Athlone is the largest town of the Midlands Region in central Ireland, about 1.5 hours of a drive west of Dublin.
It lies within County Westmeath, and the Shannon, Ireland’s longest river (36.5 km or 224 miles), flows right through here.
So here’s a detailed guide on How to Spend a Great Day in Athlone, Ireland!
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Things to See and Do in Athlone
Athlone Castle
Address: Athlone And Bigmeadow, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 EA32, Ireland
Athlone Castle is a popular attraction that was completed in 1210 by Bishop John De Gray of Norwich for King John of England during the Norman Invasion of Ireland.
In 1691, the castle was the staging ground for The Great Siege of Athlone between the Williamites (under King William) and Jacobites (under King James II). As a result of this battle, 12,000 cannon balls were fired, and 1,500 men were killed.
Another major event happened in 1697, when 260 barrels of gunpowder suddenly exploded because of a lightning strike. Afterwards, most of the town was destroyed.
Today there’s a visitor centre and museum with eight exhibitions. It tells the story of the town of Athlone and its castle with the help of modern displays, interactives, games, and authentic and replica artifacts.
Visitors can even dress up in historic costumes, so it’s a fun experience for the whole family!
It’s open all year, and the admission cost is 12 EUR for adults, and 5.50 EUR for children under 15 years.
Here’s a video by the Athlone Castle Visitor Centre:
Athlone Castle Visitor Centre- Where History Comes Alive
Right across the street from Athlone Castle, this eye-catching landmark is impossible to miss. While this neoclassical church is much younger than many other churches in Ireland (completed by Ralph Byrne in 1939), it doesn’t need to hide behind its older siblings!
It looks very impressive from the outside, and inside, you can look at its colourful stained glass windows, that were painted by Richard King (1907-1974). He was Harry Clarke’s (1889-1931) apprentice, who was one of the leaders of the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.
Then walk along the charming and winding streets of Athlone, and admire houses painted in various colours! You may even find some unexpected gems at one of the cute independent shops in the town centre.
Such as The Bastion Gallery, that has books, tea towels, glass shamrocks, artist prints, stuffed animals, cards, jewelry, and more. They were either designed or handmade in Ireland, and/or Fairtrade.
Or buy one of their hand painted Ogham gifts, which is the first written proof of the Gaelic language. My Mom (who’s joining me on this trip, by the way ;)) is buying a painted print by local artist S. Walsh, that shows many of Athlone’s cool attractions.
Golden Island Shopping Centre & Athlone Towncentre
Athlone also has two shopping malls: Golden Island Shopping Centre (Golden Island, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 N8V0, Ireland) has 45 stores, for clothing, phone providers, Tesco, coffee shops, and a movie theatre.
Athlone Towncentre (Mardyke St, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland) has 60+ retail stores, like H&M, ZARA, eason books, TK Maxx, and Sketchers.
If you have time, I highly recommend visiting Strokestown Park, that is 46 km (28 miles) north of Athlone. This estate was owned by the aristocratic landlords, the Mahon Family, led by the Major, Denis Mahon. Their tenants (mostly poor peasant families) leased some of it during the Great Irish Famine in the mid-1800’s.
The landlords lived at Strokestown Park House (Palladian House), which King Charles II. gave to Nicholas Mahon to thank him for his help during the English Civil War (1642-1651). This estate belonged to the Mahon Family until it was sold in 1979.
Visitors can book a guided tour and look at a kitchen with an oven from 1740, a school room, and a toy room with 19th century toys.
Strokestown Park House.
The National Famine Museum
Now it’s time to enter the National Famine Museum next door. In the mid 18th century, the majority of the growing population in Ireland was struggling hard to survive. They were only allowed to lease tiny pieces of land from their wealthy landlords at a high cost.
Besides, the only food option for a third of the eight million Irish people were Lumper potatoes. They could be grown pretty much everywhere, because of the boggy, wet, or thin lands that Ireland has. But in 1845, the greatest crisis in Irish history started when blight, a fungal disease, infested the potato leaves and tubers while they were growing in the ground.
As a result, they were rotten on the inside, so the potatoes were inedible. Within seven years, a million Irish people had died from starvation. Things got even worse when many peasants were evicted from their houses by their cruel landlords, because they couldn’t pay their rent anymore.
Moreover, from 1845 to 1855, two million Irish people were forced to flee overseas, with hopes for a better future, mostly to Canada and the USA. But the ships were often crowded, and the conditions were catastrophic due to a lack of food and water, and no hygiene. So many people got sick or even died on the way. That’s why these ships were often called “coffin ships”.
Although other European countries were affected by blight as well, they had more food options and the disease spread best in the mild and damp Irish climate. Also, the governments reacted faster and better to this tragedy, which didn’t happen in Ireland. So it was hit the hardest.
The tenants living and working at Strokestown Park were no exception to this. For example, Denis Mahon evicted his starving tenants unable to pay their rent anymore. Then he organized boats to North America to get rid of them. So, it’s not surprising that he was shot by three of his tenants in 1847. The gun used is displayed in the National Famine Museum.
There are also 50,000 documents written during the Great Famine and you can listen to recordings of contemporary witnesses talking about their suffering. This makes the exhibit even more moving than it already is.
The Walled Gardens & Woodland Trails
Phew, after learning about the darkest chapter of Ireland’s past, we’re relieved to go outside for a walk inside the Walled Gardens. This area belonged to the landlords. We also wander around the Woodland trails, and all the trees, tranquility, and stunning green areas help lift our spirits again.
The National Famine Museum is open all year, and I’d recommend buying a Full Ticket for 18.50 EUR. It includes a guided visit to the Palladium House, a self guided visit to the National Famine Museum, self guided visit to the estate gardens, and free access to the Woodland trails.
Other Things to Do in Athlone
If you have more time, here are a few more suggestions on Other Things to Do in Athlone:
Joining a river cruise withViking Tours Ireland(Castle St, Athlone, Co. Westmeath). It starts on the Shannon next to Athlone Castle and ends on Lough Ree north of town (75 mins). Or you can go to the Clonmacnoise Monastery (90 minutes), which was built in the 6th century.
You’ll sail on their 21-meter-long replica of a Viking ship and travel back in time 1,200 years. Learn everything about the Viking history, battles, and kings of this area, all while looking at the beautiful scenery. You may even spot some local wildlife!
Their season runs from Easter to Halloween each year, and group bookings for wedding parties and school groups are available as well.
Luan Gallery (Elliot Rd, Ranelagh, Athlone, Co. Westmeath).This free art gallery is right across from Athlone Castle and displays stunning artwork exhibits by top Irish and international artists. The exhibit changes every two months.
The artwork includes paintings, sculptures, multimedia, and textiles, and the large windows offer a great view of the Shannon as well. The older part of the building used to be a public library that opened in 1897.
Shannon Banks Walk & Nature Trail. This easy 5 km (3.1 miles) looped walking trail starts at Athlone Castle and takes you along the riverbank of the Shannon and the Old Canal Bank. There are tons of signposts telling you about the local flora and fauna along the way.
Where to Eat & Drink in Athlone
We’re having dinner at Pavarotti’s Italian Restaurant (Fry Place, High St, Athlone, Co. Westmeath) in the heart of Athlone. We like the dark blue coloured outside building and the pretty interior design, with dark brown tables, light green and beige-coloured walls, and flowers on the tables!
The menu has many items you’d expect to find at an Italian restaurant, like pizza, calzone, crostini bread, bruschetta, fish, steak, and chicken dishes, and pasta options (Spaghetti Carbonara, Lasagne al forno, Cannelloni, Spaghetti Bolognese, etc). Vegetarian meals are available as well.
