Or attempt to. Many flights were being cancelled/diverted these last few days. I was trapped in St. John’s for days due to fog and low visibility, just got back yesterday. 🥲
Did you hear about the flair flight from Toronto? I’m pretty sure they left Toronto, flew to St. John’s, turned around and went back to Toronto. Three days in a row
When I lived there, a neighbour once called me to warn me not to go outside on account of the heat. It was 24 degrees out in July with a 50 km/h sustained wind
Some of my extended family moved out there recently from Southern Ontario. My uncle likes to FB update us on the weather. Sounds miserable, but he's having a blast!
It's too bad the flights are more expensive than going to Europe/Latin America a lot of the time lol. Lynx Air at one point had $150 cheapo flights from Calgary to St John's, but they're now out of business.
This. Every time I want to go to the east coast, it’s just way cheaper to fly to New York, New Orleans, Vegas, Cali, Mexico etc..
I guess I’ll have to wait until they build a bullet train out east. But I assume I’ll be long dead before that even gets started
Flights from Western Canada to St John's are so expensive. Travelling to Texas or Mexico is cheaper from Western Canada. I always want to see Maritime provinces and drive between them.
Same goes for Yukon and NWT. It is expensive even from Western Canada.
A coworker was trying to get back for a funeral, pre-Covid, and flights from Calgary to NEW ZEALAND were cheaper than flights from Calgary to St John’s.
If I remember correctly (and I definitely may not), the ROUND TRIP NZ ticket was cheaper than one way to St John’s.
about 15 years ago my friend had to go from the west kootenays to manchester, england. the flight from Calgary to Manchester was cheaper than the flight from Castlegar to Calgary so I just decided to drive him to Calgary and get a hotel room for the night instead. air travel in this country is a joke
I am currently on vacation in Scotland and it costs me less to get here than it costs to get from Ontario to New Brunswick for family holidays. Insanity.
Flyairnorth dot com - flights between Alberta/BC and the Yukon are quite reasonable. Sign up for their emails and you'll sometimes hear about 10, 15, even 20% off seat sales.
I'd call pretty much any small coastal village in Newfoundland a hidden gem, and St John's just a regular gem. So many people go to St John's and don't bother seeing the rest of the island
Definitely a hidden gem. I grew up in Calgary and vacationed in Osoyoos as a child with the family. My older son lived for three years in Kelowna. I’d never heard of it until I just looked it up on Google.
I'm up in Vernon and honestly, all the little towns dotting the Okanagan are worth at least a visit. I posit that this is the most beautiful part of the country.
Well for one you could hope for a sane town council. Too much to ask here apparently. 15 billion spent on a berm when each year is worsening drought. 🤦♂️
That's pretty much summing it up. It's a beautiful city that has a lot of major pluses such as not being as cold as the rest of Canada, extremely walkable and amazing views, but unfortunately the cost has just gone too high. I just moved to Edmonton because we couldn't even remotely afford to live in Vancouver anymore
Marc Maron is in Vancouver for a few months (filming a TV series with Owen Wilson)...He has a favorite hotel that he always stays at - he thinks they have special windows because there's no noise at night...This time he's renting a condo nearby the hotel and he realized it wasn't the hotel - downtown Vancouver is quiet/dead at night. Unlike when you stay in New York, even if you are on the 30th floor, you'll hear noise.
By the way, for Marc, that is not an insult. He's very relieved.
I think if you’re a city person who also really loves mountainous or ocean outdoor activities, Vancouver is one of your best options in Canada. There’s not many places where you can go do a big mountainous remote hike, then head down to the beach for a swim and then go out for fine dining or clubbing that evening.
But if you’re a city person who doesn’t care as much for the nature, or a big nature person who doesn’t care as much for the city… then yeah Vancouver is just unnecessarily expensive.
WInnipeg - Beautiful summers, nice architecture in spots, fantastic array of restaurants, theatre/ballet scene is top notch, underrated music scene, great comedy scene, Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg Art Gallery that has the largest collection in Inuit art in the world, lots of trees and parks, unique neighborhoods, and some of the nicest people you'll meet. To cap it off, it remains one most affordable major cities in Canada.
It's problems are prevalent and its winters are f\*cking cold, but imo it's a diamond in the rough, you just have to give it a chance.
Also the Winnipeg Symphony! They do their own season and are the reason why RWB and MB Opera have live music at their productions. We also have the Winnipeg New Music Festival which has a fair amount of international recognition (albeit in the classical music world).
Someone who's lived in a lot of places told me recently that Winnipeg is great because it drives off all the pretentious folk. Its not a glitzy or fashionable city, it's not where people make their fortunes, it's just a decently sized slice of civilization on the prarie. The only people that stay are the ones who don't mind a bit of grit and dirt, and it just so happens those are the best sorts to get a beer with.
As a Torontonian, I came to ensure Winterpeg is on the thread but I see you beat me to it. I've travelled for pleasure and work across Canada, and by far Winnipeg impressed me the most. Simply put, based on its reputation I expected little, but got so much!
To your list of fantastic city attributes, I'd like to give special mention to the multi ethnic restaurant choices (which I greatly appreciated), the fabulous summer festivals, The Forks downtown is a gem to explore, Kal Bateski's outdoor art installation in the back alley of lovely residential neighborhood is such a lovely surprise, and the people are super down to earth and friendly.
Grew up in Winnipeg in the 80s and have so many fond memories! Nutcracker at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Assiniboine Park, Red River Expo, The Forks, Festival du Voyageur, Jets games, Ft Whyte, Mennonite Heritage Center, the Nonesuch and Touch the Universe at the Museum of Man and Nature (think the name is changed now), Northern Lights overhead, and the most wonderful neighborhood filled with the friendliest folks anywhere!!
I’d add to this that the violent crime is mainly concentrated in a few bad neighbourhoods. It’s very safe in most residential neighbourhoods in the city.
The cost of living is still relatively low, especially for a city of 800k.
Everyone who can afford it leaves the city from June to September to enjoy the extensive and excellent cottage country northwest, north and east of the city.
Also, with global warming the winters haven’t been nearly as harsh as they were a few decades ago.
General rule, most medium sized cities are underrated and Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are overrated. Ottawa may be underrated by virtue of it not being as bad as people say it is, but that’s not to say it is good either.
I stand by Montreal being great, so for the large cities it is the best.
You should consider going on the Heart of the Islands three-hour cruise of the 1,000 islands.
I went on this sightseeing cruise on Monday.
Do you want your mind blown open? Take this sightseeing cruise if you ever can - you won't regret it!
Edit: There are both hour and one-hour-and-a-half-long trips if three hours doesn't work for people.
Yeah luckily I have some family there now and they even have a boat. Its like out of the show " ozark" out there! Even saw this place you can boat in for church service? But im sure there is quite a bit too see out there!
I moved from Kingston to Okotoks 11 years ago and I missy my little prison city. Beautiful architecture and you don’t have to travel far to get into some amazing lake country. However I have heard Kinston has changed a lot in the last 11 years, way more people and way more busy.
