Canada

Canada is the country that quietly does everything well and rarely gets the credit. The Rockies are the obvious draw — and they should be, because nothing prepares you for the colour of Lake Louise, a shade of glacial turquoise that looks like a rendering error in an otherwise realistic simulation. But the Rockies are only one chapter. The maritime provinces — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island — offer a completely different register: fishing villages perched on granite coastlines, lobster pulled from the Atlantic that morning, fog rolling in like something out of a novel you read too young.

The cities are more interesting than their reputation suggests. Montréal is the most European city in North America, and I mean that as a genuine compliment — the food scene rivals cities twice its size, the cultural life is bilingual and boundary-crossing, and the summer festival season is relentless in the best possible way. Vancouver is staggeringly beautiful, a glass city pressed between mountains and ocean. Toronto has become one of the great food cities of the world, driven by an immigrant culture that treats diversity as a culinary resource rather than a talking point.

The wilderness, though, is what stays with you. This is the second-largest country on earth, and most of it is empty in a way that urban humans have forgotten is possible. The Yukon. Northern British Columbia. Labrador. These are places where you can drive for hours without seeing another vehicle, where the boreal forest stretches to the horizon in every direction, where the northern lights appear with a casualness that borders on showing off.

When to go: June through September for the Rockies and most outdoor activities. October for fall colour in Ontario and Québec — the Laurentians in mid-October are as beautiful as New England and half as crowded. Ski season runs December through April in British Columbia and Alberta.

What most guides get wrong: They underestimate the distances. Canada is enormous, and flying between regions is often the only practical option. Do not attempt to drive from Banff to the Maritimes unless you have two weeks and a deep affection for the Trans-Canada Highway. Pick a region and explore it properly.