Alas, this folly is all too common amongst our city's Canadian brothers and sisters, and is a perspective that needs to be rectified. Since it would be a tad anachronistic to challange you to a gentlemanly duel of pistols at dawn to defend my city's honour; I suppose a point by point rebuttal of your opinion of Edmonton's beauty (or in your perspective, the lack thereof) will have to suffice to change your mind. :D

Popular myth#1 Edmonton is like the Pittsburgh of the North; it's all industrial wasteland and litter

To be fair, HappyCanuck, for many years the oil and gas industry has dominated the landscape of Edmonton, marking it with a lot of, shall I say, unsightly chemical plants and refineries. This is a fact well known, throughout the country ever since the late great Quebec author, Mordicai Richler's made his infamous comment that Edmonton is the "boiler room of Canada" after a day's visit in the 70's. Ha, ha--wasn't laughing then and still not laughing now.

In reality, however, the dominant landscape feature of Edmonton is the fantastic and awesome North Saskatchewan river valley which provides much in the way of visual appeal and recreational opportunity (golfing, cycling, canoeing, picnics, and concerts just to name a few) ALL YEAR ROUND, but especially in the spring, summer and particularly the fall when the colours of the leaves explode into vibrant greens, golds, and reds. I'll cut you some slack though, since you may have missed out in seeing this since the river valley is kind of in an obsure place (walking distance north of downtown-bisecting the middle of the entire city) and not very big (several times larger than both Stanley Park and Central Park). But trust me, however, when I say it is an unbelievable experience when you are walking the quiet forest paths of the North Saskatchewan river valley tucked in the middle of a city with a metro population of over a million souls but it seems like you are a million miles away from nowhere.

Popular myth# 2 There's nothing to do in Edmonton---'duh' that's why they call it 'Deadmonton', hello!

Okay, us Edmontonians have had to put up with this moniker for probably over more than two decades now and it's really getting tired. You say you're stuck in Edmonton on a week long business trip or family visit and you're bored? Well aside from taking advantage of the aforementioned river valley you've got countless options.

In the summer time - Fort Edmonton Park (living historical city in a city where Brad Pitt just shot part of his upcoming movie The Assassination of Jesse James)...see an Edmonton Eskimo game (only eight cities have a CFL team; only three have them in world class stadiums)...see a FIFA under-20 World Men's Cup Soccer game and/or semi-final (in 2007)...go to the Edmonton Grand Prix on the Champ Car circuit in July...go see the world's second largest fringe theatre festival (only smaller and less important than the world's first in Edinburgh, Scotland)...go to Churchill square and see a pretty cool and unique looking City hall or check out Alberta's sandstone Legislature...check out the fall Heritage Festival in Hawrelak Park where you can eat, drink, and get educated about almost sixty different ethnic cultures over a three-day period...watch a fantastic summer prairie thunderstorm because there's nothing more exhilarating.

In the winter time - Go watch an Oilers game at Rexall Place (the crowd intensity alone will mesmerize, not to mention our awesome team this year)...visit the Muttart Conservatory (known locally as 'the Pyramids') which contains four separate ecosystems of plants and animals, ranging from tropical rainforest to desert...visit the Telus World of Science (formerly The Odysseum, and formerly the Space Sciences Centre) which is Western Canada's second best place to see cool science on display (second to Vancouver's Science world)...go to the Canadian Finals Rodeo because it's huge decides national supremacy in rodeo; and go see the Tim Horton's Men's Brier when it's in town because it's always the biggest party when it stops here (pretty much every few years or so).

Best left unsaid - if all else fails, six words: West Edmonton Mall and Whyte Avenue. WEM because its cool the first couple times around and Whyte because in the daytime its more than just hockey bandwagon hooligans (neat shops and bookstores), and hey-it's where Kim and Jenny cat-fought over Charlie O'Connell in last year's round of The Bachelor on international TV, so it's got double infamy along with the playoff puckhead pugilists.



Well, there, I've said my peace and I'm going away again until someone else riles me up about my hometown. I hope I haven't bored you all by nattering away like this; E-town may not be largest or coolest places in Canada to hang out like Vancover or Toronto or have the sexiest and most cosmopolitan vibe like Montreal or Ville de Quebec (we may not have city walls, but we have small fort pallisades, darn it!) or have the newest, freshest, new metropolis scent like Calgary but it certainly deserves a tad more respect. Also, finally, many apologies to HappyCanuck, whom I certainly respect as poster on this fine forum, but simply happened to be, as they say, an unsuspecting focal point of the vindicating ramblings of an poor Edmontonian's insecurities. :oops: I don't know why but it seems I always end up responding to your posts like the last one about the legal status of the Northwest Territories prior to Confederation awhile back. I promise I'll try to pick on someone else in the future. :wink:

P.S. I do have to add, though, that you may not have seen Calgary lately, in it's entirety, since a good twenty to thirty percent of it is located amongst the foothills of the rockies and hardly what you might call flat. It looks rather much like a bunch of ginormous anthills covered in houses, rising out of the prairies--especially in the north and southwest parts of town.

[syvalois]

... Since it would be a tad anachronistic to challange you to a gentlemanly duel of pistols at dawn to defend my city's honour; I suppose a point by point rebuttal of your opinion of Edmonton's beauty (or in your perspective, the lack thereof) will have to suffice to change your mind. :D


=D> =D> You are a good seller. I like that passion to describe Edmonton. Thank you. I've never been to Edmonton but I was in Calgary and Lethbridge. I agree, Calgary is not totally flat, but the urban developpement is very eassy to see from the air. As for the town, for my 3 days there, it felt like a vibrant city in expansion that kept it's cowboys spirit. That is nice.

For Lethbridge, I was there 2 times and the first time I thought it was so ugly. The last time, I saw the university and most of all the valley and the High Level Bridge. It changed my mind.

Sorry, I think I feel like travelling again... if only I had the money for all I wanted to do... :-({|=

[Northcott]

... and particularly the fall when the colours of the leaves explode into vibrant greens, golds, and reds.

Those three magical days at the end of August. ;)


Popular myth# 2 There's nothing to do in Edmonton---'duh' that's why they call it 'Deadmonton', hello!

*snipped list of things to do*


You forgot to add "sport hunting of Peter Pocklington". It's a catch and release program -- after you curbstomp his ass, you have to release him back into his natural environment so other angry hockey fans can have their turn.