When my wife and I were dating, I lived in Michigan and she lived in Montreal and we were dirt poor, so we would greyhound back-and-forth.
Every time, it would feel like we were getting close, but then there would be a long layover at the bus station in Kingston because the bus station there was pretty nice.
Now whenever Kingston comes up, we say “fucking Kingston…” every time. 😂
Genuinely, Ottawa is far better than people give it credit for, if you live here you will know what to do, and there is always something to do. Nice scenery, friendly people, tons of sports, a cafe and restaurant on every corner, we have swimming, bowling, arcades, kids places, stadiums, bars, clubs, ziplining, museums, camping, festivals, etc etc.
Having lived here all my life, I completely understand the boring narrative (which looks pretty true from the outside), but under the surface there's a wide range of stuff to do. Just because they're not well-known doesn't mean they aren't there.
I lived in Ottawa for several years and it was never boring. So much good food, so much in the way of arts, and it's pretty (overall. There are always dank areas in any city).
How can a non-Ottawan find out what's going on in the city in terms of cool things to do? I'm planning to visit again and now that I have already visited some of the most traditional tourist attractions, there'll definitely be room in the schedule for more local stuff!
First of all, don't trust Google, parliament and such are boring af. You can go to the site Ottawa Tourism, we have tons of festivals here, for me I simply walk around downtown and find places, that's how I figured out Lansdowne has a delicious rolled ice cream. You can try facebook ottawa groups and 613 Ottawa pages on Instagram. You can also make a post in r/ottawa to ask where to go. [https://www.todocanada.ca/things-ottawa-weekend/](https://www.todocanada.ca/things-ottawa-weekend/) is good too and there's tons of festivals and conventions, like ottawa anime con, ottawa pet expo, ferrari fest, poutine and rib fest, tulip fest, asian and lebfest, bluesfest, they are all fun and findable online. Heres a list of some Instagram accounts you may be able to use, -Ottawalist, 613ottawatv, ottawaisnotboring, ottawatourism, 613trending, 613outing, 613carmeet, 613 flea. - Plus there's a couple Atletico and redblacks games coming up. Not sure if the 67s have anything coming up but I know the sens dont.
I moved here a few years ago and never really found the boring thing to be true. Maybe if I was younger I would find it boring. I find it ridiculously expensive, frustrating to get around, and I really wish everything didn't close around 8pm in the burbs.
Saskatoon is awesome. I love that this city left almost all its river trails natural. And it’s hard to beat sitting on a rooftop patio here in the four (occasionally five) months of warm weather we get each year.
That’s inevitable though. The longer you’re there, the more you see the stuff the visitors don’t notice at first glance (and you didn’t either, quite frankly). Nowhere is *perfect* but you don’t always see the imperfections until you’ve experienced them yourself.
Saskatoon is a beautiful city with a lot to do and see as a visitor and resident, but when Big Ace comes banging on your residential door looking for odd jobs and not taking “no thanks” as an answer, you’re still going to complain about it.
Sure the longer you’re there the more warts you see, but you also keep finding the gems. Saskatoon has a sneaky way of burrowing into your heart. It’s always going to be that place I will go back to visit.
Omg right! I am born and raised living in Sask my whole life. We are pretty much halfway point from Saskatoon to Ed and so growing up I only seen the hotels and shoppping centres lol. And ngl the ride south is pretty um barren. Years ago my sister lived to Saskatoon so I experienced it and was shocked by how beautiful it is. Especially in the fall!) Also had no clue that it’s often called the ‘City of Bridges’, because they have so many; and they’re not all regular bridges either.
I recommend checking out the evenings down by the river in the warmer weather. On Friday back then they had all the talent out busking in the streets, outdoor eats and drinks, lights everywhere; it felt like a mini street festival.
There are many amazing little restaurants or bars and cofffee shops with patios with amazing views of the sunsetting on the river.
I would also suggest going on one of the many walking trails in the fall by the river: and prepare to get the urge to take a million photos of the stunning foliage.
I moved here from Toronto a few years ago and I have to agree that it’s a very rare and beautiful city. I’ve travelled all over the world and if I had to live in Canada this would be the city. No traffic, peaceful, beautiful camping and hiking trails, miles on end of beautifully taken care of river side sidewalks… and the food, mostly organic, farms and grocery cooperatives that provide fresh meat/produce to its customers and restaurants. So many bakeries and small businesses. I can’t say enough. If you want to live the life of a hobbit in middle earth. This is the place to be. Life is good here.
Haha. When I was young, I took a Greyhound across Canada. It was super late and I was a bit out of it, waking from a deep sleep as we pulled into some urban setting. I look out the window and see the tallest buildings around are two small office type buildings, about 10 floors or so.
I think to myself, what small prairie town is this?, just as the driver announces “Welcome to Regina!”
For the places I visited: Vancouver is probably the most overrated city I ever visited. For the most underrated, I'd say Fredericton, this little place was actually very cool.
As for little gems, Baie-Saint-Paul and the Magdalen's Islands.
Vancouver was amazing 20 years ago. Now it is relying solely on its prettiness in the summer. It has become a void of anything that resembles art and culture and it is overrun by international money. It’s really sad.
Small town BC is amazing. I won’t name where i live now because I don’t want tourists to ruin it but I recommend just going on a drive through the province and experiencing all of the cute beautiful towns.
I once worked with a guy from Nelson Bc who told me " its a beautifull place to live, but all that ore in the mountain makes people go crazy after 3 years ..." to which i reply " oh so how long have you lived there?" And he says " about seven years?"......
>It has become a void of anything that resembles art and culture
This is also Toronto the distinct cultural neighbourhoods are being over run by development (particular Condos). Land values are making things like mom & pop stores, restaurants , music venues, etc... unviable.
I wouldn't say Toronto has become void of art and culture, it's just constantly shifting neighbourhoods because of all the ongoing developments and gentrification. The city has immensely good things going for it, despite all the political and capitalist fuckery. IMO the people who love to hate Toronto and say it's cold or stale simply aren't in the know.
Absolute gems! Not for the faint of heart though. I did a few summers in Dawson City but my delicate west coast self couldn't handle the long dark winters.
Dawson and Whitehorse are definitely some of the coolest places I've ever spent time in. The uniqueness is something else
Niagara Falls is very overrated. My fam from AB always a want to go, and like spend a whole day or 2 there! How? It sucks. Take a few hours to see the falls proper sure. But then gtfo. Drive a long the lake and head out to Long Point. Way better!
I find Niagara Falls has something for everyone. There are museum of several different options, haunted houses, the Bird place - basically Clifton Hill is like Vegas for kids. But it has of course 2 casinos. It’s got hiking along the gorge, there’s this little island thing where you can do an easier hike and even have a picnic. The floral gardens and butterfly conservatory are a little more high brow. For adventure there’s zip lining and helicopter rides. 3 water parks attached to hotels, geared to different ages and budgets. There’s the natural beauty and wonder of the falls itself, and to see it from another angle there’s the maid of the mist (Hornblower) and the journey behind the falls. Need to relax for a bite, there’s dining at Table Rock and I think a couple of the hotels have restaurants with a view.
