Canada: City and Country
Getaways
by Candyce H. Stapen
City and country getaways have something for every family member.
In the country, work-weary parents and cooped up kids hike, bike,
fish, swim, and simply savor the outdoors. On an urban safari, you
and your kids explore interactive science museums, engrossing aquariums
and beautiful parks as well as enjoy first-rate shopping and restaurants.
Canada's coasts provide a mix of multicultural and exciting cities
that are close to crystal clear lakes and rivers, shady forests
and rugged mountains.
Montebello and Montreal:
Montebello and Montreal make a good pair. Just
90 minutes west of Montreal is the world's largest log hotel, the
Fairmont Le Château Montebello. The resort, set on the banks of
the Ottawa River, sprawls on 65,000 acres dotted with nearly 70
lakes. Constructed of 10,000 giant cedar logs, the hotel exudes
a north woods ambiance, but one with finesse.
 You
won't be roughing it at this AAA Four Diamond property. After all,
the hotel hosted the G7 summit in 1981. There are photos of Ronald
Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pierre Trudeau smiling between talks
in the gallery that rings the three-story lobby. There are also
images of guests curling, golfing, shooting clays, and ice skating.
The floor's checkers and chess tables overlook the heart of the
hotel, the three-story lobby with its six-sided fireplace.
But the best is outside. You and your kids can play mini-golf, go horseback
riding, pedal the back roads on mountain bikes, canoe the many lakes
(guided tours available), take scenic pontoon boat rides, hike forest
trails, and fish at nearby Fairmont Kenauk, an adjacent property
of rustic cabins.
Kids can splash in the outdoor or indoor pools, and in summer take
part in supervised programs from 9 a.m. to noon as well as evening
dinner and movie nights. Parents indulge at the new spa with a maple
body scrub, a golfer's facial or other soothing treatment. Nearby,
drive through Parc Omega, whose 1,500 acres of meadows and
forests feature huge enclosures for black bear, wolves and moose.
The free roaming deer often press their noses up against your car's
windows.
In Old Montreal, stroll the narrow streets and watch jugglers, mimes,
face painters, and other street performers at Place Jacques-Cartier.
In the Old Port explore the scores of interactive exhibits at the
Montreal Science Centre and also go for the thrills of a jet boat
ride through the Lachine's rapids.
At the Biodôme, see tiny poison-arrow frogs, beavers, penguins,
and thousands of other animals. Among the highlights at the Montreal
Botanical Garden are the Japanese plantings, the Butterfly House
and the thousands of bugs, dead and alive, at the Insectarium. La
Ronde, a Six Flags amusement park on the nearby Île Sainte-Hélène,
offers scores of rides, including this season's new roller coaster
Goliath, a monster that hurls riders up to 68 miles per hour
and drops them a gut-wrenching 171 feet (800-441-1414, www.fairmont.com;
www.tourisme-montreal.org)
Whistler Blackcomb and Vancouver:
The top-rated ski resort Whistler Blackcomb, a
two-hour drive north of Vancouver, offers families mountains of
summer fun. Hikers can ride the peak chair to the top of Whistler
summit, then trek down, or for an easy walk, stroll the flat Valley
trail that connects Whistler and Blackcomb. Cyclists tackle expert
terrain packed with jumps and tabletops at the Mountain Bike Park.
Adrenaline junkies zoom along on ziplines that whiz them through
the forest at speeds up to 50 miles per hour.
At the Adventure Zone, families can sign up for horseback
riding, rock climbing, the Westcoaster Luge ride as well as mini-golf
and trampoline time. Let your 'tweens and teens teach you moves
at the new skateboard park in Whistler Creek or at the two other
skateboard areas. For more thrills, sign up for a guided tour to
watch the black bears that live in Whistler's woods.
For budding duffers, three of Whistler's courses feature junior
tees plus, this summer, offer free play for ages ten through 18
when accompanied by a paying adult golfer. In addition, Whistler
Blackcomb's pedestrian village has shops and restaurants, plus on
summer weekends, jugglers, musicians and magicians. The Whistler
Kids' Program keeps kids 18 months to 12 years busy with crafts,
games and, for the older ones, a variety of outdoor experiences.
Accommodations range from condos to hotel rooms. The Four Seasons
offers upscale lodging, an outdoor pool, plus its own Kids for All
Seasons' supervised activity program for ages five to 12.
In Vancouver, stroll or bicycle Stanley Park, a 1,000-acre oasis
thick with trees and home to the Vancouver Aquarium, where sea otters,
sharks and beluga whales star. At TELUS World of Science, create
comic strips with a zoetrope, one of hundreds of hands-on exhibits.
At the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre touch a real moon rock and take
off on a space mission in a virtual simulator. Browse the craft
and food markets at Granville Island. Not far from downtown, walk
across the swaying Capilano Suspension Bridge, 230 feet above the
River (800-944-7853; www.whistlerblackcomb.com;
604-935-3400, 888-935-2460 or www.fourseasons.com/whistler).
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Great Places, Great Deals
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Fairmont Le Château Montebello: The five-night
Summer Magic package includes lodging for two
adults and two children under 14, daily breakfast,
four dinners, the children's activity program,
unlimited bicycle rental, mini-golf, canoeing
and kayaking plus a one-hour boat cruise, one
family admission to Parc Omega and a choice of
either a round of golf for the family or a half-day
of fishing. Available from May 28 through September
16, 2006, from about $380 U.S. per night (800-441-1414;
www.fairmont.com).
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*****
– Candyce H. Stapen is the author of
27 books, including National Geographic Guide to Caribbean Family
Vacations.
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