No visit to Canada would be complete without a visit to at least one of its great National Parks. Go polar bear watching in Wapusk from October to March, when you can also see Caribou herds, and with a great chance of viewing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Trek through Jasper, with snow-covered peaks, glaciers, meadows and rapid-flowing rivers. The national park is home to grizzly bears, moose and elk. Ski in Banff which has three resorts, or experience the thrill of a horse-drawn sleigh or a dogsled ride followed by a long relaxing soak in the warm waters of its spring-fed pools, such as Upper Hot Springs.
Stroll through historic Quebec and Montreal, and see historic attractions such as Heritage Park Historical Village which spans western Canadian history from the 1860s to the 1950s.
Go whale-watching off of Canada's east or west coast, see sharks at Vancouver Aquarium and the world's largest gorilla habitat at Toronto Zoo.
Art enthusiasts will want to put a date in the diary to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario, which as well as holding the largest Canadian art collection, has Renaissance art, African and Oceanic art and a Henry Moore sculpture centre. The Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal is a must-see with work by Rembrandt, Picasso and Monet, as well as work by Canadian artists such as Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy.
Take in some opera at the Grand Opera House in Toronto, or a concert by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at The Montreal Symphony House. Catch some of the thousands of acts at the world's largest comedy festival in Montreal, or head to Newfoundland, which is renowned for its live folk music.