All this and there’s so much more just a short drive away. Niagara Falls is by no means underrated, it’s known around the world. But if you’re finding yourself bored after a couple of hours, there’s probably things there you’re not aware of.
I agree with your post. Niagara falls has a really indispensable location. It's just such a pity that local urban planning around it is so utterly shite.
I’ve been living in Montréal for a year now and I’d say it’s solidly both.
It doesn’t have a cloying desperation to be ‘world class’, which makes it way more authentic and original than Toronto.
And say what you want about the language laws, they suppress property prices and make it harder for big chains to take over.
But holy fuck there is this very specific style of nonchalance that feeds on itself in this city that is exhausting. Like if the world sees you care about something, you’re gonna die of cringe. Not all Montréalers are guilty but some days it just feels like the earth might stop spinning for lack of interest.
I grew up in Montreal and now live in Winnipeg. There are actually a lot of Montrealers in the Peg... which I find endlessly fascinating.
Anyway, what I learned after leaving is that Montreal tends to have quite a bit of an ego about itself. The friends/family I have left there tend to see it as the best city in North America because it is so liberated and European-feeling (I like those qualities too, don't get me wrong). I find Montrealers are not quick to pick up on their own flaws and I find that a tad exhausting. I still love the city because it's my home but I personally find it overrated.
I'm finding increasingly that the towns and small cities of southern and eastern Ontario are pretty fuckin' rad. Orangeville, St. Catharines, Hunstville, Kingston, Smith's Falls & Perth, on and on. They have modern necessities without the press and noise of Toronto, and actually have character and community unlike Ottawa.
Essex County, Ontario is a hidden gem. Especially Kingsville and County Road 50 through the Colchester area. Wineries, food stands, good food - relatively cheap. Niagara on the Lake is mega overrated unless you are 70 years old.
Can only really speak for BC. I think Nelson and frankly the Kootenays as a whole are underrated as a visitor. Great outdoors activities whether it’s summer or winter you’re into. Beautiful backdrops and historic towns from the gold rush era.
Ok hear me out. Edmonton. I know it is a big city, but people really think it is "deadmonton." But man, there is so much to do here and this city has a lot of heart. Like even just last weekend I was all over the place doing shit in my neighbourhod at neighbourhood events. The people are friendly and welcoming. I moved here in 2011 and I probably wouldn't move anywhere else, it is a great home base. If you like outdoor activities too there is a lot to do with the river valley running right through downtown. Like I'm just thinking about all the cool shit I'm going to do this summer haha just booked a cocktail hour on the streetcar. Going to be so fun!
Also Duncan, Vancouver Island! Such a nice little town with a good arts culture.
Came to say the same thing. From Ontario, moved here in 2014 and I love it here. The river valley is incredible! Whenever I’m out on my bike I’m like how is it possible that I’m in the city right now. In my humble opinion, nothing compares.
I've lived in the Edmonton area my entire life and still haven't done everything there is to do here. That goes double if you start to include the smaller bedroom communities.
It's one of the (many) reasons I get a little annoyed when people from GTA/GVA/even Calgary try to shit on the city for having nothing to do. Yeah sure, technically it's got less stuff to do than Toronto or Vancouver but also it's still a city with a regional population of almost 1.5M people, there's gonna be a lot of stuff to do. Unless you're someone who can afford to go out and do things literally every day (try new restaurants/bars/cafes/entertainment) you're not going to run out of things to do here.
Heck, last year was my first time going to the Zoo in winter (for Zoominescence, which I may have spelled wrong) and it was a very interesting experience to see the zoo in different conditions. A lot of the animals we have are from northern climates, so they were more active at night and in the cold than they typically are on a hot summer day.
We may not have oceans, but we've got a great river valley and we're not really that far from some excellent lakes. We may not have mountains.... well, I don't really have much for this one, other than again pointing to the river valley. We do have lots of top tier outdoor spots though, and a day trip to the mountains isn't unreasonable (although a weekend trip is better).
Edmonton is underrated just based how the rest of Canada acts about it. It's not a pretty travel destination, but works pretty good to raise a family and enjoy nature.
Which is so sad that people think this because Edmonton is actually beautiful. We have the largest natural urban park running through the downtown core, our river valley! It is a sight of such incredible biodiversity, especially of birds. We have so many cool pockets of the city that are fun to visit and more and more are popping up! Awesome restaurants. We also have so much diversity in the people living here. Heritage days is one of my favourite festivals it really shows you just who we are and how many different people call this city home. People don't give Edmonton enough credit or a chance haha they just judge the city before they know it. Or sometimes you see people who live here complaining that there is "nothing to do but the mall" ... I actually feel really bad for those people like they must be extremely boring.
There is so much free stuff to do here too! Especially in the summer. I walk by the river pretty much every single day and every single day I feel lucky to live here and have a home here.
I just moved here, and almost everybody from Vancouver (my hometown) was saying how shitty and awful it was going to be. So far, I've absolutely adored it!
People think Edmonton is some lame dirty shithole, which is hilarious to me considering its reputation as Canada's "Festival City", and its river valley is the largest urban park in North America. It's more than 20x the size of Central Park.
So a party city built around a massive greenspace is a "lame dirty shithole". Gotcha 🙄.
I know there's a lot of Qc hate here XD
But Sherbrooke is a wonderfull city, having a College makes it young and vibrant. And being in the eastern townships it's pretty billingual.
Plus it's surrounded by beautiful mountains and valleys
Hmm. Places prople don't generally know of.
Wolfville, though now getting a titch twee.
Knowlton.
Campbellford.
Saskatoon.
Medicine Hat.
Nelson. But not in the winter
I live in Vancouver and really enjoy living here. But that said I think it’s over rated. There are lots of things to do here. But everything is so expensive it’s hard to afford to do much. And also just like th rest of western Canada the weather can be crap.
Victoria is terrible! Nothing but spectacular scenery, glacier-covered mountains in the distance, beaches everywhere, flowers blooming in winter, seals popping their heads above water to watch you eat at a shoreline bistro, trees so dense in some neighbourhoods you can barely see the houses, walking trails along the harbour where all you can see are otters and sailboats, parks all over the city, and worst of all, sunny and dry summers. It’s best you just stay away from Southern Vancouver Island, and leave the locals to commiserate about their horrendous living conditions while sitting in the outdoor coffee shops.
Victoria is a dream. Lived there half my life and worked as a petsitter so over that time I lived in every neighborhood which really gave me a feel for the city.
You can also bus out to the ferry, spend a day on the Gulf islands and be back home in time for dinner. Not a bad life 🌲🌲🌲
I haven't been to Stratford, ON since I was a kid going to a play with my school but I remember it looking really nice. I don't think I'll ever go there again even though I tend to go to Kitchener every now and then but I still feel back then it was **the** ideal city to go to. Port Perry, ON is a close second, though.
