Top 50 Places to Visit in Canada

The big countdown. Fifty places, every province and territory represented, ranked from 50 to 1.

50. Salt Spring Island, British Columbia

The largest of BC's Southern Gulf Islands, known for its Saturday market, artists' studios, farms, and a laid-back island rhythm a short ferry ride from Vancouver and Victoria. It's the gentlest possible start to the countdown.

49. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

PEI's capital and the Birthplace of Confederation, where the 1864 conference led to the creation of Canada. A small, walkable city of historic streets, a harbourfront, and the province's best-known restaurants.

48. Magdalen Islands (Îles de la Madeleine), Quebec

A small archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence known for red sandstone cliffs, long sandy beaches, and a slow island pace. Visitors come for cycling, seafood, and beaches that feel nothing like the mainland.

47. Kingston, Ontario

A historic limestone city where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence River. It's the eastern gateway to the Thousand Islands and known for its 19th-century architecture, waterfront, and Fort Henry.

46. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan

One of the few places protecting native Canadian prairie, with wide-open grassland, badlands formations, and free-roaming bison. It offers some of the darkest night skies in the country.

45. Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

The quieter southern neighbour of Banff and Jasper, where the prairies run straight into the Rockies. It's known for its chain of lakes, the Prince of Wales Hotel viewpoint, and fewer crowds.

44. Dawson City, Yukon

The heart of the Klondike Gold Rush, with wooden boardwalks and preserved frontier-era buildings. Visitors come for gold-rush history, the meeting of the Klondike and Yukon rivers, and the midnight sun.

43. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved British colonial towns in North America. Its colourful waterfront, working fishing port, and the schooner Bluenose II draw visitors all season.

42. Twillingate & Iceberg Alley, Newfoundland and Labrador

A fishing town on the stretch of coast known as Iceberg Alley, where icebergs drift south past the shore each spring. It's also a base for whale watching and coastal hiking.

41. Butchart Gardens, British Columbia

A group of floral display gardens near Victoria, built in a former limestone quarry. The Sunken Garden is the signature sight, and the gardens draw visitors in every season.

40. Killarney & Georgian Bay, Ontario

White quartzite ridges, pink granite shores, and clear blue water on the north side of Georgian Bay. Killarney Provincial Park is a favourite of canoeists, hikers, and painters — the Group of Seven painted here.

39. Saguenay Fjord, Quebec

One of the longest fjords in the world, where steep cliffs meet the Saguenay River. Beluga whales gather near its mouth, and the fjord's shores are protected as a national park.

38. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

A well-preserved 19th-century town at the mouth of the Niagara River, famous for the Shaw Festival theatre and the wineries around it. It's the classic pairing with a trip to the falls.

37. Muskoka, Ontario

Ontario's best-known cottage country — a region of lakes, granite shorelines, and pine forest north of Toronto. People come to boat, swim, and sit on a dock, and the fall colours are a second season of their own.

36. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

The territorial capital on the shore of Great Slave Lake, one of the largest lakes in the world. It's among the best-known places in Canada for northern lights viewing, thanks to its northern latitude and clear skies.

35. Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Alberta badlands, in one of the richest dinosaur fossil areas ever found. Guided hikes take visitors into terrain that looks like another planet.

34. Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

A remote archipelago off BC's north coast, home to the Haida Nation and known for ancient totem poles, old-growth rainforest, and SGang Gwaay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Getting there is part of the experience.

33. Hopewell Rocks & the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick

The Bay of Fundy is famous for some of the highest tides in the world, and at Hopewell Rocks you can walk on the ocean floor at low tide and kayak around the same flowerpot-shaped rocks hours later.

32. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

One of the oldest European-settled cities in North America, with brightly coloured row houses, a working harbour, and Signal Hill overlooking the entrance. It's also a gateway to seabird colonies and iceberg viewing.

31. Halifax, Nova Scotia

Atlantic Canada's largest city, built around one of the world's great natural harbours. The waterfront boardwalk, the Citadel, and day trips to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg make it the region's natural hub.

30. Tadoussac & Charlevoix, Quebec

Where the Saguenay meets the St. Lawrence — one of the best-known whale-watching areas in Canada, where belugas live year-round. The Charlevoix region behind it adds mountain scenery, art towns, and celebrated local food.

29. Gaspé Peninsula & Percé Rock, Quebec

A mountainous peninsula on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, anchored by Percé Rock, the huge pierced limestone rock just offshore. Forillon National Park at its tip and the drive around the peninsula are the main draws.

28. Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

A small fishing village built on smooth granite rock, with one of the most photographed lighthouses in Canada. It's an easy day trip from Halifax and still a working fishing community.

27. Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

The best-known ski resort town in eastern Canada, set in the Laurentian Mountains. In summer the pedestrian village, the gondola, and the surrounding national park keep it busy.

26. Bruce Peninsula & Tobermory, Ontario

A finger of limestone between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, famous for the Grotto's turquoise water, Flowerpot Island's sea stacks, and shipwreck diving in Fathom Five National Marine Park.

25. Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Ontario's oldest and most famous provincial park — a vast area of lakes, rivers, and maple forest. Canoe trips, moose sightings, and fall colours are what people come for.

