# What to see in Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107 "2005-02-27T03:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/21 "2005-02-28T18:52:34Z")
> [@lno](#): > > I think you and **Canadiangirl** got whooshed. > > Coincidentally, though, I was the victim of more crimes in 24 hours in Montreal than in 28 years in the States. 🙂 Yeah, but you live in Canada Lite. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/22 "2005-02-28T20:13:16Z")
If you’re only going on a two week trip, you probably won’t be visiting Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland). If you have any interest, that’s my neck of the woods and I could possibly give info. /Ms Cyros ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/23 "2005-03-01T14:42:19Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Canada is a huge place and offers almost anything a tourist might want (leaving baking hot deserts, coral reefs and such things aside). With just two weeks, you’ll need to narrow it down a bit. > > From many possibilities, my choice would probably be the mountains of British Columbia and western Alberta. We got those-- there’s a desert in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, and some of the most colourful scuba diving known is off Vancouver’s coast. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/24 "2005-03-01T14:50:51Z")
Don’t forget the palm trees in the Gulf Islands and around Victoria, and the banana farm outside Osoyoos. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/25 "2005-03-01T15:12:02Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Don’t forget the palm trees in the Gulf Islands and around Victoria, and the banana farm outside Osoyoos. 🙂 I always forget about those. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/26 "2005-03-01T23:22:05Z")
> [@lno](#): > > I was the victim of more crimes in 24 hours in Montreal than in 28 years in the States. 🙂 Oh, is being treated snootily a crime, now? Quel dommage. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/27 "2005-03-02T05:39:56Z")
How much is gas? I’m thinking about driving from Nevada to Montreal in June to catch the F1. Am I better off heading straight east across the good old USA, paying about (a-boot 😃 ) 2 bucks US/gal, or heading north first, then east across Ohhh Canada!? Does the US buck buying power offset any price difference? I am inclined to think not, but don’t really know. Please help me out! Also, whats the speed limit up north? I drive fast. I average about 75 mph. Is this realistic in Ohhh Canada? Whats the law enforcement like on the highways? Any Montreal Dopers live close to the circuit wanna put me, my wife and kid up? 😉 Actually, the wife found cheap camping down the train line. All we gotta do is make the mad rush for rezzies. Supposedly, tent sites and cabins are available a short distance from a train that takes you right to the circuit. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/28 "2005-03-02T09:12:58Z")
> [@gatopescado](#): > > I’m thinking about driving from Nevada to Montreal in June to catch the F1. Excellent! - was at the Montreal FI last June myself. Words cannot describe it. You’ll have a blast. Make sure you take in all it has to offer (go to the Friday and Saturday events). The city really gets into the event. I’ve been to almost all of the festivals that Montreal has to offer during the summer - The F1 makes them look unimportant by comparison. You must go downtown on Friday and Saturday nights. > [@](#): > > How much is gas? Am I better off heading straight east across the good old USA, paying about (a-boot 😃 ) 2 bucks US/gal, or heading north first, then east across Ohhh Canada!? Does the US buck buying power offset any price difference? I am inclined to think not, but don’t really know. Please help me out! At about 80 cents/Litre (I swear that this does not sound like a-boot to me or any other Canadian (please don’t think that pointing it out to us will be the least bit amusing to us)), conversion works to $2.40 - $2.45 USD / USG. > [@](#): > > Also, whats the speed limit up north? I drive fast. I average about 75 mph. Is this realistic in Ohhh Canada? Whats the law enforcement like on the highways? It kind of depends where in the country. The speed limit varies from 100 to 110 kmh (60-65 mph) however, this is more of a value in a formula that determines what the limit is that will get you a ticket. From the Saskatchewan / Alberta border heading east to Sault Ste Marie, the upper limit is about 115kmh (70 mph). East of Sault it starts to climb to 75. Anything over this and you are risking it. If you do go through the US you’ll no doubt get there faster and more efficiently, but you’ll miss a very scenic drive. The stretch of road between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie is some of the finest scenery on the continent. My suggestion? Aim for Duluth Minnesota and then drive North through cottage country to Thunder Bay. Stay on the Trans Canada through Ottawa to Montreal. Takes an extra day, but well worth it. Can’t help you with accomodations in Montreal but book space early. Have a great time - I can’t wait to get back there for the race this year. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/29 "2005-03-02T13:55:01Z")
> [@gatopescado](#): > > How much is gas? I’m thinking about driving from Nevada to Montreal in June to catch the F1. Am I better off heading straight east across the good old USA, paying about (a-boot 😃 ) 2 bucks US/gal, or heading north first, then east across Ohhh Canada!? Does the US buck buying power offset any price difference? I am inclined to think not, but don’t really know. Please help me out! This would add almost a full day onto the trip, and would take a LOT more gas. Mapquest claims a distance from Reno, NV (I had to pick a city) to Montreal of 2756 miles - hope you set aside lots of time - crossing the border at Detroit/Windsor and driving up through southern Ontario. But if you were to drive up to Thunder Bay first, then to Montreal, it’s about 3200 miles. I’d fly. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Also, whats the speed limit up north? I drive fast. I average about 75 mph. Is this realistic in Ohhh Canada? Whats the law enforcement like on the highways? If you come straight across and cross at Detroit and drive thru Ontario, at 75, you’ll get passed regularly. That is NOT fast here - it’s about average on the freeways (you’d be taking the 401 all the way from Detroit to the Quebec border; Montreal’s just past the border.) I usually drive 75. The freeway limit here is 62.5 (100 kph) but it’s total fiction. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/30 "2005-03-02T19:15:14Z")