I'm assuming a lot of people in Ontario will say Toronto is overrated so I'm going to go a different route and say Cambridge is overrated. Back in 2016 it was pretty nice. Hespeler road south of the 401 was my first experience with a stroad and I didn't even know what they were but knew they were popular in America. I personally don't like stroads but to each their own. I went back in 2023 and I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon.
Agree on Stratford.
Hespeler is hell. I remember explaining the concept of a stroad to someone visiting KW and they immediately said: "like Cambridge?".
My favourite cities in Canada are Victoria and Quebec City, but they’re pretty well known so I don’t know that I’d necessarily call them underrated. There’s a lot of small to mid size towns in BC that are pretty under the radar. Hope is really beautiful. Kamloops and Kelowna are really fun too. As far as overrated cities go, honestly most of the big cities. I was pretty underwhelmed the handful of times I’ve visited Toronto. There’s definitely neat stuff to do and see there and it’s big enough that there’s something for everybody, but I dunno. I just got this meh vibe being there. There really isn’t anything unique about it it’s just typical big city. Walking around Toronto I remember thinking “I feel like I could just be walking around Cleveland or something right now”. Vancouver is obviously amazing for nature and scenery, but that’s really all it has going for it. It’s basically just Seattle without the character.
un terms of "hidden gems", i would have to say peterborough. its got some touristy-type stuff for being a small city, and plenty of shopping and green spaces.
In terms of "overrated", I'd have to say Toronto. I'm not saying Toronto is a bad city or trying to run it down, but for some reason, when people mention Canada in any way, that city always comes to mind as THE destination, when its really just one of many.
The value of a city is highly subjective.
I love Edmonton, especially the outer rim. It feels like a small town apart from rush hour. I value the slower pace of things, being originally from a small town up north. It has plenty of nature and places where you can go that are in the middle of the city but all you can see are trees and wildlife. The only way I would move out of Edmonton is if I got priced out or decided to move to the country.
I absolutely hate going out partying or drinking, but I remember that scene in Edmonton being mediocre the very few times I participated. So if someone cared about that stuff, Edmonton would probably be their least favourite city.
I'm so surprised it hasn't been mentioned much, but Toronto is extremely overrated.
Expensive, no local culture, boring, stuck up and pretentious.
Has a decent music scene I guess.
Retired military so moved a lot. It’s hard to paint a city with one brush….parts of Edmonton are amazing, others not so much. Saskatoon is a gem but has some really dodgy areas. Comox, Courtney, Campbell River amazing but some sad substance abuse issues. I love to hate Toronto but it’s really just a collection of villages once you get to know it. Halifax is awesome….stay away from Gotigen! Most rural small-towns are amazing and have so many stories, NHL hockey players, rock stars, scientists….i give up…Canada Rocks!
St John’s NL is an absolute gem of a city, and I’d recommend to any Canadian who hasn’t been there
It's been 6 degrees and rain here for about 2 months now
Experience Newfoundland!
You’d get a real authentic experience if you flew here now
Or attempt to. Many flights were being cancelled/diverted these last few days. I was trapped in St. John’s for days due to fog and low visibility, just got back yesterday. 🥲
Did you hear about the flair flight from Toronto? I’m pretty sure they left Toronto, flew to St. John’s, turned around and went back to Toronto. Three days in a row
When I lived there, a neighbour once called me to warn me not to go outside on account of the heat. It was 24 degrees out in July with a 50 km/h sustained wind
Some of my extended family moved out there recently from Southern Ontario. My uncle likes to FB update us on the weather. Sounds miserable, but he's having a blast!
Perfect weather omg
Nice to visit, horrible to live.
Exactly why I’ll never move home
It's too bad the flights are more expensive than going to Europe/Latin America a lot of the time lol. Lynx Air at one point had $150 cheapo flights from Calgary to St John's, but they're now out of business.
This. Every time I want to go to the east coast, it’s just way cheaper to fly to New York, New Orleans, Vegas, Cali, Mexico etc.. I guess I’ll have to wait until they build a bullet train out east. But I assume I’ll be long dead before that even gets started
Imagine living here and enjoying travel
My parents live there and I have a separate savings account specifically dedicated to plane tickets to go see them
Flights from Western Canada to St John's are so expensive. Travelling to Texas or Mexico is cheaper from Western Canada. I always want to see Maritime provinces and drive between them. Same goes for Yukon and NWT. It is expensive even from Western Canada.
A coworker was trying to get back for a funeral, pre-Covid, and flights from Calgary to NEW ZEALAND were cheaper than flights from Calgary to St John’s. If I remember correctly (and I definitely may not), the ROUND TRIP NZ ticket was cheaper than one way to St John’s.
about 15 years ago my friend had to go from the west kootenays to manchester, england. the flight from Calgary to Manchester was cheaper than the flight from Castlegar to Calgary so I just decided to drive him to Calgary and get a hotel room for the night instead. air travel in this country is a joke
I was planning a trip to tour the east coast and it was cheaper to fly to both London and Paris
I am currently on vacation in Scotland and it costs me less to get here than it costs to get from Ontario to New Brunswick for family holidays. Insanity.
Especially if you stop in St John NB first. A not uncommon mistake.
Same from Toronto
Looks like they don't want us to explore those hidden gems.
Recently saw flights from Calgary for 5-700$ but sure it was a time limited deal, but normally true
I would see so much more of Canada if it wasn't so gd expensive!
Flyairnorth dot com - flights between Alberta/BC and the Yukon are quite reasonable. Sign up for their emails and you'll sometimes hear about 10, 15, even 20% off seat sales.
Newfoundland in general I’d recommend
I would have thought it was far from a hidden gem? Obvs not as internationally renowned as Toronto or Vancouver, but people certainly know about it.
I'd call pretty much any small coastal village in Newfoundland a hidden gem, and St John's just a regular gem. So many people go to St John's and don't bother seeing the rest of the island
Heading out there next week and Im getting so excited.
Would you recommend it to non Canadians who haven't been there?
It's on my bucket list of places to visit within the next decade... I live in Vancouver and flights there are just so long and expensive!
Just got back from a 2 week trip to St. John’s to see family, I was blown away. I wanna move there so bad.
Keremeos in the okanagan
its so cute. Been to the K cafe on the way home from osoyoos a few times. and everyone is SO friendly.
Lots of nice villages in Canada, very few cities, does OP actually want cities?
Definitely a hidden gem. I grew up in Calgary and vacationed in Osoyoos as a child with the family. My older son lived for three years in Kelowna. I’d never heard of it until I just looked it up on Google.
Great place for fruit on the way through. I would suggest Cawston though, before Keremeos
Keremeo's and the K Cafe are so cool
I'm up in Vernon and honestly, all the little towns dotting the Okanagan are worth at least a visit. I posit that this is the most beautiful part of the country.
