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Perched on Laurier Boulevard in one of Quebec City’s main commercial districts, the Hôtel Plaza Québec draws its fair share of business travelers. But it’s an even better choice for families thanks to its indoor swimming pool and hot tub set within a ground-level tropical garden; there are also two play rooms, a movie room, and regularly scheduled activities for the young set. While standard rooms are cozy enough for solo travlers, larger accommodations range from suites with kitchenettes to loft-apartments that can sleep as many as 13 people. Drop your bags, then take advantage of the hotel’s proximity to Old Town’s most popular attractions (about five miles away), as well as the impressive Aquarium du Quebec and the Parc de la Plage-Jacques-Cartier, with its riverside beaches and walking trails.

In the heart of Old Québec’s Upper Town, Hotel Manoir Victoria blends 19th-century grace with an updated urban-chic vibe. A recently completed $8 million makeover of the 1830 property’s accommodations added a calming palette of ebony, gray, and cream and amenities like electric fireplaces and living areas, as well as iPhone chargers, rain showers, and pod coffee makers. Guests have no shortage of diverting destinations to choose from, including a spa, indoor saltwater pool, and fitness center. The hotel’s gourmet restaurant, however, usually beats out the competition, earning high praise for its thoughtful Nordic-inspired Québecois cuisine using seasonal, locally sourced, and foraged ingredients in dishes such as carpaccio of elderberry-marinated arctic char with cattail heart and milkweed pod.

Le Petit Hotel is housed in a former leather merchant’s building that dates back to 1867 and boasts original stonework arches and pillars at its entrance. Truly a “petit” hotel, its 28 rooms are spread across four floors and divided into S, M, L, and XL. Although it’s small, the hotel packs a stylish punch, mixing century-old exposed brickwork and stone with funky hardwood floors and modern-day luxuries—from free Wi-Fi and iPod docks to platform beds and multi-jet massage showers. In the guest rooms, splashes of bold, sunny orange and black accents create a contrast to the fresh white walls. Situated in the heart of Montreal’s fashionable Old Port area, guests are just steps from much of the city’s best shopping, dining, and art.

This homely but homey little spot tucked away on Rue Beaubien makes an all-day breakfast that draws people from afar every weekend, and locals every day of the week. Saddle up to one of their handful of tables for their variety of eggs Benedict, all served with tomatoes fresh from the nearby Marché Jean-Talon and golden, chunky home fries. Or if you’re in a lunchy mood, try the BBLAT sandwich: brie, bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomatoes pressed together into an answer to your stomach’s prayers.

Parisian Brasserie dining, and a few hundred bottles of good wine standing sentinel for good measure. It didn’t take me long to get used to afternoons and evening at La Coupole. I had an equally delightful time at breakfast; a bit of yogurt and granola, some bread and cheese, and NHL highlights from the night before. I’m a simple guy, what can I say. Fine dining, good wine, and hockey fights go together like PB&J. In my book, anyway.

With five locations and a well-organized in-store digital database, the friendly staff of family-run Fair’s Fair used bookstore can easily find what you’re looking for, and they have the best selection of popular and hard-to-find books in the city. The cavernous basement of the Ninth Avenue location is for anyone who’s more interested in the journey than destination. They also offer cash for books you want to sell, or twice as much as in-store credit.

IndexG B&B was an art gallery before the owners renovated the second floor into a four-bedroom bed and breakfast. Housed on a sleepier stretch of Gladstone Avenue but close to the action of both the West Queen West and Parkdale neighborhoods, this family-run B&B offers affordable rooms and minimal amenities. Art is displayed throughout the hotel, and it is all available for purchase. With much to do in the area, this is a well-located hub from which to discover the best of Toronto.

For over 20 years, this large open-air market only 7 miles north of Santa Fe showcases a variety of local artisans, importers and designers hawking their wares. As all flea markets go, it’s a hit or miss operation sifting from a selection of turquoise jewelry, rugs, clothing and cowboy boots. It’s also weekends only.

This short 13km drive is worth taking for the panoramic views of the northwest coast, stretching from the Rosguill Peninsula to the Bloody Foreland, and out to Tory Island to the north. There’s plenty of seabird life on the cliff ledges, with puffins, storm petrels, gulls and guillemots. When you get to the tip of Horn Head, walk to the viewpoint at Faugher, for views of the cliffs and the ruins of a signal tower from the 17th century.

Biking the boardwalk is the best way to experience the beaches and coastline of L.A. Rent a bike in the middle at Dockweiler Beach and either go the 10 miles north through Marina Del Rey, Venice, and the Santa Monica Pier (or keep going to Malibu) or go three to six miles south to the more relaxed local life of Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beaches. Whichever way you choose, make sure you have the stamina to bike back.

On the north-west arm of the Beagle Channel, Pia Glacier is embedded in the Darwin Range, and it gradually runs down into the waters of Pia Bay. You can get to it via a Patagonia cruise which will take you to the base of the glacier and then allow you to do a landing via Zodiaks and hike around near it. Sit around for a bit and enjoy it’s enormity while watching for an inevitable calving and giant splash!

North of the harbor on Lavender Bay, Clark Park is an ideal spot for a picnic away from the bustle. On the western end, curious visitors discover the garden Wendy Whiteley created from a landfill. 5- to 10-minute walk from Luna Park. This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

Running from the waterfront to Montréal’s City Hall, at the opposite end of a gently sloping hill, Place Jacques-Cartier has been a center of the city’s street life for more than two centuries. It was laid out at the beginning of the 19th century after the Château Vaudreuil, which had stood on the site, burned down in 1803. Originally known as New Market Place, the square stays true to those roots with the many vendors who sell flowers here in the summer. You’ll find them on sunny days alongside the outdoor tables of the cafés that line the square. In December, Place Jacques-Cartier is dressed for the holidays with rows of Christmas trees. Given the name of the square, you might expect the column at its western end to be topped with a statue of the French explorer. Instead, the English admiral Lord Horatio Nelson looks over the city from the perch. Erected in 1809, it is Montréal’s oldest public monument and preceded London‘s column honoring Nelson by three decades. To this day, the choice of hero to honor still causes some resentment in this largely francophone city.

This Little Burgundy mainstay is the headquarters of chefs David McMillan and Frédéric Morin, the acclaimed and enterprising minds behind an evolving blackboard menu that has been known to feature smoked meat croquettes, house-cured ham with truffles, lobster spaghetti and horse meat steaks. The duo is known to do absolutely everything in-house, even brew their own beer and distil their own absinthe. Stroll down Rue Notre-Dame, past their other restaurant, Liverpool House, to the nearby Lachine Canal after an evening at this inviting space with vintage wooden chairs, leather banquettes and a permanent air of celebration.

A church—or, at least, a small chapel—has stood on the site of the Basilica of Notre-Dame since shortly after Ville-Marie (Montréal’s predecessor) was founded in 1642. The current building, however, dates to 1829 and was constructed in a soaring Gothic Revival style. At the time, that aesthetic choice raised some eyebrows—Gothic designs were associated more with Protestant churches than Roman Catholic ones. (Perhaps the fact that the architect was an Irish-American Protestant didn’t help the situation.) Whatever initial resistance there was evaporated in the face of the beauty of the completed building. In the decades that followed, Gothic became the popular choice for churches in Canada of every denomination in large part because of Montréal’s basilica. In the 1870s, in what was perhaps a case of gilding the lily, the basilica became even more stunning when its interiors were painted in bright colors to resemble Paris‘s Ste-Chapelle.