We’re both having the Tagliatelle al Funghi e Spinachi, a pasta dish with spinach, mushrooms, and red pepper in a creamy sauce. Although it looks very appealing, it’s a bit bland for our taste, but of course, salt and pepper shakers are available. So I’d give this restaurant another chance. 😉
Are you in the mood for a pint and some ‘caint, ceol, agus craic’ (chat, music and craic) after a long day of exploring Athlone? Then head right to Sean’s Bar (13 Main St, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 DW76)!It was opened in 900 AD and is Ireland’s Oldest Pub, as listed in the Guinness Book of World Records!
It’s a cozy and dimly lit authentic Irish pub next to the west bank of the Shannon, and “when you walk in, you can feel the history and the romance straight away,” as per their website.
Besides, the awesome interior design (e.g. license plates and pictures on the walls, open turf fireplace, vintage wooden and checkerboard pattern floors, piano, and rustic-style bar) will surely leave a lasting impression on you!
You can listen to traditional Irish live music, buy some cool merch, or even take a sip (or more, lol 😉 from their homemade Sean’s Whiskey!
Sean’s Bar from the outside and enjoying a tasty pint of Guinness, and partial areas of the inside of the pub (the last two are photo credit of Sean’s Bar).
There are many other restaurants (e.g. Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, and Lebanese cuisine), fast food places, Irish pubs, coffee shops, and bars in Athlone. Most of them are east or west of the Shannon River.
Where to Stay in Athlone
Despite its size, Athlone has a variety of B&B’s and hotels to offer. Unfortunately, there are no hostels.
If you like it quiet, but close to town, the Burren Lodge B&B (Dublin Rd, Creggan Upper, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 W029) is a great choice. We’re staying in a two bedroom, and Mary, our friendly hostess, gives us great tips on how to spend the rest of the day in Athlone.
Our room is very clean and cozy, with a nice garden view. The continental breakfast (cereal, toast, scrambled eggs, yoghurt, and fruit) is very tasty, too!
Our two bedroom at Burren Lodge B&B.
How to Get to and Around Athlone
Athlone is halfway between Dublin and Galway.
From Dublin, it’s a 125 km (77 miles) drive west on the M4 and M6 motorway. From Galway, it’s 85 km (52 miles) eastbound on the M6 motorway.
For public transit, you can take the Bus Eireann from Dublin (1 1/2 hours) or Galway (1 3/4 hours), which runs hourly, or Irish Rail from either city (1 1/2 hours from Dublin, 1 hour from Galway).
The closest international airport to Athlone is Dublin (DUB) and the Ireland West Airport Knock(NOC) in Co. Mayo offers flights to/from some European destinations, like London, Cologne, Malaga, and Milan.
There are also a few local buses in Athlone, and the town centre is very walkable as well.
Dublin is Ireland’s capital and largest city and is located on the east coast.
Like in the rest of Ireland, there are two official languages spoken here: Irish (Gaelic) and English, so don’t be surprised about bilingual signs!
For many tourists, Dublin is the gateway to their Irish adventures, which is why I chose this city as the first part of my Ireland Travel series! 😀 We spent four days in Dublin in August 2022, which is a perfect amount of time before moving on to other places.
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Things to See and Do in Dublin
The Guinness Storehouse
Address: St. James’s Gate, Dublin 8, D08 VF8H, Ireland
First, stop at the Guinness Storehouse, which tells the story of Ireland’s most famous beer! It’s a seven-floor building at St. James’s Gate and used to be the fermentation plant of the brewery. Since opening its doors in 2000, more than 20 million people have been to this iconic attraction!
Visitors learn about the four ingredients needed to make Guinness, the brewing process, and how it’s been stored and transported around the world. You’ll even “meet” Arthur Guinness (the inventor)! Equipment that was used for brewing Guinness is displayed as well.
Moreover, don’t miss the many advertising slogans that promoted Guinness over time, and you can even learn to pour your own pint at the Guinness Academy!
The Guinness Storehouse entrance gate.
For a pick-me-up during your visit, take a seat at the Cooperage Café or Arthur’s Bar and 1837 Bar & Brasserie, that are ready to serve hot and cold drinks, snacks, and traditional Irish food!
Once you get to the 7th floor, you deserve a free pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar, as well as a 360° panorama view of Dublin! Lastly, buy some cool souvenirs at the gift shop, like t-shirts, hats, pint glasses, socks, magnets, key chains, coasters, and even Guinness chocolates!
Ticket admission is 20 EUR for a self guided tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Or you can book a special experience, such as the STOUTie Experience, which includes your selfie being printed on a Guinness beer! You can find more info on this in Tom’s post.
From left to right: Barrels used to store Guinness, ship for transporting the beer around the world, and 360° view of Dublin.
Trinity College
Address: College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Trinity College was founded back in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and is Ireland’s oldest university. Many famous Irish people went to school here, including Oscar Wilde, Sally Rooney, Samuel Beckett, and Douglas Hyde (Ireland’s first president).
But the most popular spot of Trinity College is the Book of Kells exhibition. It’s a 680-page manuscript written in the 9th century AD, that, according to the Book of Kells Facebook page, “is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and the world’s most famous medieval manuscript”.
Every day one page is turned, so it takes 170 days to finish this book. Moreover, the Long Room inside the Old Library, which opened in 1732, has 200,000 ancient books, as well as Ireland’s oldest harp (built in the late Middle Ages)!
It’s strongly recommended to purchase tickets online for a timed visit of 30 minutes (starting at 25 EUR) to guarantee entry into the exhibit.
It’s fun walking on the cobblestoned paths of the campus, looking at the amazing Georgian and Victorian buildings, such as the Campanile (completed in 1853), and the ‘Sfera con Sfera’ (Sphere Within Sphere) bronze sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro (1982/83).
The ‘Sfera con Sfera’ bronze sculpture and a part of the campus grounds.
You can book self-guided or guided tours around the campus and the Book of Kells exhibit. Lastly, it’s possible to book rooms (single/twin/double or apartments) at the Trinity College Campus and Dartry (15 minutes from the campus) during the summer months.
Temple Bar District
Temple Baris Dublin’s cultural quarter and nightlife hotspot. It’s right next to the riverbank of the Liffey, which flows through downtown.
Temple Bar used to be a wealthy neighbourhood in the 17th century. But this changed drastically in the 1800s, when it was one of Dublin’s main red-light districts! It was still a crappy area towards the end of the last century, but in 1991, it was modernized.
Today, the most famous spot is the bright red Temple Bar Pub (47-48 Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 N725), where you can check out Ireland’s largest Whiskey collection and it has live music every day. This pub was established in 1840, and is known for its flower decorations outside, low hanging lamps, and a bronze statue of James Joyce.
The Temple Bar district has many other pubs, night clubs, cafés, restaurants, hotels, hostels, and lots of shopping opportunities, but is also home to many art galleries and the Irish Film Institute(6 Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 PD85).
Thanks to its high popularity with tourists and locals, this area can be pretty crowded. Moreover, it’s often more expensive than in other parts of Dublin, and petty crime, like scams and pickpocketing, can happen sometimes.
The Liffey River.
The Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum
Address: Curved St, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 RD26, Ireland
If you love Irish music, there’s no way to miss the Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum! The Wall of Fame outside, that displays many Irish Rock’n’Roll legends, including U2, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, and Sinead O’Connor, is a great first impression of this place!
We join a guided tour and look at a bunch of vintage guitars and records by Irish musicians, like The Cranberries, Enya, The Undertones, and The Boomtown Rats.
Next, there’s Michael Jackson’s pajama and a jacket he wore while touring with the Jackson 5 (Fun fact: He lived in Ireland for a while in 2006!). After watching a short movie about Irish Rock’n’Roll legends, we move to a room dedicated to U2, that has tons of exclusive material!
But this place is not just a museum, as it also has a recording studio (Rihanna and The Script recorded here) and the Button Factory. The latter is a music venue and to get the real Rock Star feeling, we jump on stage as well!