I was in Toronto (or, as everyone there seems to call it, Tronno) for a few days last November. In my limited experience… > [@gatopescado](#): > > How much is gas? I rented a vehicle that was nearly identical to the one I drove at home. I fill my tank here for around US$35, but up there the same tank of gas cost me about US$50. > [@](#): > > Also, whats the speed limit up north? I drive fast. I average about 75 mph. Is this realistic in Ohhh Canada? Whats the law enforcement like on the highways? I drove from Tronno to Niagara Falls on the Queen Elizabeth Expressway. The speed limits were 100-110 km/hr. I tried driving 110 and _everyone_ was passing me. I’m not kidding you. I think I drove 120-130 the whole way. My impression was that speed limits on the QEW are sort of like helpful suggestions rather than hard limits. Heh… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/31 "2005-03-03T01:16:56Z")
“Helpful suggestions” sounds about right, **gatopescado**. If you _keep with the speed of traffic_ and don’t drive stupidly, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. There’s a campaign to raise the speed limit to 120 or 125. Back when I was living in Oshawa, I often borrowed my mom’s Chevette to go visit my sister in Ottawa. I managed to push the thing up to about 130 on the 401 near Bowmanville (any more felt unsafe), and I was still getting passed. Not terribly often, mind you–I was passing as well–but I was nowhere near being a standout in speed. Before they rebuilt the Humber Bridges, I was in a GO bus (think Greyhound intercity bus, not local bus) that was doing about 110 and, I’m _sure_, went airborne as it crested the hump of the old bridge. (It was still passed by the GO train on the neighbouring tracks.) BTW, **pestie** , it’s just “Queen Elizabeth Way”, not “Expressway”. It was named and dedicated in 1939, before limited-access expressway design really got sorted out in Canada. The highway originally had driveways and stoplights in some places. Check out [The King’s Highway](http://www.thekingshighway.ca/) for history and pictures of Ontario highways. I highly recommend the drive across the north shore of Lake Superior on Highway 17. The part from Wawa to the Soo is breathtakingly-beautiful. (I’ve never seen the other part between Wawa and Thunder Bay.) ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/32 "2005-03-03T07:38:49Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > West Edmonton Mall is no longer the largest? Guinness World Records still says it is: [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/) . What mall is larger? > > /Ms Cyros I think it opens at the end of 2005, but this will be the largest mall in the world when it does. [Dubai Mall](http://www.thedubaimall.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/33 "2005-03-03T11:07:09Z")
I thought that new mall in Shanghai (?) was larger than the West Edmonton? ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/34 "2005-03-03T11:43:33Z")
If you’re into hot European boys, stay at Montreal’s Auberge Maeva hostel. French, Swiss, Italian… it’s all good baby. 😉 Oh, and check out Le Biodome and the cathedral while you’re there, too. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/35 "2005-03-03T15:46:42Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Oh, is being treated snootily a crime, now? > Quel dommage. Snrk. Well, it’s entirely possible that the guys who broke into my car, stole everything but the pennies, and then keyed all the panels were snooty, but I wasn’t there to ask them. On the upside, I got to report the incident to an officer named Destro, so that almost made it worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/36 "2005-03-03T16:40:50Z")
[The sand dunes of Saskatchewan (seriously)](http://www.parklandpublishing.com/skphotos/athabasca_sand_dunes/). If you come through the Prairies, **gato** , be prepared to see Mounties with radar guns (well, you might not see them, cause they’re hiding behind a bush or something). You can go as fast as you like, but the major highways are where the RCMP patrol for speeders. A lot depends on where you go and when, **Bernard**. If you come in the heat of July or August, it will be a lot hotter everywhere than if you come in September or October. You might feel right at home on the Prairies in mid-August - it’s hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum then. If you want a change from Australian heat, come to Calgary - it’s more temperate here in summer. If you like smothering humidity, go to Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/37 "2005-03-03T16:44:32Z")
Toronto. Nothing else is worth looking at. Really. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/38 "2005-03-03T16:57:04Z")
Hey, Kythereia - you live in the Beaches, no? It’s a great area to visit as well, especially in summer on the boardwalk. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/39 "2005-03-03T17:03:53Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Toronto. > > Nothing else is worth looking at. Really. > 😃 _runs in, tackles Kythereia_ Untrue. But we’d love it if you could find the time to stop by. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107/40 "2005-03-03T18:57:50Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Toronto.😃 I hear Torontonians are beside themselves with pride this year. They’re claiming victory as the Leafs have finished tied for first overall… Closest the Leafs have come to winning the Cup in… How long has it been? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-see-in-canada/292107.md?page=3)