Land of the Maple Leaf News

Walking along with my guide, Gundela, through what was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular wine trails I have ever experienced, I had to wonder how, nearly a thousand years ago, the Lavaux terraced vineyards were planted on these dizzyingly steep slopes along Switzerland’s Lake Geneva. “We are pretty certain …

‘This is a great time to come.” One hears that a lot from the locals when visiting Zion National Park in winter. Fewer people, easy parking, available hotel rooms, much less crowded trails, beautiful snow-covered vistas, no oppressive heat. What’s not to like? There are these slight negatives: the relative …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina During Buenos Aires’ heyday, fabulous wealth flowed into the city from Argentina’s agricultural heartland, turning the country into one of the world’s richest by the early 20th century. The evidence of that era is still apparent in the grand architectural showpieces scattered around this sprawling city of …

London, one of the world’s busiest and biggest cities, bubbles with top-notch entertainment seven nights a week. It’s also ever-changing and expensive, so it can be challenging to winnow down your options and stretch your dollars. To get up to speed on goings-on, I like to pick up an entertainment …

The best travellers aren’t those with the fattest wallets, but those who take planning seriously. Jack might jet off to Europe as a free spirit, with no real itinerary — and return home full of complaints about how expensive and stressful it all was. Jill, who travels with good information …

ISLA HOLBOX, Mexico Several weeks before I found myself uncomfortably close to the world’s largest shark, I told a few folks I would be going to Holbox. “Whole what?” asked more than one. “Holocene,” corrected my smartphone. “Ohl-bosch,” corrected the locals when I arrived. Isla Holbox, a Mexican island with …

The two-lane logging road snakes through the forest — on one side, glimpses of silver river through the willow branches, skeletal maples draped in velvety green moss and a forest of naked poplars. On the other, dripping rock covered with shiny wet ferns, the occasional forked cataract of frothy water …

CARCASSONNE, France Somewhere at the intersection of fantasy and history stands the medieval city of Carcassonne, a castle-on-the-hill getaway in the south of France. La Cité, as the walled-off hilltop section of Carcassonne is known, has been a strategically important hub for millenniums. It was the stomping ground of Romans, …

Though tucked in the hinterlands of Bavaria’s far south, the turreted fantasy castle of Neuschwanstein is hardly a secret. But the relatively unknown Ehrenberg ruins, perched on a hill just over the border in Austria, are equally fascinating: While postcard-worthy Neuschwanstein represents the medieval-castle dream, Ehrenberg is the real deal. …

Early on a mild September morning, an elderly man on a black bicycle meanders along the paths of Tompkins Square Park, in New York’s East Village. A cassette tape player balanced on the bicycle’s crossbar plays tinny Asian music that grows louder as he approaches and then fainter as he …