Moreover, this is Dublin’s major rehearsal space for unknown and famous bands. As we enter one of these rooms, Brian, our guide, suddenly encourages the musicians in our group to start a jam session! Then we check out Thin Lizzy’s recording studio and a selection of Phil Lynott’s guitars and a jukebox.
Lastly, we find a few things related to Rock legends who have Irish roots, like Johnny Rotten’s sleeveless jacket, a Nirvana gig poster, and Beatles memorabilia! The Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum is open 7 days a week, ticket admission starts at 22 EUR and only guided tours can be booked at this time.
Johnny Rotten’s jacket, Thin Lizzy’s recording studio, and a drummer in action!
Phoenix Park
Need a break from the busy city now? Then hang out for a couple hours at Phoenix Park. It’s perfect for walking, having a picnic, playing sports, and relaxing. You can also rent a bike with Phoenix Park Bikes(Chesterfield Ave, Saint James’ (part of Phoenix Park), Dublin 8, D08 DF88) at the main entrance, and ride along the park’s 14 km (8.69 miles) of cycle trails.
It was founded in 1662 as a royal hunting area and has been open to everyone since 1747. At 1,750 acres, it’s Europe’s largest city centre park (it’s twice the size of Central Park in New York City!).
The Irish President lives at the Áras an Uachtaráin residence inside the park, same as about 600 wild fallow deer, which have been here for many years, and are free to move wherever they like! There are ponds to look at, a Visitor Centre, the Papal Cross, Victorian Flower Gardens, a Biodiversity Information Centre, Phoenix Café, and Tea Rooms as well.
Lastly, you can also find the Wellington Monument inside Phoenix Park. It’s Europe’s tallest obelisk, and was built to honour the Duke of Wellington in 1817, who’d beaten Napoleon two years earlier. But the builders ran out of money, so it wasn’t completed until 1861, after he’d already died!
St. Stephen’s Green Park
St. Stephen’s Green Park has 750 trees with a Victorian layout and is right in the heart of Dublin. Until 1664, it was a marshy common for sheep and cattle to graze and even public executions and witch burnings happened here!
In 1877, Arthur Edward Guinness (Arthur Guinness’s great-grandson) asked the City of Dublin to open St. Stephen’s Green to the public, which was done in 1880.
The park also played a role during the Easter Rising of 1916, when rebels of mainly the Irish Citizen Army dug trenches and took it over. St. Stephen’s Green Park also has several monuments, like a bronze statue of Theobald Wolfe Tone, the leader of the Irish rebellion in 1798. There’s also a memorial to the Great Famine from 1845 to 1849.
Many birds and plant species live inside St. Stephen’s Green Park. There’s also a playground, the Ardilaun Lodge (Superintendent’s Lodge), built shortly after 1880, flowerbeds, waterfall, as well as a garden for the visually impaired.
Grafton Street
There are many stores and shopping malls in Dublin, so get your credit card ready to be maxed out! A popular shopping spot is Grafton Street, a pedestrian street only minutes away from St. Stephen’s Green Park.
There are tons of shops, like The North Face, Disney store, Levi’s, but also the Card Gallery, Ulysses Rare Books, the Irish Design Shop, and Aran Sweater Market (handknitted Irish wool clothing).
It’s also a great for watching street performers and buskers, especially during the summer. Some well-known musicians started their career while busking here, such as Bono, U2’s lead singer. He also plays here every year on Christmas Eve, to help the homeless people of Dublin. How cool is that?
Address: St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, D02 HX65, Ireland
Next, check out St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, which has many European and Irish chain stores, like Game Stop, Flying Tiger, Butler’s, Eason Books, United Colours of Benetton, and Carroll’s Irish Gifts.
The latter sells jewelry, Irish-style (shamrock) clothing, chocolates, tea towels, green Leprechaun top hats, bookmarks, and more! We also like the design of this shopping centre, especially the large clock and all the balloons!
George’s St. Arcade
Address: South Great George’s Street, Dublin, Ireland
George’s St. Arcade is a market inside a lovely Victorian-style red brick building in downtown Dublin and is perfect if you’re into unusual stuff! It’s been around since 1881, and has several independent shops and stalls with vintage clothes, records, jewelry, book store, crafts from Asian countries and West Africa, and many more!
My favourite is Elevation Music Movies Comics, which, sells cool vintage music and movie prints, comic book merch, buttons, patches, key chains, and magnets!
George’s St. Arcade from the outside (Photo credit: The Layden Group) and a poster print of Nirvana’s Unplugged Concert!
Join a Guided Bike Tour with Lazy Bike Tours
A great way to see lots of Dublin’s downtown attractions is through a guided bike tour. We join a tour with Lazy Bike Tours, which takes about 2.5 hours, and you can rent a push bike (cruiser bike) or e-bike.
Our first stop isDublin Castle (Dame St, Dublin 2), that was built in the early 13th century. But the powder storage of the castle exploded in 1684, that’s why the round tower (right side of the photo below) is the only original part still intact today. The hard dirt that was left from the explosion was later turned into a Georgian palace.
Next, we look at St Patrick’s Cathedral (St Patrick’s Close, Dublin, D08 H6X3), completed in 1260, which is one of the few medieval buildings in Dublin that still exists. You can also find Jonathan Swift’s grave here and there’s a nice park right next to the cathedral.
When we arrive at the Teeling Whiskey Distillery (13-17 Newmarket, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 KD91), opened in 2015, we learn that it’s the first distillery that opened in more than 125 years! Ireland’s whiskey making history started in the middle ages.
Fast forward to the 1800’s, a production boom happened, with 30 distilleries all over the country. But in the 20th century, the industry declined drastically, because of the damage due to the two World Wars, civil wars in Ireland, and a changed consumer taste preference.
Dublin Castle.
St Patrick’s Cathedral.
We also stop at The Liberties, Dublin’s oldest working class neighbourhood. In the 12th century, when Dublin was a walled city, this area was one of its suburbs. Many distilling and brewing families (including the Guinness family) lived here. The Guinness brewery is still here today, that a very optimistic Arthur Guinness leased in 1759 for 9,000 years!
You can also find many antique shops and small shops, that sell all kinds of knick-knacks. As we get to the Guinness Storehouse, Laura, our guide, tells us that Arthur Guinness was advised by businessmen that he’d be more successful producing whiskey instead of beer, as it was perceived as the “poor people’s drink”. Who knows what would have happened if he’d listened to them?!
We also ride by some amazing Guinness street art murals painted by Holly Pereira.
The most touching stop of this tour is the Kilmainham Goal Museum (Inchicore Rd, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, D08 RK28). Criminals (especially revolutionaries fighting for Ireland’s independence) were imprisoned and executed here from 1796 until 1924.
In May 1916, a total of 14 Irish rebels were shot by the British Army at the Stonebreakers’ Yard of this prison, soon after the Easter Rising had occurred.
Today, visitors can look at 14 bronze sculptures across the street, which were put up to honour these brave men. They are standing in a circle, blindfolded and each one has holes where the bullets hit them.
EPIC – The Irish Emigration Museum
Address: The Chq Building, Custom House Quay, North Dock, Dublin 1, Ireland
These days, more than 70 million people worldwide (many in North America, Australia or New Zealand) have Irish heritage, even if they never met their ancestors.
First, you find out why many Irish people emigrated, whether it was extreme poverty caused by the Great Famine (1845-1852), oppressive laws from the government, civil wars, forced labour, a weak economy, or a lack of jobs. Others were looking for a romantic partner or land to buy abroad.
You can also watch lots of short movies that show the Irish emigrants’ hopes and fears, which are very moving and read some of the questions they were asked upon entering their new home land.