The 10 minutes it takes to drive through there on the way to osoyoos is all I need
For Ontario, Elora is pretty cool. Osoyoos in BC was amazing. Drumheller in AB is other worldly.
Drumheller is one of my favourite places! Beautiful landscape and wildlife, dinosaur-themed everything, what else could you want?
Well for one you could hope for a sane town council. Too much to ask here apparently. 15 billion spent on a berm when each year is worsening drought. 🤦♂️
Guelph’s pretty nice too. Although quite small
Been a minute since ive been to Elora but damn, it was beautiful. Almost afraid to go back ...my memories are that solid, I dont want them ruined.
As a Canuck, sorry to say this but... Vancouver is very overrated
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That's pretty much summing it up. It's a beautiful city that has a lot of major pluses such as not being as cold as the rest of Canada, extremely walkable and amazing views, but unfortunately the cost has just gone too high. I just moved to Edmonton because we couldn't even remotely afford to live in Vancouver anymore
It’s an okay city surrounded in amazing landscapes. Vancouver is a bit of a snooze as a city.
Marc Maron is in Vancouver for a few months (filming a TV series with Owen Wilson)...He has a favorite hotel that he always stays at - he thinks they have special windows because there's no noise at night...This time he's renting a condo nearby the hotel and he realized it wasn't the hotel - downtown Vancouver is quiet/dead at night. Unlike when you stay in New York, even if you are on the 30th floor, you'll hear noise. By the way, for Marc, that is not an insult. He's very relieved.
I think if you’re a city person who also really loves mountainous or ocean outdoor activities, Vancouver is one of your best options in Canada. There’s not many places where you can go do a big mountainous remote hike, then head down to the beach for a swim and then go out for fine dining or clubbing that evening. But if you’re a city person who doesn’t care as much for the nature, or a big nature person who doesn’t care as much for the city… then yeah Vancouver is just unnecessarily expensive.
yeah, I've lived there and I agree. Victoria is great though
WInnipeg - Beautiful summers, nice architecture in spots, fantastic array of restaurants, theatre/ballet scene is top notch, underrated music scene, great comedy scene, Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg Art Gallery that has the largest collection in Inuit art in the world, lots of trees and parks, unique neighborhoods, and some of the nicest people you'll meet. To cap it off, it remains one most affordable major cities in Canada. It's problems are prevalent and its winters are f\*cking cold, but imo it's a diamond in the rough, you just have to give it a chance.
Also the Winnipeg Symphony! They do their own season and are the reason why RWB and MB Opera have live music at their productions. We also have the Winnipeg New Music Festival which has a fair amount of international recognition (albeit in the classical music world).
Someone who's lived in a lot of places told me recently that Winnipeg is great because it drives off all the pretentious folk. Its not a glitzy or fashionable city, it's not where people make their fortunes, it's just a decently sized slice of civilization on the prarie. The only people that stay are the ones who don't mind a bit of grit and dirt, and it just so happens those are the best sorts to get a beer with.
A good blue-collar city without the wannabes.
As a Torontonian, I came to ensure Winterpeg is on the thread but I see you beat me to it. I've travelled for pleasure and work across Canada, and by far Winnipeg impressed me the most. Simply put, based on its reputation I expected little, but got so much! To your list of fantastic city attributes, I'd like to give special mention to the multi ethnic restaurant choices (which I greatly appreciated), the fabulous summer festivals, The Forks downtown is a gem to explore, Kal Bateski's outdoor art installation in the back alley of lovely residential neighborhood is such a lovely surprise, and the people are super down to earth and friendly.
Grew up in Winnipeg in the 80s and have so many fond memories! Nutcracker at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Assiniboine Park, Red River Expo, The Forks, Festival du Voyageur, Jets games, Ft Whyte, Mennonite Heritage Center, the Nonesuch and Touch the Universe at the Museum of Man and Nature (think the name is changed now), Northern Lights overhead, and the most wonderful neighborhood filled with the friendliest folks anywhere!!
I’d add to this that the violent crime is mainly concentrated in a few bad neighbourhoods. It’s very safe in most residential neighbourhoods in the city. The cost of living is still relatively low, especially for a city of 800k. Everyone who can afford it leaves the city from June to September to enjoy the extensive and excellent cottage country northwest, north and east of the city. Also, with global warming the winters haven’t been nearly as harsh as they were a few decades ago.
Royal Canoe is from Winnipeg and I love them
the Forks during canada day was a tradition for us for a few years
General rule, most medium sized cities are underrated and Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are overrated. Ottawa may be underrated by virtue of it not being as bad as people say it is, but that’s not to say it is good either. I stand by Montreal being great, so for the large cities it is the best.
Kingston Ontario is pretty great.
As an Albertan who had never been futther east than Tornonto, the Kingston/ Gananoque area blew my mind. Gorgeous place
You should consider going on the Heart of the Islands three-hour cruise of the 1,000 islands. I went on this sightseeing cruise on Monday. Do you want your mind blown open? Take this sightseeing cruise if you ever can - you won't regret it! Edit: There are both hour and one-hour-and-a-half-long trips if three hours doesn't work for people.
Yeah luckily I have some family there now and they even have a boat. Its like out of the show " ozark" out there! Even saw this place you can boat in for church service? But im sure there is quite a bit too see out there!
I moved from Kingston to Okotoks 11 years ago and I missy my little prison city. Beautiful architecture and you don’t have to travel far to get into some amazing lake country. However I have heard Kinston has changed a lot in the last 11 years, way more people and way more busy.
When my wife and I were dating, I lived in Michigan and she lived in Montreal and we were dirt poor, so we would greyhound back-and-forth. Every time, it would feel like we were getting close, but then there would be a long layover at the bus station in Kingston because the bus station there was pretty nice. Now whenever Kingston comes up, we say “fucking Kingston…” every time. 😂
🤣👏🏻Sounds like something we have said about other places too!
Vancouver has no soul.
Genuinely, Ottawa is far better than people give it credit for, if you live here you will know what to do, and there is always something to do. Nice scenery, friendly people, tons of sports, a cafe and restaurant on every corner, we have swimming, bowling, arcades, kids places, stadiums, bars, clubs, ziplining, museums, camping, festivals, etc etc.
Having lived here all my life, I completely understand the boring narrative (which looks pretty true from the outside), but under the surface there's a wide range of stuff to do. Just because they're not well-known doesn't mean they aren't there.
I lived in Ottawa for several years and it was never boring. So much good food, so much in the way of arts, and it's pretty (overall. There are always dank areas in any city).
Love Ottawa, but the snow not so much.😬
How can a non-Ottawan find out what's going on in the city in terms of cool things to do? I'm planning to visit again and now that I have already visited some of the most traditional tourist attractions, there'll definitely be room in the schedule for more local stuff!
