Canadians... What is your most beautiful city?

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: THELAIR
Calgary is way better than Edmonton

'nuff said

🙂

I live just outside Edmonton and goto Calgary many times a year, and this is definitely true 🙂

 

[Ultima]

In terms of big cities (of which we have very few 😉) I've only been to Montreal (live there), Ottawa, and Toronto (too long ago to remember).

Montreal and Ottawa are pretty nice cities to visit.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: rh71

Umm... people should specify downtown Calgary only. The outskirts of Calgary (and near the
airport), with all the new cookie-cutter, grassless, treeless "communities" being built with the exact
same strip mall every 3 blocks has to rate as one of the ugliest, most soulless urban areas in Canada.
It was absolutely a jarring scene after spending a week at Banff and Lake Louise.

I'm hitting Banff in T-minus 9 days... say it ain't so! Is my trip gonna suck or what?

and streets that fall back on themselves or go nowhere

ah, syndrome of the ugly suburb.

Don't american cities suffer heavily from this? It doesn't seem to be a big problem in Montreal, where most suburbs are relatively old, streets are straight or sometimes curvy, but aren't a total maze, there's usually a convenience store within walking distance, there are lots of trees and lots of parks. If we have any cookie-cutter crap it's probably on the outskirts.

 

[Doggiedog]

I heard it was Ragina 😉

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

Originally posted by: SSP
Other then the already mentioned, you should definitely check out Montreal?

Also, St. John is good if you want some peace and quiet with breath taking scenery? but after 6, it?s the capital city of boredom. 😉

Actually, you are wrong!

It is St. John's and it is known for its night life as it has the highest concentration of bars/pubs in all of Canada. Duh, NEWFS partying? Hello! That's all they do! 😀

BUT you are right with its breathtaking scenery! 🙂

 

[bernse]

Banff 15 years ago, maybe. It is way to commercialized and "busy" now. When you pull into town in August you'd think you just went through some sort of warp in your car and ended up in some alter-universe that Banff/Lake Louise got tranplanted to Japan. Pretty area though.

Jasper still has a bit more of a small-ish town feel if you go in the off season. I still try to get away there during a weekend if time permits.

Edmonton and Calgary. Lived in both of them. They're each "nice" in their own way, but I would hardly call them "beautiful."

Vancouver - Lived there for 8 years in the mid-90s and I still visit regularily for business. Its "scenic" but I don't know if I would call it "beautiful". Victoria is definetly more "beautiful" than Vancouver but it is getting a hippie/bum problem. Christ, most of the coast is. 🙁

Many of the Okanagon cities/towns are nice and where I plan to buy some property. I especially like the Penticton/Naramata area. Hot, nice lakes, good looking women, errr scenery. Laid back 10 months of the year. I could handle that. A few acres in the Country around Naramata is going to be mine in a couple years.

Osoyoos - Maybe if your 92 years old and like nothing other than golf at 6AM since it gets too hot by 9 for any physical outdoor activity, other than maybe swimming. There is nothing else to do there other than the regular tourist trap stuff during the summer. Someone from Flagstaff, AZ would feel at home.

Old Quebec City and Montreal are supposed to be quite neat historic but the landscapes are not exactly "breathtaking" like the mountains and lakes/valleys that some of BC and Alberta have.

Kelowna BC - Definetly in a downwards tailspin. Getting waaay to big for its own good and outgrowing its natural constaints in the valley. The city is fed in/out by one major highway that goes right through the middle of the city. Obviously, traffic is going to become a nightmare in the very near future.

I think some of the most underappreciated areas of the country are the extreme east, Newfie-land especially. As long as the weather cooperates, it can be stunning.

There are several other small towns in the BC interior that are very scenic to visit, but there is sweet F-A to do.

Small towns that are not really out of the way that I can think of? Revelstoke BC - Right on the Trans Canada and surrounded by mountains that would make any town in Switzerland blush.

Nelson - Can be OK but once again, too many friggen hippies and bums with drug problems and no work. Ainsworth hotsprings just outside of it are nice though.

Fernie? Not bad. Good skiing. If you wrap Fernie/Kimberly/Fairmont Hotsprings in one "metro-town" area, that would be sweet. There are all within about an hour of eachother. Don't go during tourist season though. Gaah!

My sleeper vote? Waterton Parks - Extreme southern Alberta, borders Glacier National Park in the US. A little less known than Banff/Jasper and you can tell in the atmosphere of the area. Not nearly as busy, but not quiet either. Stunningly beautiful. Not much to do but kick back and relax. It suure is purty though.