As the tour goes on, visitors learn how the Irish culture and identity have changed the rest of world. Many Irish communities were formed overseas with time and emigrants were happy to share traditional Irish music and dance with their peers, which started in the mid-1800’s.
Other Irish migrants and/or their descendants became politicians, actors, musicians, authors, journalists, directors, athletes, scientists, and so on. For example, did you know that several Canadian and Australian prime ministers and US presidents have Irish roots?
Irish food and drinks have travelled the world, too, which is why today, we have at least one Irish pub in many bigger cities and Guinness and Jameson’s Whiskey are famous! And let’s not forget about the many St Patrick’s Day celebrations worldwide on March 17th each year!
Wow, the EPIC Museum was just awesome! Every visitor gets the EPIC Passport at the start of their tour, which gets stamped after each section is completed. You can also visit the Irish Family History Centre to find out about your Irish ancestors.
Self-guided entry ticket admission starts at 21 EUR for adults and you can download a free audio guide in various languages to your phone. The museum is also fully wheelchair accessible.
Politicians and hit albums by musicians with Irish roots and books written by Irish writers.
Samuel Beckett Bridge
Only a few steps from the museum you can find the famous Samuel Beckett Bridge, a cable-stayed swing bridge shaped as a harp. It’s one of Ireland’s traditional musical instruments and a big part of Irish culture.
It crosses the Liffey River, is 120 meters (390 ft) long and 48 meters (157 ft) high and was completed in 2009. Since then, it has become one of Dublin’s major landmarks.
Dublin’s Street Art
Dublin also has more cool street art to look at and we even saw a very colourful piano inside Connolly train station:
Where to Eat & Drink in Dublin
If you’re looking for craic (Irish slang for good times ;)), you can’t miss Dublin’s diverse food scene!
Here are our favourites:
Camden Bites & Brews(9 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin, D02 FX67).This fun bar and restaurant is open daily and is known for Italian coffee and cold drinks, DJ nights, and has hosted a flea market several times.
They serve lots of pub food, like burgers, wings, Fish & Chips, calamari, and chunky fries. We’re having a Beef Burger and Piccolo Vegan Burger and they are both really good! There’s also an outside terrace and we love the chessboard floor design!
The Little Pyg (59 William St S, Dublin 2, D02 E521). Wow, what an unusual name! This restaurant is inside Dublin’s Powerscourt Townhouse Centre and they serve authentic Neapolitan pizza, as per Michelin Maestro Enzo Coccia’s recipe.
We order their Tomato Soup and Mushroom Ravioli, which are very tasty, although the portions are a bit small for the price… But even though this restaurant is inside a busy mall, it’s got a chill vibe and the staff was very friendly and efficient.
The Hard Rock Café (12 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 NW56). This iconic chain restaurant is right in the heart of the Temple Bar district. We’re having The Big Cheeseburger and Cauliflower Wings, and some Guinness, so good! They even have a Guinness Burger, but like in any of their locations, it’s not just about the food and drinks, but also about all the Rock memorabilia on the walls.
So while you’re waiting for your grub, check out Brian Johnson’s tweed hat, Jimi Hendrix’s silk shirt, Slash’s top hat, Ringo Starr’s drumsticks, and more! There’s also a drum set hanging from the ceiling, live music happens quite often, and don’t miss the Rock Shop with its iconic merch on your way out!
Sadly, a few of the restaurants we loved have closed permanently since our visit in August 2022. 🙁
Where to Stay in Dublin
The Leeson Bridge Guesthouse
Address: 1 Leeson Street Upper, Ranelagh, Dublin, D04 AH22, Ireland
The Leeson Bridge Guesthouse is a Georgian guesthouse in Dublin’s south. It’s a 20-minute walk to downtown and bus stops are just a few minutes away.
We love the red entrance door and the reception area is very pretty as well. Guests can choose between a Budget Double Room and Executive Suite, which has a sauna and jacuzzi. We book the first option, and it’s cozy and clean, and has a balcony. But for some people, the bathroom may be a bit small …
They offer a complimentary breakfast in the morning and St. Stephen’s Green Park and Grafton Street are only a 10-15 minutes of a walk.
Entrance door and sitting area inside our Budget Double Room.
Clayton Hotel – Burlington Road
Address: Leeson Street Upper, Dublin, D04 A318, Ireland
Clayton Hotel – Burlington Road has 502 rooms and suites, so it’s a less personal vibe than at the Leeson Bridge Guesthouse. But the rooms are bigger and have A/C and they have a very tasty breakfast buffet. Room service, a fitness room, meeting rooms, and work spaces are available, too.
There’s also a bus stop right out the door and some of them take you right to the airport or downtown.
Of course, Dublin also has tons of budget-friendly accommodations! I’m staying at the Generator Hostel, which is just a short walk to Temple Bar. The receptionist is very friendly and there’s a bar with live music and a café/restaurant area on site!
It has private or dorm rooms, a cinema room, games room, lockers, laundry, towels (for a small fee), and even bike rentals! There’s no kitchen though, and breakfast vouchers are available as well.
I’m staying in a 6-bed ensuite female-only dorm and the beds are very comfy! I just would have appreciated a privacy curtain when I wanted to be left alone, but otherwise, it’s perfect!
How to Get to and Around Dublin
Many airlines from Europe, North America, Dubai, etc. fly directly to Dublin Airport, Ireland’s busiest airport, with 32.9 million travelers passing through in 2019.
The Dublin Express#782 and Aircoach #700 go to the city centre, which takes 30 to 40 minutes.
Dublin’s public transportation system is very good, and double-decker buses go pretty much anywhere in the city. Fares range from 1.30 EUR to 2.60 EUR for a single trip, depending on how far you’d like to go.
Please note that no change is given back if you pay with the bus driver. Also, it’s important to wave when the bus approaches, otherwise, the bus may just drive by you!
Dublin also has a light rail system (trams) called LUAS, with two lines, that go to Central Dublin and some residential areas (mostly in the south and southwest of the city).
For travel to the suburbs, use the DART trains and Commuter Trains to satellite towns in the Greater Dublin Area, which are operated by Irish Rail. DART goes along the coast side close to Dublin (e.g. Malahide, Howth and Greystones).
If you’re in Dublin for at least 24 hours, it’s best to buy a Visitor Leap Card, as it’s 31% cheaper than buying individual tickets. You can buy it online, at Dublin Airport, or Dublin Central (59 O’Connell Street Upper, Uachtarach, Dublin 1, D01 RX04). It offers unlimited travel on buses, LUAS trams, and DART and Commuter Trains (within the Short Hop Zone, i.e. all of Dublin City and county).
If you’re just staying in and around Dublin, renting a car is not necessary. Traffic is often very busy and parking spots can be hard to find and expensive. Moreover, driving on the left side of the road can be a challenge for tourists used to driving on the opposite side.
Uber and taxis are of course available, but can be expensive.
You can also join a bike tour or walking tour of Dublin to get lots of insider information from a local guide. Or renting a bike or just walking around are great ways to explore the city as well, especially because many attractions are within the City Centre.
Be sure to look into the right directions before crossing a street (there are some helpful writings on some roads as well).
My Opinion on Dublin
Wow, we loved our stay in Dublin! It gave us a great first impression of what Ireland is like. The many red brick buildings are very cool as well.
Although it rains a lot in Dublin, there are lots of indoor things to do, whether it’s shopping at a mall, touring one of the many museums, or hanging and drinking at a pub, lol! So pack some rain gear and just hope for the best! 😉
We also meet some friendly Dubliners, who make us feel very welcome in their city, like our guides, hotel receptionists, bus drivers, or taxi drivers. They all have cool stories to tell, and their sense of humour makes us laugh a lot!
One of the cab drivers truthfully says that the Guinness at the Guinness Storehouse is the most expensive in Ireland, lol! Another one raves about tasty Indian food in Dubai, then tells us that while Dublin is beautiful, visitors should also spend some time in the rest of Ireland!