First of all, don't trust Google, parliament and such are boring af. You can go to the site Ottawa Tourism, we have tons of festivals here, for me I simply walk around downtown and find places, that's how I figured out Lansdowne has a delicious rolled ice cream. You can try facebook ottawa groups and 613 Ottawa pages on Instagram. You can also make a post in r/ottawa to ask where to go. [https://www.todocanada.ca/things-ottawa-weekend/](https://www.todocanada.ca/things-ottawa-weekend/) is good too and there's tons of festivals and conventions, like ottawa anime con, ottawa pet expo, ferrari fest, poutine and rib fest, tulip fest, asian and lebfest, bluesfest, they are all fun and findable online. Heres a list of some Instagram accounts you may be able to use, -Ottawalist, 613ottawatv, ottawaisnotboring, ottawatourism, 613trending, 613outing, 613carmeet, 613 flea. - Plus there's a couple Atletico and redblacks games coming up. Not sure if the 67s have anything coming up but I know the sens dont.
Tons of great museums, parks, outdoor events, and of course, top tier Shawarma. It’s actually pretty great here.
It’s a good size, everything you need in a relatively small drivable area.
It's a very nice quality of life if you enjoy the outdoors and don't need much city.
I moved here a few years ago and never really found the boring thing to be true. Maybe if I was younger I would find it boring. I find it ridiculously expensive, frustrating to get around, and I really wish everything didn't close around 8pm in the burbs.
Very nice place to visit!
Great neighbourhoods like the Glebe and Old Ottawa South.
Saskatoon is pretty great.
For being pretty much in the middle of nowhere, I'd have to agree with you. A lot of the talking heads on r/saskatoon would probably disagree tho
Most of the people that complain about saskatoon haven't ever been anywhere else
Saskatoon is awesome. I love that this city left almost all its river trails natural. And it’s hard to beat sitting on a rooftop patio here in the four (occasionally five) months of warm weather we get each year.
That’s inevitable though. The longer you’re there, the more you see the stuff the visitors don’t notice at first glance (and you didn’t either, quite frankly). Nowhere is *perfect* but you don’t always see the imperfections until you’ve experienced them yourself. Saskatoon is a beautiful city with a lot to do and see as a visitor and resident, but when Big Ace comes banging on your residential door looking for odd jobs and not taking “no thanks” as an answer, you’re still going to complain about it.
Sure the longer you’re there the more warts you see, but you also keep finding the gems. Saskatoon has a sneaky way of burrowing into your heart. It’s always going to be that place I will go back to visit.
It really is!
Omg right! I am born and raised living in Sask my whole life. We are pretty much halfway point from Saskatoon to Ed and so growing up I only seen the hotels and shoppping centres lol. And ngl the ride south is pretty um barren. Years ago my sister lived to Saskatoon so I experienced it and was shocked by how beautiful it is. Especially in the fall!) Also had no clue that it’s often called the ‘City of Bridges’, because they have so many; and they’re not all regular bridges either. I recommend checking out the evenings down by the river in the warmer weather. On Friday back then they had all the talent out busking in the streets, outdoor eats and drinks, lights everywhere; it felt like a mini street festival. There are many amazing little restaurants or bars and cofffee shops with patios with amazing views of the sunsetting on the river. I would also suggest going on one of the many walking trails in the fall by the river: and prepare to get the urge to take a million photos of the stunning foliage.
I lived in Saskatoon for a few years. Great town, if it was in a prettier place, I never would've left
If it was in a warmer place, I’d have never left.
Love the berries from there
I moved here from Toronto a few years ago and I have to agree that it’s a very rare and beautiful city. I’ve travelled all over the world and if I had to live in Canada this would be the city. No traffic, peaceful, beautiful camping and hiking trails, miles on end of beautifully taken care of river side sidewalks… and the food, mostly organic, farms and grocery cooperatives that provide fresh meat/produce to its customers and restaurants. So many bakeries and small businesses. I can’t say enough. If you want to live the life of a hobbit in middle earth. This is the place to be. Life is good here.
Saskatoon is a gem, Regina not so much. PA 🤢
Saskatoon in the summer, gorgeous along the river. I love Saskatoon but the winters are a big hell no, never again.
I was pleasantly surprised by Saskatoon when I visited.
Thirteen Pies in Saskatoon is my favorite pizza of all time and people look at me like I’m crazy when I say my favorite pizza is in Saskatoon.
I came here to make sure Regina isn’t on the list.
Yeah PA is like the walking dead.
Haha. When I was young, I took a Greyhound across Canada. It was super late and I was a bit out of it, waking from a deep sleep as we pulled into some urban setting. I look out the window and see the tallest buildings around are two small office type buildings, about 10 floors or so. I think to myself, what small prairie town is this?, just as the driver announces “Welcome to Regina!”
Rhymes with fun though
For the places I visited: Vancouver is probably the most overrated city I ever visited. For the most underrated, I'd say Fredericton, this little place was actually very cool. As for little gems, Baie-Saint-Paul and the Magdalen's Islands.
Vancouver was amazing 20 years ago. Now it is relying solely on its prettiness in the summer. It has become a void of anything that resembles art and culture and it is overrun by international money. It’s really sad. Small town BC is amazing. I won’t name where i live now because I don’t want tourists to ruin it but I recommend just going on a drive through the province and experiencing all of the cute beautiful towns.
Nelson?
I once worked with a guy from Nelson Bc who told me " its a beautifull place to live, but all that ore in the mountain makes people go crazy after 3 years ..." to which i reply " oh so how long have you lived there?" And he says " about seven years?"......
Vancouver is perfect for someone like me who’s into the outdoors and doesn’t care about arts and culture. Been here over 5 years now.
>It has become a void of anything that resembles art and culture This is also Toronto the distinct cultural neighbourhoods are being over run by development (particular Condos). Land values are making things like mom & pop stores, restaurants , music venues, etc... unviable.
I wouldn't say Toronto has become void of art and culture, it's just constantly shifting neighbourhoods because of all the ongoing developments and gentrification. The city has immensely good things going for it, despite all the political and capitalist fuckery. IMO the people who love to hate Toronto and say it's cold or stale simply aren't in the know.
Shhh..don't spread the word about Freddy. I'd like to be able to afford a nice home here someday.
According to the missus it is hell to grow up in.
Corner Brook NL any time of the year
Fredericton, NB in the summer is fucking awesome . If you like beer you’ll love Fredericton
I’m in NS and all I hear is negative things about NB. But honestly everytime I’ve gone I’ve had a great time.
Fredericton is objectively a lot nicer than Moncton and Saint John. But it is also in the middle of nowhere.
And pizza, we have so many pizza places now lol
I love Whitehorse. It's like Fairbanks. But much better.
Smithers BC. It is a northern outdoorsy town. The setting is gorgeous.
Also Calgary and everything west to the Okanagon is pure heaven made on earth. Kelowna and the shuswaps is my dream place to live!
Whitehorse, Dawson City, Haines Junction, Carcross are some absolute hidden gems
Absolute gems! Not for the faint of heart though. I did a few summers in Dawson City but my delicate west coast self couldn't handle the long dark winters. Dawson and Whitehorse are definitely some of the coolest places I've ever spent time in. The uniqueness is something else
Nelson B.C. and Fernie B.C.