24. Thousand Islands, Ontario

An archipelago of well over a thousand islands scattered along the St. Lawrence River between Ontario and New York State. Boat tours, island cottages, and Boldt Castle across the border are the main attractions.

23. Prince Edward Island — Cavendish & the Green Gables Shore, Prince Edward Island

Canada's smallest province packs in red-sand beaches, rolling farmland, and the landscapes that inspired Anne of Green Gables. Cavendish and the north shore are where most visitors head first.

22. Okanagan Valley & Kelowna, British Columbia

A warm, dry valley of lakes and vineyards in BC's interior, centred on Okanagan Lake. Wine touring, beaches, and orchard country make it BC's classic summer escape.

21. Drumheller & the Badlands, Alberta

A town set in a dramatic canyon of striped rock in the Red Deer River valley. It's Canada's dinosaur capital — home to the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the hoodoos east of town.

20. Winnipeg & The Forks, Manitoba

Manitoba's capital, where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet at The Forks, a gathering place with thousands of years of history. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Exchange District are the city's headline sights.

19. Churchill, Manitoba

A small town on Hudson Bay known around the world as a place to see polar bears in the wild each fall. In summer, beluga whales fill the river, and in winter it's northern lights territory — reachable only by train or plane.

18. Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

A UNESCO World Heritage Site where geology is the attraction: the rust-red Tablelands are a piece of the Earth's mantle pushed to the surface, and Western Brook Pond is a landlocked fjord between towering cliffs.

17. Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia

A loop drive through the Cape Breton Highlands, regularly counted among the most scenic drives in the world. Coastal lookouts, fishing villages, and highland hiking fill the route.

16. Yoho National Park, British Columbia

Banff's BC neighbour, quieter and just as dramatic: Emerald Lake's green water, the Natural Bridge, and Takakkaw Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in Canada.

15. Tofino, British Columbia

A small town at the end of the road on Vancouver Island's wild west coast. Long surf beaches, storm watching in winter, and the old-growth rainforest of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve are why people make the trip.

14. Whitehorse & Kluane National Park, Yukon

The Yukon's capital is the gateway to Kluane, a UNESCO World Heritage Site holding Canada's highest mountain, Mount Logan, and some of the largest non-polar icefields on Earth. Winter brings the northern lights; summer brings nearly endless daylight.

13. Ottawa, Ontario

Canada's capital, with Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal (a UNESCO World Heritage Site that becomes a skating rink in winter), and a concentration of national museums. It anchors trips into the Ottawa Valley and Gatineau Park across the river.

12. Victoria, British Columbia

BC's capital, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, known for its Inner Harbour, the Parliament Buildings, and a mild climate that fills the city with gardens. Afternoon tea and whale watching are the classic visitor rituals.

11. Icefields Parkway, Alberta

The highway linking Banff and Jasper past glaciers, turquoise lakes, and some of the biggest mountain scenery in North America. The Columbia Icefield, Peyto Lake, and roadside waterfalls make it a destination in itself, not just a drive.

10. Quebec City, Quebec

The only walled city in North America north of Mexico, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Old Quebec's narrow streets, Château Frontenac, and the Plains of Abraham give it a European feel no other Canadian city matches.

9. Montreal, Quebec

Canada's second-largest city and its French-speaking cultural capital: Old Montreal's cobblestone streets, a festival calendar all summer, and food — from bagels to poutine — that people plan trips around.

8. Whistler, British Columbia

One of the world's best-known mountain resorts, built around Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Winter is for skiing; summer is for the Peak 2 Peak gondola, mountain biking, and the alpine village.

7. Jasper National Park, Alberta

The largest national park in the Canadian Rockies — bigger, darker, and less crowded than its southern neighbours. Maligne Lake, the Columbia Icefield's edge, and some of the best stargazing in the country are here.

6. Moraine Lake, Alberta

A glacier-fed lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks whose unreal blue colour made it famous around the world. The Rockpile viewpoint above the shore is one of the most recognizable views in Canada.

5. Toronto, Ontario

Canada's largest city — the CN Tower, a waterfront on Lake Ontario, and neighbourhoods that cover most of the world's cuisines. It's also the usual base for Niagara day trips.

4. Vancouver, British Columbia

A city squeezed between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, where you can walk the Stanley Park seawall in the morning and be on a ski hill the same day. Granville Island, the beaches, and the mountain backdrop define it.

3. Lake Louise, Alberta

A turquoise, glacier-fed lake in Banff National Park beneath Victoria Glacier, with the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise at its shore. Canoeing in summer, skating in winter, and trailheads in every direction — it is the single most iconic lake view in the Canadian Rockies.

2. Niagara Falls, Ontario

Three waterfalls straddling the Canada–US border, and the most famous natural attraction in the country. The Canadian side offers the classic panoramic view of Horseshoe Falls, boat tours into the mist, and a full resort town behind it. It earns its rank on sheer spectacle — nothing else in Canada looks like this.

1. Banff, Alberta

The townsite inside Canada's first national park, and the anchor of the Canadian Rockies. Sulphur Mountain, the Bow River, and a main street framed by Cascade Mountain — with Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and the Icefields Parkway all within day-trip range, Banff is where almost every great Canadian mountain trip begins.