My favourite things to see and do in Dublin are the Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum and the EPIC Museum, hanging at the parks, and shopping at George’s St Arcade.
But you can’t see everything Dublin has to offer in just a few days! So I hope to visit some of its literary attractions someday (Chester Beatty Library, Oscar Wilde Statue, a Literary Pub Crawl, etc.). So until then, I’m gonna read some books by Irish authors!
I’d also love to see the Old Jameson Distillery, the National Leprechaun Museum, a few art galleries, and some underrated attractions next time. So if you have any tips, let me know in the comments! Sláinte! 😀
If your kids are joining you on your Dublin trip, don’t miss Christine’s post:
In my experience, many tourists prefer to visit only the hot spots of a destination. But I suggest to also check out small towns that are off the beaten path to recharge from all the hustle and bustle. Here’s a travel guide about Blue River, BC, my favourite Canadian small town!
Blue River is inside the North Thompson Valley in Interior British Columbia, surrounded by the Monashee and Cariboo Mountains. Its nickname is “The Jewel of the Yellowhead”. 230 year-round residents call this town home and the main industries contributing to the economy are logging and tourism. Moreover, this area is traditional territory of the Simpcw First Nations.
So here’s a guide on how to spend Summer in Blue River, BC!
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
What to See and Do in Blue River
Eleanor Lake
Blue River’s main attraction is Eleanor Lake, right in the heart of town, so it’s impossible to miss! Here you can chill at the beach for a bit (and chat with a friendly local), go for a swim, canoe or kayak, or standup paddle board (SUP), or go for a walk on Eleanor Lake Trail around the lake.
There are tons of nice walking and mountain biking trails in and around Blue River, such as cross-country ski trails, only minutes away from the beach.
Eleanor Lake beach and having a blast canoeing on the lake!
Entrance to one of Blue River’s cross-country ski trails, with beautiful Saddle Mountain in the distance.
The Blue River Community Park
But wait, there’s much more to do in this area! The Blue River Community Park is right next to Eleanor Lake beach, and it has a volleyball field, sitting areas with a fire pit (great for a small get together or BBQ!), and a playground is only a few steps away, too.
Bears & Other Wildlife in Blue River
If it’s your lucky day, you might meet one (or more!) black bear(s), that live in this area. They sometimes hang out near the train tracks across the street from Eleanor Lake. One of their favourite things to do is getting high on grains falling off from trains passing through!
Even though they look cute and fluffy, please keep your distance to not startle these majestic creatures. Also, don’t forget to bring bear spray if you plan to spend time in the bush.
BC Parks has a great guide on how to behave around British Columbia’s wild animals, including bears. Other wildlife living in the Blue River region are moose, deer, eagles, cougars, and wolverines.
Mud Lake
Another popular spot in the Blue River area is Mud Lake. But don’t be fooled by its name, as the water is of a spectacular jade colour! Same as Eleanor Lake, it’s perfect for many water activities, but with less people around you.
There’s even a camp site, and if you have an ATV, it’s great fun driving up the trails close to this lake (we like Red Sands Mountain) and admire a beautiful view of Blue River and its surroundings!
Awesome times at Mud Lake 🙂
On our way up Red Sands Mountain trail and beautiful Parberry Falls <3
Go for a Hike at Green Mile
People like to go hiking and mountain biking on Blue River’s many trails in the summer. A great one is Green Mile, which grows to an elevation of 220 meters (721 feet). Besides, it’s within a lush inland rainforest, with tons of cedar and spruce trees around you!
Moreover, blueberries and huckleberries grow here each year, so feel free to pick some as a snack 🙂 You can find more details about these activities in Blue River here.
Murtle Lake
Murtle Lake is popular with both locals and visitors, especially because it’s North America’s largest paddle only lake! It’s a 24 km (17 miles) drive from Blue River on a graveling backcountry road, which starts behind the Blue River Campground. After you reached the parking lot, it’s another 2.5 km (1.55 miles) walk on a wheelchair accessible trail to the lake.
Murtle Lake is inside Wells Gray Provincial Park and with more than 100 km (62 miles) of shoreline, it’s the largest lake in the area. Some people spend the night at one of the 70 wilderness campsites around the (mostly sandy) shoreline, and enjoy the starry nights. You may even see the Northern Lights! Unfortunately, no dogs are allowed at Murtle Lake.
Mystery Lake Recreation Site
Mystery Lake Recreation Site is also a great spot for adventure and tranquility seekers! Just get on to Highway #5 next to Blue River, turn left onto Blueberry Road, and drive for 10 kilometers. Make sure that your car is suitable for this (mostly) graveling road though!
Not many people know about this gorgeous spot. If you’d like to spend the night and have experience with wilderness camping, there’s a free campsite for two tents, two picnic tables, fire pit, and an outhouse toilet, all only a few feet away from the lake. There’s a boat launch as well.
For any of these outdoor activities, I highly recommend to bring bug spray, as lots of mosquitoes live in this area!
Beautiful Mystery Lake <3
Where to Stay in Blue River
Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing
Address: 1 Harrwood Drive, Blue River BC V0E 1J, Canada
Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing is perfect if you’re looking for a special getaway experience. There are 22 cozy chalets (cabins) inside this famous heli ski resort. The chalets range from two to six bedrooms, and all have en-suite bathrooms, a common area and kitchen, which is perfect for couples, families, or friend groups.
Although the resort’s other amenities (e.g. the Main Lodge with the Powder Max Dining Room and Silver Buckle Lounge) are only open during the winter season, guests enjoy walking in and around the resort, and looking at the beautiful flowers!
This resort is right next to Eleanor Lake, and the Blue River Motel(791 Spruce St, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0) and Saddle Mountain Lodge (Yellowhead S Highway 5, Blue River BC V0E 1J0) are a part of the Mike Wiegele operation, too.
The Blue River Campground & RV Park
Address: 991 Blue River West Frontage Rd, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0, Canada
The Blue River Campground & RV Park is quite a budget-friendly option, with basic tent sites and full service sites. The campground is open from May to October, and has 52 tent and RV campsites, and cabins.
You can also book one of their Canoe Trip Packages to Eleanor Lake, Mud Lake, or Murtle Lake (plus transportation, if needed). Outdoor equipment rentals, like canoes, stand-up paddle boards (with a cart or transportation), camping and fishing gear, and mountain bikes and cruiser bikes are available as well.
There’s also a small store, laundry facilities, showers and flush toilets, sand area for small children, badminton area, free WiFi, and a log cook shelter with a BBQ and fridge for 20 people or more to use. You can also get trail maps from the campground staff.
The Glacier Mountain Lodge
Address: 869 Shell Rd, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0, Canada
The Glacier Mountain Lodge is a lovely hotel right next to the Petro Can gas station. It is ideal if you’re looking for comfort, but don’t want to spend a fortune.
They offer 35 standard rooms, with one Queen (with a couch) or two Queen beds (and with a third single bed, if needed). Continental breakfast, an indoor hot tub, WiFi, free laundry service, and BBQ are available for guests as well.
The Sandman Inn
Address: 795 Highway 5 South, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0, Canada
The Sandman Innis right next to Highway #5, that goes through Blue River. It has one or two Queen bed rooms and your furry friends are welcome, too! Moreover, seniors get a special rate at this hotel.
The Glacier Mountain Lodge (left) and the Sandman Inn (right).
Where to Eat & Drink in Blue River
If your stomach is screaming for food when you arrive in Blue River, head to the Grizzly Food Shack next to the Glacier Mountain Lodge. This tiny house style place has an outside sitting area, perfect on a sunny day! You can choose between many types of burgers, wraps, fries, hot dogs, poutine, salads, and even breakfast!