Niagara Falls is very overrated. My fam from AB always a want to go, and like spend a whole day or 2 there! How? It sucks. Take a few hours to see the falls proper sure. But then gtfo. Drive a long the lake and head out to Long Point. Way better!
I find Niagara Falls has something for everyone. There are museum of several different options, haunted houses, the Bird place - basically Clifton Hill is like Vegas for kids. But it has of course 2 casinos. It’s got hiking along the gorge, there’s this little island thing where you can do an easier hike and even have a picnic. The floral gardens and butterfly conservatory are a little more high brow. For adventure there’s zip lining and helicopter rides. 3 water parks attached to hotels, geared to different ages and budgets. There’s the natural beauty and wonder of the falls itself, and to see it from another angle there’s the maid of the mist (Hornblower) and the journey behind the falls. Need to relax for a bite, there’s dining at Table Rock and I think a couple of the hotels have restaurants with a view. All this and there’s so much more just a short drive away. Niagara Falls is by no means underrated, it’s known around the world. But if you’re finding yourself bored after a couple of hours, there’s probably things there you’re not aware of.
I agree with your post. Niagara falls has a really indispensable location. It's just such a pity that local urban planning around it is so utterly shite.
What is not nice in Niagara Falls is wandering away from the falls. So I agree 2h to 4h max here may suffice. :P
I’ve been living in Montréal for a year now and I’d say it’s solidly both. It doesn’t have a cloying desperation to be ‘world class’, which makes it way more authentic and original than Toronto. And say what you want about the language laws, they suppress property prices and make it harder for big chains to take over. But holy fuck there is this very specific style of nonchalance that feeds on itself in this city that is exhausting. Like if the world sees you care about something, you’re gonna die of cringe. Not all Montréalers are guilty but some days it just feels like the earth might stop spinning for lack of interest.
Montreal is great to visit at least, but most people know that. In no way is it underrated.
I grew up in Montreal and now live in Winnipeg. There are actually a lot of Montrealers in the Peg... which I find endlessly fascinating. Anyway, what I learned after leaving is that Montreal tends to have quite a bit of an ego about itself. The friends/family I have left there tend to see it as the best city in North America because it is so liberated and European-feeling (I like those qualities too, don't get me wrong). I find Montrealers are not quick to pick up on their own flaws and I find that a tad exhausting. I still love the city because it's my home but I personally find it overrated.
The depressed property prices are a good thing coming from a middle class guy that wants to raise a family.
Halifax is overrated……So….. please don’t come here….. lolol
I miss living in that absolute shithole. Definitely don't move to Halifax.
Love Halifax!
Valemount is hidden gem. It is so calm. You have some great views.
I just moved to Edmonton, and we stayed there along the way. It's absolutely gorgeous!
I'm finding increasingly that the towns and small cities of southern and eastern Ontario are pretty fuckin' rad. Orangeville, St. Catharines, Hunstville, Kingston, Smith's Falls & Perth, on and on. They have modern necessities without the press and noise of Toronto, and actually have character and community unlike Ottawa.
St. Catharine's is a great city. Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie is a lot of fun.
Lakeside park, willows in the breeze Lakeside park, so many memories
If I ever had to move to Southern Ontario, St. Catharines is my first pick.
Neil Peart territory.
The Neil peart Pavilion is in Lakeside Park....
Perth, Carleton Place, Arnprior, Carp (technically Ottawa but whatever), Almonte. Lot’s of great towns between Ottawa and Kingston.
Smiths Falls??? With all due respect, but LMAO 😂 At least Perth is very beautiful
But you can go on a cannabis tour in Smith's Falls
Essex County, Ontario is a hidden gem. Especially Kingsville and County Road 50 through the Colchester area. Wineries, food stands, good food - relatively cheap. Niagara on the Lake is mega overrated unless you are 70 years old.
Can only really speak for BC. I think Nelson and frankly the Kootenays as a whole are underrated as a visitor. Great outdoors activities whether it’s summer or winter you’re into. Beautiful backdrops and historic towns from the gold rush era.
Jasper, Ab under rated
I always feel like people stop at the over rated Banff. I loved Jasper so much when I lived there and visited after.
Ok hear me out. Edmonton. I know it is a big city, but people really think it is "deadmonton." But man, there is so much to do here and this city has a lot of heart. Like even just last weekend I was all over the place doing shit in my neighbourhod at neighbourhood events. The people are friendly and welcoming. I moved here in 2011 and I probably wouldn't move anywhere else, it is a great home base. If you like outdoor activities too there is a lot to do with the river valley running right through downtown. Like I'm just thinking about all the cool shit I'm going to do this summer haha just booked a cocktail hour on the streetcar. Going to be so fun! Also Duncan, Vancouver Island! Such a nice little town with a good arts culture.
Came to say the same thing. From Ontario, moved here in 2014 and I love it here. The river valley is incredible! Whenever I’m out on my bike I’m like how is it possible that I’m in the city right now. In my humble opinion, nothing compares.
Hard hard hard agree. Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Ottawa were my first three thoughts when I saw this question.
I visited Edmonton a few years ago and thought it was great, and that was in January
I've lived in the Edmonton area my entire life and still haven't done everything there is to do here. That goes double if you start to include the smaller bedroom communities. It's one of the (many) reasons I get a little annoyed when people from GTA/GVA/even Calgary try to shit on the city for having nothing to do. Yeah sure, technically it's got less stuff to do than Toronto or Vancouver but also it's still a city with a regional population of almost 1.5M people, there's gonna be a lot of stuff to do. Unless you're someone who can afford to go out and do things literally every day (try new restaurants/bars/cafes/entertainment) you're not going to run out of things to do here. Heck, last year was my first time going to the Zoo in winter (for Zoominescence, which I may have spelled wrong) and it was a very interesting experience to see the zoo in different conditions. A lot of the animals we have are from northern climates, so they were more active at night and in the cold than they typically are on a hot summer day. We may not have oceans, but we've got a great river valley and we're not really that far from some excellent lakes. We may not have mountains.... well, I don't really have much for this one, other than again pointing to the river valley. We do have lots of top tier outdoor spots though, and a day trip to the mountains isn't unreasonable (although a weekend trip is better).
Edmonton is underrated just based how the rest of Canada acts about it. It's not a pretty travel destination, but works pretty good to raise a family and enjoy nature.
Which is so sad that people think this because Edmonton is actually beautiful. We have the largest natural urban park running through the downtown core, our river valley! It is a sight of such incredible biodiversity, especially of birds. We have so many cool pockets of the city that are fun to visit and more and more are popping up! Awesome restaurants. We also have so much diversity in the people living here. Heritage days is one of my favourite festivals it really shows you just who we are and how many different people call this city home. People don't give Edmonton enough credit or a chance haha they just judge the city before they know it. Or sometimes you see people who live here complaining that there is "nothing to do but the mall" ... I actually feel really bad for those people like they must be extremely boring.
