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Canadian Destinations
Quebec City
(NC)—The summer is in full swing and so is the travel
season as Canadians take advantage of the long-awaited warm
breezes and sunny skies. In each region of the country there
are a host of creative, fun destinations for everything from
a day trip to a summer-long getaway.
Following are some options drawn from Michelin's Green Guide
to Canada, which is a fountain of information about travel
across the country.
Spas
 Spas
are sprouting up almost everywhere in Canada. Michelin's travel
guide highlights a number of these pampering palaces, particularly
those in Ontario.
These include spas such as Kingston's serene Spa at the Mill,
a spacious hideaway in a restored woollen mill overlooking
the Cataraqui River. Or Toronto's newly relocated Victoria
Spa, a haven of Asian-accented calm in the Crowne Plaza Toronto
Centre.
As for resort spas, High Fields Country Inn and Spa, an hour
north of Toronto in Zephyr, combines wraps, facials and hydrotherapy
with swimming, tennis and nature walks on the expansive hilltop
property. In charming Port Hope, guests at The Hillcrest of
Haldimand Hills Spa Village spend the night in finely appointed
bedrooms within a grand porticoed mansion—after a day
of exercise, mud facials and massage.
Cool Places to Stay
Guest ranches are increasingly popular, especially in British
Columbia's Cariboo, where week-long stays in rustic log cabins
(at Elkin Creek Ranch, for example) can close a day of trail-
riding, roping lessons, fishing and even spa indulgence (try
the Moor Mud Wrap at Echo Valley Ranch or rosehip oil treatments
at Hills Health Ranch).
For travel beyond the summer months, visit the Ice Hotel
in Quebec City, where you slumber in a sleeping bag nestled
on deer pelts. You can sink into a whirlpool tub, complete
with heated towel rack, at Murray Premises, a converted trading
house in St. John's. In Vancouver, you'll overnight in your
own "gallery" of Northwest Coast art on Listel Vancouver's
museum floor. And in Jasper, warm your toes by the wood-burning
fireplace in a Tekarra Lodge cabin that recalls the Rocky
Mountain bungalow camps of the early 1900s.
Good eats
Try a blend of Indian, African and French cuisine in Montreal
at Le Piton de la Fournaise (relocated to Rue Duluth Est).
Or enjoy French-Québécois cookery (such as foie
gras de canard du Québec) in Quebec City's Le Saint-Amour
(Rue Sainte-Ursule).
Out west in Calgary, you'll find Brazilian entrees at Latin
Corner Cantina (8th Ave.) and Thai cuisine at Thai Sa-On (10th
Ave.) in addition to the traditional Canadian fare and western
specialties of other city restaurants.
Vancouver's Blue Water Cafe in trendy Yaletown serves up
seafood delights from sushi to Dungeness crab cakes. Authentic
Mexican food can be found in Fredericton (of all places) at
El Burrito Loco (King St.) and on Queen Street, German dishes
draw repeat customers at Schade's Restaurant.
The Michelin Green Guide Canada is available from major booksellers
or refer to www.viamichelin.com |