Or you if you’re hanging out by Eleanor Lake, grab some food from the Don Forsyth Beach House. Their menu consists of burgers, hot dogs, wraps, fries, pop, ice-cream, and more! What a great way to support the local economy, plus the food is prepared by lovely volunteers of the Blue River Community Association!
The Beach House is open on weekends only until the rest of the summer.
The Don Forsyth Beach House, Veggie Burger and Beach Burger, and onion rings. So yummy :p
Saddle Mountain Restaurant across from the Mike Wiegele Heli Ski resort is open daily during the summer months from 11 am to 8 pm. Their menu includes tasty burgers, sandwiches, pizza, salads, homemade chips, cocktails, and milkshakes! Sitting on the outside patio and enjoying the gorgeous mountain views is just another bonus of this restaurant.
For a drink after dinner, check out the Royal Canadian Legion (817 Pine St, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0), the only bar in town. Although a bit outdated, it’s a fun place to hang out, and they have some games as well (pool and darts on the wall). It’s currently open on Fridays and Saturdays only, from 6 to 9 pm (or later, depending on business).
Or if you prefer to cook your own meals, Blue River has a small liquor and convenience store called the Tilted Bear Liquor (848 Cedar St, Blue River, BC V0E 1J0). They have a limited supply of groceries (e.g. fresh produce, dairy, meat, canned food, spices, and sometimes even vegan cheese)!
There’s the Buy Low Foods grocery store in Clearwater and a smaller IGA store in Valemount (both an hour away from Blue River) as well.
How to get to Blue River
Blue River is halfway between Kamloops, BC, and Jasper, Alberta (2.5 hours each way), and is reached via Highway #5 North (Yellowhead Highway).
The closest airport is Kamloops Airport, which offers flights to Calgary and Vancouver several times a day.
Unfortunately, public transportation to this tiny remote town is very limited. The Thompson Valley Charters bus from Edmonton to Kamloops (and vice versa) stops here twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays from Kamloops and Tuesdays and Fridays from Edmonton). The bus always stops next to the Petro Can gas station.
Moreover, The Canadian operated by Via Rail stops here on Wednesdays and Saturdays (to Vancouver) and Tuesdays and Saturdays (to Toronto). But please keep in mind that this train is often delayed (sometimes even several hours!).
I hope this post has inspired you to visit Blue River sometime! In my opinion, it’s a welcoming and tranquil place to relax and recharge from city life!
If you’d like to learn more about cool things to do in BC, check out these blog posts:
Berlin is Germany’s capital and is located in the Northeast of the country. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it’s also the largest city in Germany.
visitBerlin calls it “The City of Freedom” thanks to its openness and tolerance, so you can just be yourself!
I visited this awesome city in August 2020, and I’m excited to share How to Spend 24 Hours in Berlin, Germany with you!
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Things to See and Do in Berlin
Brandenburger Tor
Address: Pariser Platz, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) is our first stop on this tour! It is Berlin’s most famous landmark. It was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans and built between 1788 and 1791.
It’s 26 meters (85 ft) high, 65.5 meters (214 ft) long, and 11 meters (36 ft) deep. It was damaged during World War II, but thankfully, it survived.
It’s Berlin’s only gate that is still standing today and it was a symbol for the division of Berlin into east and west during the Cold War. But this changed for the opposite with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Since then, Brandenburger Tor has been representing a unified Germany.
Today this spot is also popular for celebrating New Year’s Eve with amazing fireworks and live music! The Berlin Tourist Information is only a few steps from Brandenburger Tor, if you need any help with navigating Berlin or booking accommodations or events.
The Reichstag building
Address: Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin, Germany
The Reichstag (Bundestag) building is the home of the German parliament. It was designed by Paul Wallot, who took inspiration from the Memorial Hall in Philadelphia, USA. The Reichstag was completed in 1894 and as per visitBerlin, is “an internationally recognizable symbol of democracy”.
The Reichstag was in use by the parliament until 1933, when the Nazi party (NSDAP) took over. It was neglected during the Third Reich and badly damaged in World War II.
After the war, West Germany’s parliament was moved to Bonn (West Germany’s capital back then) and the Reichstag building was only used sometimes for ceremonial events. In 1990, the official reunification ceremony took place here. Soon after, it was decided that the German parliament will work at the Reichstag again.
Visitors can take a guided tour of the Reichstag from the inside, listen to a plenary session (in German only), and even go up all the way to the dome and the roof of the building.
But although admission is free, you’ll need to register online on the Bundestag website first. If you want to miss the crowds, consider visiting this place on a weekday.
There’s also the Käfer Dachgarten Restaurant at the roof, and the food is supposed to be amazing (reservations are required). The lawn area in front of the Reichstag is popular for having a picnic, spending time with loved ones, and soaking up the sun!
Tiergarten Park
Address: Strasse des 17. Juni, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Tiergarten Park is a perfect spot if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Founded in 1527, it was originally intended to be a private hunting area for Berlin’s ruling class. But since 1740, it’s been open to the public.
Tiergarten Park is Berlin’s largest park (it covers 210 hectares) and a popular spot for outdoor activities (e.g. BBQing, cycling, walking, relaxing, or playing football) with Berliners and tourists alike.
Take the kids to one of the playgrounds, then refuel at the Café am Neuen See or a beer garden, and visit the Siegessäule(Victory Column) with its viewing platform so you get to see Tiergarten Park and the rest of Berlin!
If you like German literature or classical music, don’t miss the Goethe Monument, Lessing Monument, Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Monument, and Richard Wagner Monument.
Memorials inside and close to Tiergarten Park
I highly recommend visiting the many memorials inside or close to Tiergarten Park. They were built to honour minority groups murdered under National Socialism.
For example, the Memorial to Persecuted Homosexuals under National Socialism, a concrete cuboid first opened in 2008, wants to “set a constant sign against intolerance, hostility and exclusion towards gays and lesbians”, as per the Stiftung Denkmal. You can also watch a short movie of a same sex love scene by looking through the black window of the cuboid.
East Side Gallery is my favourite place to visit in Berlin! It’s a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, and is the longest open air art gallery in the world, at 1,316 meters (4,317 ft). I couldn’t get enough of the vibrant colours of these murals and the meaningful messages!
You can find it in Berlin-Friedrichshain right next to the banks of the Spree river. Soon after the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, 118 artists from 21 countries started painting the East Side Gallery. It opened on September 28, 1990, with 106 murals to admire.
Impressive artistic murals at East Side Gallery. The sentence on the right one translates to “You learnt what freedom means, so never, ever forget this”.
Since the East Side Gallery is outside, it had to be restored and repainted since its initial opening. This was last done in 2009, when 87 artists participated in order to restore 100 paintings.
Tours of this unique attraction (in German, English, or French) can be arranged with the Artist Initiative East Side Gallery e.V. online. You’ll learn about the history, restoration, and the artists involved with the East Side Gallery. Tours take 60 to 90 minutes. Please find more details here.
Alexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz is Germany’s largest public square. Its nickname is “Alex” and it’s in Berlin-Mitte, only 10 minutes from Berlin’s main train station. This spot was named after Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who visited Berlin in 1805.
Street fights during the March Revolution of 1848 and peaceful protests occurred here just before the Berlin Wall fell for good. Besides, a scene in “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) was filmed at the Weltzeituhr (World Clock), one of the main attractions of Alexanderplatz. It was first installed in 1969 and shows the current time in many big cities of the world.
The Weltzeituhr from different sides.
Alexanderplatz also has many shops, restaurants, movie theatres, and hotels. It’s busy with pedestrians 24/7, and there’s very limited parking, so I recommend going there via public transit.
There are many other attractions within walking distance from Alexanderplatz, including the popular Museum Island, Berlin Cathedral, and the Nikolaiviertel (Berlin’s historic neighbourhood).
