Canada Travel

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Vimu Subscription

Spotlight Posts

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Banff National Park, Alberta

Niagara Falls - The Canadian Side

Banff, Alberta - Beautiful and Touristy Mountain Town

Countries That Share Borders With Canada

[ more ]

Yee-Haw!

Calgary Stampede 2008 is wide open and there's a full week left to go.

What's it all about?

A city of a million turns cowboy. It's so easy to put on blue jeans and a cowboy hat - you're in!

The Stampede grounds (easy to reach by public transit) have the standard midway stuff plus the rodeo, chuckwagon races, grandstand shows, agricultural barns and competitions, trade show displays, lots to see and do.

My favourite?

The Superdogs.

Vote

Shared on

Canada Travel

Jill Browne Friends

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Jill Browne - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

April 13th 2008 16:40

Royal Ontario Museum by Aviad2001on Wikimedia Commons, GNU F.D. License

Royal Ontario Museum by Aviad 2001, on Wikimedia Commons, GNU F.D. Lic. Thank you, Aviad2001 for sharing this image.

Look at it as an architectural gawk-fest, a work of wonder, or skip the outside and concentrate on the collections inside - the ROM has something for everyone to talk about.

Where

Downtown Toronto, more or less. The ROM is further north than the Eaton Centre, just under 3 km away (about 2 miles).

Address: 100 Queen's Park

How to Get There

Bus, subway (St. George - wheelchair accessible, or Museum - not accessible), car - parking in the area

What to See

One of Canada's most famous museums, the ROM has extensive natural history and cultural history exhibits. The Bat Cave and dinosaurs usually excite the younger visitors and those who still get a thrill from the wonders of the animal kingdom.

First Nations (Aboriginal, Indian, Inuit are all alternative names) art and artefacts, and extensive collections from the Old World.

Personally, the totem poles are my first memory of the ROM. Totem poles and mummies.

Tickets

Current admission for an adult is $20, students and seniors $17, children $14. These can change but are current at the date of this article. Free on Wednesday 4:30 until closing at 5:30, and half price on Fridays from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets can be bought online in advance - great idea, no lineups that way.

The ticket is good for the whole day, and you may come and go on the same ticket during the day.

When to Go

As with most popular museums, avoid the crowds by visiting on weekdays and in the off-season - not July and August if you can help it.

The ROM has school groups in the mornings and suggests that afternoons mid-week tend to be the quietest times.

For Non-Museum Goers

Because of its reasonably central location and transportation links, you can leave the museum lover at the ROM for hours, go downtown, watch a ball game or shop, and meet up again for dinner later.

The walking in this part of Toronto is reasonably interesting, too, for those who enjoy early-ish Ontario architecture. University of Toronto and the Ontario Provincial Parliament buildings are not far away.

If you like this blog, please give it a boost on one of these social networking sites (buttons below). Thanks!

Click This Link to Add Canada Travel to Your Technorati Favourites

Vote

Shared on

Canada Travel

Jill Browne Friends

Comments (4)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Jill Browne - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

April 3rd 2008 03:44

Get that urban ocean experience at Granville Island, Vancouver's funky market. Interesting browsing, fish, flowers, fruits and other foods, crafts and handmade stuff. I mainly go for the people watching and a coffee... well, it's Vancouver, so it has to be a latte. Granville Island is one of Vancouver's must-see tourist spots, but it is also a real market, so go with the idea of picking up something fresh.

Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, by Zhatt, Public Domain on Wikimedia Commons

Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C. Canada, by Zhatt, in the Public Domain on Wikimedia Commons. Thanks to Zhatt for sharing.

Fun thing to do is take one of the little water taxis - a cheap ride if you want a quick boat experience. Operated by False Creek Ferries, they run a circular route with stops at some interesting places - Maritime Museum (haven't tried it), Science World (good with kids especially), and if you get off at Yaletown you can walk to downtown Vancouver.

I've done it. My review... there are better walks in Vancouver but not better fun boat rides. The walk was not particularly inspiring, though I don't want to diss Vancouver. I'd just say it's more productive to do the boat ride - maybe do the whole circle, end up back at Granville Island, then take a bus to your next venue.

Getting back to the boat ride, OK, maybe being a land-locked prairie dweller for too many years has addled my mind. I compare it to the vaporetto in Venice. Little boats are fun.

If you like this blog, please give it a boost on one of these social networking sites (buttons below). Thanks!

Click This Link to Add Canada Travel to Your Technorati Favourites

Vote

Shared on

Canada Travel

Jill Browne Friends

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Jill Browne - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Banff National Park, Alberta

March 29th 2008 01:48

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, by Tobias Alt. GNU license on Wikimedia Commons. Thanks for sharing.

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, by Tobias Alt. Picture of the day on Wikimedia Commons, March 28, 2008. GNU License. Thanks for sharing this lovely image.

Banff National Park is Beautiful and Accessible
[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Canada Travel

Jill Browne Friends