STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

atlgirl · Gucci

Canada...

Metric · Gucci

So, I can't really tell you much about Toronto or Montreal other than that
A) Toronto believes it is the centre of the Universe and is very urban. It does have great shopping.
B) Montreal is very cool and Euro-influenced but is very Quebecois so be prepared to deal with everyone in French

My vote would go to Vancouver. It is funky and urban without being stuck up. There are lots of cool places to shop and browse and lots of attractions close by. You can get around fairly well by public transit and the weather is almost always nice. You can go to the sea side or the mountains or they have lots of beautiful parks.

Also if you decide on Vancouver maybe you'd want to consider taking the ferry over to Victoria for a few days. Victoria is a beautiful city and they have a very active arts scene, lots of museums and such.

Or....

I don't know if this would interest you at all but Calgary, Alberta (which so happens to be my hometown) is a really up-and-coming city with some great attractions. We have some funky shopping districts, museums, sports events and great summer festivals. Our main draw is the Stampede Rodeo in July which is a huge event with rodeo, ag fair, and a midway. Its 10 days worth of crazy fun, beer and free pancake breakfasts. We also have Lilac fest, Folk fest, Shakespeare festival, etc. Lots of great international restaurants. Also we are very close to Banff National Park (about 1 hr drive) which is a funky little town surrounded by beautiful mountains. Tons of great hiking trails. And about an hour East is Drumheller which has the Tyrrell Museum- one of the best Dinosoar museaums in the world- very Jurassic Park-esque and really neat places to hike. You would probably need to rent a car however, Calgary is a driving city.

Here's some website that might help you decide:

http://vancouver.ca/visitors.htm http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/
http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

http://www.discovercalgary.com/ http://www.tourismcalgary.com/ http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/

atlgirl · Gucci

OMG metric, you ROCK! This is great info and I have passed it on to my husband. He's in China this week for work so probably won't even read it until he gets home, but I want us to start figuring out this trip so we know what we're doing.

I'm glad to hear the scoop on some of the Canadian cities. Vancouver sounds great, esp. for a first-time visit, and I think Calgary sounds very appealing too. After all, you hosted the Olympics, and that's never a bad thing. *s*

If you're up for a visit, maybe we can meet if we come to Calgary? DH and I met NCshopper and her husband when we went to NC, which was great. If you like the idea, I'll keep you posted as our plans progress. And if not, that's okay too. I'm eager to see what DH thinks about your info - he earned the free pass with all of his travel miles from last year, so I'm letting him pick the exact location and I will just go along for the ride...oh his coat-tails, so to speak. :)

Thanks so much for sharing all this!

Metric · Gucci

I'd love to. If I can be of anymore help or answer anymore questions, just let me know.

jj · Kate Spade

I've been to both Toronto and Vancouver in the past two years, so here's my 2 cents

- I didn't love Toronto. We stayed on Bloor Street, which is an area with great shopping. but the restaurants didn't amaze me. And the downtown area was very boring IMO. Not a lot going on. Overall, it was an okay trip.

- I love love love Vancouver! I really can't say enough about how fun and wonderful and beautiful it is. We have taken many spring ski trips to Whister/Blackcomb, and stay a few extra days on the end of the trip in Vancouver. My favorite hotel is the Pan Pacific (which is gorgeous) with the most amazing view of the bay and mountains in the distance. The restaurants and culture are phenominal. The one thing I haven't done but have always wanted to do is go to Victoria. Everyone raves about it.

ETA: forgot to mention that there are plenty of outdoor/hiking/scenic opportunities in Vancouver. Whister is 1.5 hours away, and the drive on the sea to sky highway is so cool. There is hiking, whitewater rafting, etc....and you can ski in the summer because it's a glacier.

-- Edited by jj at 17:19, 2006-03-13