Berliner Fernsehturm
Address: Panoramastraße 1A, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Another popular attraction nearby is the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), opened in 1969. According to visitBerlin, it’s Berlin’s “most visible landmark”. Also, at 368 m (1,207 ft) high, it’s Europe’s highest building open to the public. More than one million people visit this attraction every year.
Don’t miss its famous viewing platform and enjoy a 360-degree view of Berlin and beyond! Tickets can be bought online and start at 22.50 EUR for adults. You can also have drinks at the Sphere Bar or a tasty meal at Sphere Restaurant, and buy souvenirs at the Gift Shop.
Unfortunately, the TV Tower has very limited access for visitors in wheelchairs or who have limited mobility. When its construction was planned in the 1960s, society wasn’t as open-minded about accessibility concerns as it is today, so physically handicapped visitors weren’t considered in evacuation plans.
The TV Tower is open daily from 9 am to 11 pm from March to October and from 10 am to 10 pm from November to February.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial) is a memorial that remembers the six million Jews murdered during the Third Reich. It is managed by the Stiftung Denkmal der ermordeten Juden Europas (Foundation Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe).
Opened in 2005, this place covers 19,000 sq meters (4.69 acres), and 2,711 concrete slabs (stelae) of various heights are standing here. The Memorial is open 24/7 and you can enter from all four sides. As per visitBerlin, it’s “a place of contemplation, a place of remembrance and warning”.
The exhibition in the Information Centre under the Field of Stelae has several themed rooms about some victims and their stories. It’s separated into the Room of Dimensions, the Room of Families, the Room of Names, the Room of Sites, and more.
Here you can look at journal entries, farewell letters, photos, personal documents, and listen to the names and short biographies of some victims.
Moreover, this exhibition displays historic film and photo footage of the places where the killings occurred. At the end, you can listen to interviews with holocaust survivors. Audio guides are available for rent and group tours can be booked as well.
Almost half a million people visit these memorial grounds each year, and the opening hours of the exhibit are 10 am to 6 pm (Tuesday-Sunday). Admission is free and tickets can be booked online. Donations are always appreciated.
The Berlin Wall Memorial
Address: Bernauer Str. 111, 13355 Berlin, Germany
The Berlin Wall Memorial is a historic site at Bernauer Strasse, opened in 1998. This is where the border strip of the Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin.
This street was all over the news in August 1961, when many East Berliners jumped or climbed out of their apartment windows at the last minute to escape to the West Berlin side. Some of them succeeded, while many others did not.
Today, this memorial site intends to commemorate the 140 victims of the Berlin Wall. There are also a large outdoor exhibit that covers historic audio and photo material, a Visitor Center, and Observation Tower.
But the most impressive part is the 70-metre (229 ft) stretch of high rusty metal bars, which stands at the former location of the Berlin Wall. Public tours and group tours can be booked as well.
Across the street, you find the Visitor Center and Documentation Center,and the latter shows a permanent exhibit about the history of the wall. There are also stations with historic audio broadcasts from East and West Berlin, as well as a digital archive with original documents.
The Documentation Center and outdoor exhibits are accessible for visitors in wheelchairs or with limited mobility as well.
The Chapel of Reconciliation, formerly known as the Church of Reconciliation was destroyed by the GDR government in 1985 and is at this memorial site, too. A memorial service for the victims occurs three times a week. Also, don’t miss the Window of Memorial, which tries to keep the victims of the Berlin Wall alive by showing their photos.
The Documentation Centre and the Visitor Centre are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm and admission is free. The outdoor exhibition in the memorial area on Bernauer Strasse is open daily from 8 am to 10 pm.
From left to right: Border crossings and course of the Wall map, partial outdoor exhibit, and flowers to commemorate the victims.
The Mall of Berlin
Address: Leipziger Platz 12, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Berlin also has lots of great shopping spots, such as the Mall of Berlin right in the heart of the city. It’s Berlin’s second largest shopping center, with four floors, and has around 300 shops and a large food court!
You can find many international/European chain stores here, like H&M, Zara, Douglas (perfumery), C&A (clothing store), Claire’s, Pandora, The Body Shop, and Saturn (electronics store), but also souvenir shops.
The building has an impressive glass roof, and right next door, you can find more shopping opportunities at Potsdamer Platz, as well as theatres, cinemas, and restaurants.
If you’re in Berlin for at least two days and like to save cash, I recommend buying the Berlin Welcome Card. It allows you free travel on public transit (buses, trains, and streetcars), up to 50% off at many attractions and sights, and three children up to 14 years can join one adult for free.
The pass can be bought online, and prices start at 26 EUR for Berlin and its city limits, and 31 EUR if you’d like the fare to nearby cities (like Potsdam) and Berlin Brandenburg Airport to be included.
There’s also the Berlin Welcome Card all inclusive, which starts at 99 EUR for 48 hours (for Berlin and Potsdam) and includes free entry to more than 30 Berlin attractions.
Whew, what a busy day looking at Berlin’s attractions! But there are many more things to see and do, which of course, you can’t cover in such a short time. So I recommend checking out The 18 Best Things To Do in Berlin by Nomadic Matt.
Where to Stay in Berlin
Whether you’re looking for budget, mid-range, or luxury accommodation, Berlin has a great selection of places to stay!
I stayed at the 36 ROOMS Hostel (Spreewaldplatz 8, 10999 Berlin, Germany) about 25 minutes from the main train station. This hostel was built in 1878 and is a traditional townhouse (called Altbau in German). It has four floors, high ceilings, and an easy going vibe.
There’s free wifi, lockers, and luggage storage, a garden area, and no curfew! Guests can choose between private and dorm rooms (mixed and women only).
A swimming pool, night clubs, bars, grocery stores, and restaurants are nearby, too. I booked a single room, which was rather small, but had everything I needed, and it was quiet at night.
The staff was very accommodating as well, but sometimes, the bathrooms could have been cleaner… But to be honest, the room was pretty cheap, and I’m not too fussy, so it worked for me 🙂 Unfortunately, there’s no breakfast, but you can choose between tons of restaurants with breakfast options close to the hostel.
Where to Eat & Drink in Berlin
Of course, Berlin also has a huge selection of restaurants and cafés to choose from!
I had dinner at Dean & David (Mercedes Platz 1, 10243 Berlin, Germany) a German restaurant chain. Their menu consists of salads, wraps, Buddha bowls, sandwiches, soups, curries (all either with meat or vegan/vegetarian), juices, and smoothies.
I tried their Vegan Falafel Bowl and Super Green Matcha Smoothie, so yummy! At the Mercedesplatz location, you can sit inside or outside and the service was great as well.
Van Long, a Vietnamese restaurant inside the Mall of Berlin’s food court, is a great lunch spot! You can choose between Thai and Vietnamese dishes with meat and there’s an extra menu for veggie dishes as well. I had their Mango Lassi and Tofu Summer Rolls, and they were a great pick-me-up after walking around Berlin for a while!
For breakfast, I headed to the Ramones Museum, Bar & Café in Berlin-Kreuzberg, where you can order tons of awesome veggie options! I had the Blitzkrieg Bop breakfast and a bottle of Club-Mate, a non-alcoholic caffeine drink often found in Eastern Germany.
I wrote a separate blog post about my visit to the awesome Ramones Museum as well.
As you can see, Berlin is a great spot for vegans or vegetarians! In fact, it is one of the most vegan friendly cities in Germany, with more than 800 restaurantsin and around the city.
You can also find tons of other recommendations for vegan restaurants (including vegan donuts :p), as well as a vegan-friendly hotel, and more things to see and do in Rebecca’s Berlin Vegan Guide.
How to Get to and Around Berlin
Like many other big cities in Europe, Berlin has a great public transit system. Tons of regional and long-distance trains (EC, ICE, and IC) managed by the Deutsche Bahn and FlixTrain go to Berlin many times a day, same as buses, such as FlixBus.