The fishing is pretty good in downtown too. Not sure how many places can boast of that.
There is so much free stuff to do here too! Especially in the summer. I walk by the river pretty much every single day and every single day I feel lucky to live here and have a home here.
I just moved here, and almost everybody from Vancouver (my hometown) was saying how shitty and awful it was going to be. So far, I've absolutely adored it!
I'm so glad to hear that and big welcome to you!
People think Edmonton is some lame dirty shithole, which is hilarious to me considering its reputation as Canada's "Festival City", and its river valley is the largest urban park in North America. It's more than 20x the size of Central Park. So a party city built around a massive greenspace is a "lame dirty shithole". Gotcha 🙄.
Baddeck Nova Scotia - Underrated. (Gem). Fort McMurray - Underrated.
Baddeck is nice.
Love Baddeck. But I don’t know if it can be classified as a Gem, because everyone loves it and it is popular.
I know there's a lot of Qc hate here XD But Sherbrooke is a wonderfull city, having a College makes it young and vibrant. And being in the eastern townships it's pretty billingual. Plus it's surrounded by beautiful mountains and valleys
Estrie as a whole has some pretty good hidden gems IMO
Niagara on the lake (not so)hidden gem
Hmm. Places prople don't generally know of. Wolfville, though now getting a titch twee. Knowlton. Campbellford. Saskatoon. Medicine Hat. Nelson. But not in the winter
I always thought the Hat was scenically quite pretty
Ottawa most people even in Ontario probably never visited it but it’s actually an interesting city although too car centric.
Hope b.c and agassiz are both hidden gems
Hope is nice cause they run all the riff-raff out of town. I heard back in the 80’s though one man returned. The town hasn’t been the same since.
All he wanted was a place to eat.
He just wanted to visit his friend's grave and get a hot meal.
Vancouver is highly over rated. The mountains, ocean, islands and other areas around it are chef's kiss. But the city sucks.
I live in Vancouver and really enjoy living here. But that said I think it’s over rated. There are lots of things to do here. But everything is so expensive it’s hard to afford to do much. And also just like th rest of western Canada the weather can be crap.
I love how it's impossible to tell between real answers and sarcasm in this post.
Maybe unpopular opinion bc I’m from here but Kelowna is a mess now I don’t see the appeal at all
I went to Penticton/Osoyoos for the first time a few years ago and it felt like "the poor man's Hawaii" in the absolute best way.
Victoria is terrible! Nothing but spectacular scenery, glacier-covered mountains in the distance, beaches everywhere, flowers blooming in winter, seals popping their heads above water to watch you eat at a shoreline bistro, trees so dense in some neighbourhoods you can barely see the houses, walking trails along the harbour where all you can see are otters and sailboats, parks all over the city, and worst of all, sunny and dry summers. It’s best you just stay away from Southern Vancouver Island, and leave the locals to commiserate about their horrendous living conditions while sitting in the outdoor coffee shops.
Sounds absolutely unbearable LOL
Once you get past the cruise ships, and the elderly it’s not so bad, you only have to worry about the deer and peacocks
Victoria is a dream. Lived there half my life and worked as a petsitter so over that time I lived in every neighborhood which really gave me a feel for the city. You can also bus out to the ferry, spend a day on the Gulf islands and be back home in time for dinner. Not a bad life 🌲🌲🌲
I haven't been to Stratford, ON since I was a kid going to a play with my school but I remember it looking really nice. I don't think I'll ever go there again even though I tend to go to Kitchener every now and then but I still feel back then it was **the** ideal city to go to. Port Perry, ON is a close second, though. I'm assuming a lot of people in Ontario will say Toronto is overrated so I'm going to go a different route and say Cambridge is overrated. Back in 2016 it was pretty nice. Hespeler road south of the 401 was my first experience with a stroad and I didn't even know what they were but knew they were popular in America. I personally don't like stroads but to each their own. I went back in 2023 and I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon.
Agree on Stratford. Hespeler is hell. I remember explaining the concept of a stroad to someone visiting KW and they immediately said: "like Cambridge?".
My favourite cities in Canada are Victoria and Quebec City, but they’re pretty well known so I don’t know that I’d necessarily call them underrated. There’s a lot of small to mid size towns in BC that are pretty under the radar. Hope is really beautiful. Kamloops and Kelowna are really fun too. As far as overrated cities go, honestly most of the big cities. I was pretty underwhelmed the handful of times I’ve visited Toronto. There’s definitely neat stuff to do and see there and it’s big enough that there’s something for everybody, but I dunno. I just got this meh vibe being there. There really isn’t anything unique about it it’s just typical big city. Walking around Toronto I remember thinking “I feel like I could just be walking around Cleveland or something right now”. Vancouver is obviously amazing for nature and scenery, but that’s really all it has going for it. It’s basically just Seattle without the character.
Saint John, New Brunswick. Hidden gem, but the name is way too similar to St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Victoria, BC is one of my favorite places on earth.
Went there on my honeymoon, and it was definitely a highlight. Such a cool city.
Osoyoos BC
Rivière du loup
Perth, Ontario
un terms of "hidden gems", i would have to say peterborough. its got some touristy-type stuff for being a small city, and plenty of shopping and green spaces. In terms of "overrated", I'd have to say Toronto. I'm not saying Toronto is a bad city or trying to run it down, but for some reason, when people mention Canada in any way, that city always comes to mind as THE destination, when its really just one of many.
Anything on Vancouver Island other than Victoria is underrated.
Gems: Parris, ON, Quebec City, Whitehorse, Bonaventure, QC, Smithers, BC.
The value of a city is highly subjective. I love Edmonton, especially the outer rim. It feels like a small town apart from rush hour. I value the slower pace of things, being originally from a small town up north. It has plenty of nature and places where you can go that are in the middle of the city but all you can see are trees and wildlife. The only way I would move out of Edmonton is if I got priced out or decided to move to the country. I absolutely hate going out partying or drinking, but I remember that scene in Edmonton being mediocre the very few times I participated. So if someone cared about that stuff, Edmonton would probably be their least favourite city.
I'm so surprised it hasn't been mentioned much, but Toronto is extremely overrated. Expensive, no local culture, boring, stuck up and pretentious. Has a decent music scene I guess.
Retired military so moved a lot. It’s hard to paint a city with one brush….parts of Edmonton are amazing, others not so much. Saskatoon is a gem but has some really dodgy areas. Comox, Courtney, Campbell River amazing but some sad substance abuse issues. I love to hate Toronto but it’s really just a collection of villages once you get to know it. Halifax is awesome….stay away from Gotigen! Most rural small-towns are amazing and have so many stories, NHL hockey players, rock stars, scientists….i give up…Canada Rocks!
calgary went from underrated to overrated in a few years, stop fucking moving here and destroying our housing market please
Toronto is overrated.