The Best Time to Visit Canada May Not Be When You Think

I was born in Montreal, grew up there, and still live there part of the year. And maybe it’s in the blood, but I revel in cold weather. Although many visitors plan trips to Canada around warmer temperatures, winter is one of my favorite times to explore the country. You’ll usually find fewer visitors, snowy storybook scenery, and warm vibes from locals.

Of course, cold weather requires cozy digs to retreat to, and these hotels in seven regions—with seven perfect winter itineraries—will keep you warm, snug, and rested on your cold-weather adventure.

Québec City, Québec

Québec City’s grande-dame Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel, open since 1893, has 610 rooms decorated with wingback chairs and subtle gold accents—some with en suite fireplaces—in its six castle-style towers. Fires roar all winter in its three restaurants, including casual Bistro Le Sam and chandelier-bedecked Champlain, with modern-Québecois menu by chef Gabriel Molleur-Langevin, who worked at Noma in Copenhagen. Château Frontenac’s culinary team is partnering with Hôtel de Glace, Québec City’s annual ice hotel, on a restaurant made entirely of ice and snow. Debuting January 17, 2025, its $225-per-person menu includes Québec-accented fare like wild boar bacon consommé.

The ice hotel itself, open between January and mid-March, is a high-design igloo with Gothic-style arches and ice columns illuminated by ice. Walk off dinner on the winding streets of Québec City’s old town, even more magical in winter. Or warm up with hipsters at beloved bar Le Sacrilège for craft brews like Le Sang d’Encre from microbrewery Le Trou de Diable. From February 7 to 16, the Old Québec neighborhood fills with festive revelers with Carnaval de Québec, the world’s largest winter carnival. Shaking hands with Bonhomme, its snowman mascot, is a local ritual. Château Frontenac from $207; Hôtel de Glace from $287

Mount Tryon, Prince Edward Island

A 50-acre forest in Canada’s smallest province, with its hiking trails, towering birch trees, and fragrant evergreens, feels like an unlikely location for luxury lodging. But the plush “pods” and high-design cabins at Treetop Haven make a comfy cocoon for savoring winter in the wild. The property, in Prince Edward Island’s rural Mount Tryon, about 31 miles west of Charlottetown, equips guests with snowshoes to use on its gorgeous walking trails. Head a mile east to Albany and warm up with a hot handpie with fillings like pulled pork from the Handpie Company; end the evening with a soothing soak in your pod’s private outdoor hot tub.

Courtesy of Treetop Haven

You’ll likely have to fly home through Charlottetown, PEI’s historic capital. Its Greek revival, Queen Anne, and Gothic revival architecture is striking against a snowy backdrop, so build in a night or two at the Great George Hotel, a collection of heritage buildings downtown with guest rooms accented with colors ranging from purple to sage. In winter, it looks like the star of a classic holiday story, with the Romanesque revival City Hall, the Gothic drama of St. Dunstan’s Basilica, and the circa 1863 Italianate Union Bank building. Treetop Haven from $162; Great George Hotel from $140

Red Bank, New Brunswick

Red Bank’s original name is Metepenagiag; the area, on the Miramichi River, has been home to a Mi’kmaq Indigenous community for thousands of years. Indigenous-owned Red Bank Lodge, with a beautiful cedar chalet as its centerpiece, shares its heritage with packages that include a traditional Indigenous dinner, guided visits to historic sites, and nature viewing tours.

Red Bank Lodge’s self-guided snowshoe package lets you clomp around these ancient grounds; the day wraps up around an open fire where you can try traditional bread-making while sipping hot tea made from teaberry leaves, which the Mi’kmaq have long used for health and healing. It’s a 23-mile drive east to reach Miramichi’s 1809 Restaurant, and worth every inch; a massive brioche burger or baked haddock comes with unobstructed views of the Miramichi River. Red Bank Lodge from $113

Marsh Lake, Yukon

The western territory of Yukon, which is larger than California, has more moose than people. You couldn’t ask for a better guide than born-and-raised local Carson Schiffkorn, who opened Inn on the Lake, a chic log cabin, in 1996 in Marsh Lake, a landscape of beaches and woods. Through the inn, you can book a four-day dog-sledding adventure through the boreal forest; tool around vast white plains on a snowmobile; or cut through feet of ice to fish for trout in Marsh Lake. Bonus: You’re likely to get to glimpse at the northern lights throughout your trip, since this part of Yukon has nearly no light pollution.

Inn on the Lake’s rooms range from the cozy Fish Room, with its sleigh bed and wooden floors, to the Presidential Suite, which has its own solarium and steam room. Since you’ll likely transit through Whitehorse, Yukon’s capital, stop by the MacBride Museum―just as Harry and Meghan did on a royal visit―to soak up the territory’s history, from First Nations to the Klondike gold rush. Inn on the Lake from $180

Montreal, Québec

Montrealers crowd outdoor bar and restaurant terrasses in summer. But they don’t hide indoors when the temperature drops. One hot spot in cold weather: the outdoor “après-ski chalet” at Terrasse Belvu, the Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain hotel’s third-floor bar and restaurant. Bundled-up locals huddle under blankets on lounge chairs beneath heat lamps, sipping cocktails like the Pulp Fiction (Cynar, fig, balsamic, lime, maple syrup) even as snowflakes float down. The 596 guest rooms are enticing retreats, with wooden floors, marble-topped desks, and lounge chairs facing panoramic city views.

Courtesy of Destination Canada

The hotel is an ideal jumping-off spot for Montreal’s packed calendar of winter festivals. Electronic Dance Music aficionados can attend the January Igloofest at the Old Port, while culture buffs will appreciate downtown’s Montréal en Lumière festival, with its arts performances, culinary experiences, and signature giant Ferris wheel. The Chateau Champlain is also an easy walk from Old Montreal, which becomes snow-globe magical in winter. Stop by Le Petit Dep on Rue St. Paul for Québec-made products, like Etat de Choc chocolates. About a mile north, the downtown Quartier des Spectacles neighborhood will host the Great Montreal Christmas Market along main-drag Saint Catherine Street until December 30, with 40 “chalets” housing local artisans. Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain from $195

Prince Edward County, Ontario

Prince Edward County has become a popular place for Toronto residents looking to escape for a weekend. This wine-growing region 125 miles east of the city now has some of Ontario’s best restaurants and small hotels, and while it buzzes in summer, it’s peaceful―and even more scenic―in winter. Former Torontonian Shannon Hunter opened Wander the Resort in Bloomfield on the shores of Lake Ontario. With its 10 cabins designed with blond wood furnishings, dark cast iron, and plenty of cozy throws, it’s an alluring base from which to explore the county’s craft breweries―such as the acclaimed Parsons Brewing Company―galleries, vineyards, and restored old theaters, like the Regent.

Courtesy of Wander the Resort

Wander the Resort also rents snowshoes and sleds; a toboggan ride down the nearby Dunes is a must. Bring your own skates for the resort’s tiny ice rink, and wind up the day under the stars in Wander’s Hygge Hut, a 17-foot clear-paneled cedar-framed geodome. Wander the Resort from $600

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Winters get serious in Saskatoon, the leafy city of about 300,000 people in the midwestern province of Saskatchewan. The city is shedding its moose-and-maple-syrup image with such recent additions as downtown’s James Hotel, the city’s first true boutique property. The 59 guest rooms are decorated with warm woods and icy grays, and the penthouse suite’s sprawling brick balcony overlooks the Saskatchewan River. From there, it’s a 15-minute walk to the Remai Modern museum, with exhibitions that encompass globally recognized artists like sculptor Nick Cave and local luminaries like painter Nancy Lowry.

In January, the Winterruption Saskatoon festival features live music, Indigenous storytelling, and activities for kids like mini golf and sleigh rides across the city. Make the 15-minute drive north of the James to visit Wanuskewin Heritage Park Restaurant for traditional Indigenous cuisine with a modern twist. It is inside a national park whose name translates from Cree as “being at peace with oneself,” and the hearty elk patty on bannock, a traditional Indigenous fry bread, might bring on that feeling on a cold evening. The James Hotel from $274