Within the city limits and suburbs you can hop on the S-Bahn (suburban trains), U-Bahn (metro), buses, Hop On/Hop Off buses, and the iconic yellow streetcars! Day tickets and 7-day tickets for public transit in and around Berlin are available as well.
Thanks to the good public transit system, it’s not necessary to rent a car in Berlin, especially because traffic can be insane during rush hour!
It’s also popular to explore Berlin by bicycle and I found that the downtown area was very walkable. There are tons of signs, which is very helpful! But if you’d like to visit places away from this area, I recommend biking or taking public transit.
The nearest airport is Berlin Brandenburg Airport, which opened in October 2020 (after 15 years of construction!). It’s a 35 to 40-minute train ride to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the city’s main train station.
(Airport) buses to Berlin and nearby cities (like Potsdam), as well as private transfers and taxis are available as well. Many flights from domestic and international destinations start and land here daily.
Well, that’s a wrap on How to Spend 24 Hours in Berlin 🙂 If you have more tips on Berlin, let me know in the comments! Vielen Dank 😀
Traveling around Germany for a while? Then check out these posts:
Every winter season, ski and snowboard enthusiasts head to Western Canada’s ski resorts to enjoy some awesome skiing or snowboarding. One of my favourites to spend a Ski Weekend is Marmot Basin Ski Resortnear Jasper, Alberta.
The small town of Jasper is within Jasper National Park. At 11,228 sq km (4,335 sq miles), it’s the largest national park inside the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
This place sits on traditional lands of the Beaver, Cree, Ojibway, Shuswap, Stoney, and Métis Nations. Besides, it is one of the 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada.
About 5,000 people live here year-round, but up to 12,000 seasonal workers live here each winter. Besides, in 2023, the readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazinevoted Marmot Basin as the third best ski resort in Canada in their annual Reader’s Choice Awards!
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks.
Marmot Basin Ski Resort
General Information about the Ski Resort
Address: 1 Marmot Rd, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
This ski resort is a 25-minute drive south of Jasper. According to its website, it has the “highest base elevation of any major Canadian ski area”, at 1,698 meters (5,570 ft). The summit is at 2,612 meters (8,570 ft)! That’s why it’s open longer than other ski resorts, from mid-November until early May.
On average, more than 440 cm (14.4 ft) of fresh snow falls every year.
This area covers 1,720 acres, and skiers and snowboarders can choose from seven lifts and 91 runs for all abilities.
The terrain consists of groomed runs, tree runs, moguls, powder runs, alpine bowls and chutes. If you’re into more excitement, check out their two terrain parks, with jumps, rails, boxes, and jibs!
I’m a beginner, so I prefer to ski the green (novice) and some blue runs, which have helped me improve my skills a lot! I like to take the Canadian Rockies Express Lift all the way to the top, then ski back down until the base (bottom), ready to do it all over again!
View from the Canadian Rockies Express Lift and a map of ski runs at Marmot Basin.
Food & Beverage Facilities at Marmot Basin
If your legs need some rest, stop at one of the food and beverage facilities. You can just leave your skis or board at one of the racks outside next to these spots, which is very convenient!
We’re having lunch at the Cariboo Chalet at the base of the mountain, which has a bar and grill, and café area. Or you can stop mid mountain at Paradise Chalet for a rest. There’s a nice outdoor sitting area, so you can watch these magnificent mountains while sipping a drink!
But as in many places popular with tourists, the prices can be quite high, so if you’re on a budget, bring your own food and drinks instead. You can find more details about these facilities here.
Retail Store, Rental Shop & Little Rascals Nursery
But of course, Marmot Basin Ski Resort offers more than just skiing or snowboarding and eating, lol! You can also buy tons of gear at the Outdoor Limits Retail Store and rent equipment at the rental shop, which are at the base of the mountain.
Besides, this is a great spot for families, as there’s the School House Chair and Learning Area, and lessons can be booked for kids and adults. The Little Rascals Nursery is open as well (for kids from 19 months to six years). It’s open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays from 8:30 am to 4 pm.
Events at Marmot Basin Ski Resort
Marmot Basin Ski Resort hosts a ton of fun events each season, such as Demo Days, Ski with Jasper the Bear, and the Jasper Pride & Ski Festival. Please find more info about upcoming events here.
Pride Festivities at Marmot Basin. Photo credit: Marmot Basin Ski Resort.
Admission Cost & Ski Lift Tickets
Here are the full day lift ticket prices during the 2024/25 season:
Adult (18-64 years): From C$ 111.75
Senior (65-79 years): From C$ 90.00
Youth (13-17 years) and students from 18-24 years (with ID): From C$ 96.00
Junior (6-12 years): From C$ 39.00
“Mites” (children 5 years and under) and “Super Seniors” (80+) are C$ 6.00.
In 2021, Marmot Basin made the move to RFID ski passes and tickets, so visitors get a card during their first visit of the season. You’re supposed to put it into the left sleeve pocket of your jacket and it will be scanned automatically before entering the lift. This card can be used all season long.
You can purchase lift tickets online, at the Marmot Sales Centre in downtown Jasper (611 Patricia Street, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0), or at the Guest Services Office at the base of mountain.
Marmot Basin can get very busy on weekends, especially if there’s a special event going on. So if you’d like to escape the crowds, it’s best to visit on a weekday.
Special Deals & Directions to Marmot Basin Ski Resort
If you’re a local who comes to Marmot Basin a lot during the season, you should look into the Marmot Escape Card. It allows you to ski for half price, all season long! You’ll also get discounts when paying for food or drinks, or renting equipment on site, as well as certain accommodations in Jasper.
You can also buy a regular Seasons Pass at Marmot Basin Ski Resort.
If you’re driving, you can just park at one of the four parking lots inside the resort right next to some runs! So all you need to do is put on your skis or snowboard, and get crackin’!
Marmot Basin is open daily from 9 am to 4 pm and the resort facilities close at 5 pm. If you’re interested in current snow and weather conditions at the resort, please find their Weather Forecast and Snow Report here.
Sunrise by Mt. Kerkeslin and Mt. Hardisty inside Marmot Basin Ski Resort. Photo credit: Marmot Basin Ski Resort.
Was Marmot Basin Ski Resort affected by the Jasper Wildfire?
Thankfully, Marmot Basin Ski Resort wasn’t affected by the Jasper Wildfire in summer 2024. So the ski resort could open as planned on November 22, 2024!
Unfortunately, the wildfire destroyed 30% of buildings in the town of Jasper. When I went to Jasper in mid-October 2024, some restaurants and shops were still closed. So I recommend checking what’s open in Jasper before your visit.
Where to Stay in Jasper
I highly recommend staying in Jasper for a night or two. This small town has a great selection of accommodations, including hotels, hostels, and Bed & Breakfasts. Here are my two favourite places to stay in Jasper:
The Astoria Hotel
Address: 404 Connaught Drive, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
The Astoria Hotel is the place to stay in town if you like historic accommodations, that are also close to shops and restaurants. First opened in 1925, it’s been family-owned ever since.
It’s hard to miss from the outside, because of its unique building style. But don’t worry, while this boutique hotel has an antique vibe, it’s not outdated at all.
Guests can book queen, twin, king, or mountain view rooms. The rooms have a fridge, smart TV, en-suite bathroom, and free wifi, and it is very clean.
The Astoria Hotel from the outside.
Partial King bed room, and the antique room phone (it still works!) 😀
Jasper Downtown Hostel
Address: 400 Patricia St, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
The Jasper Downtown Hostel is perfect for budget-minded travelers of all ages, but also families, who like a great value accommodation. This place has dorms (mixed and female only) for 7-8 guests, and private rooms, with private or shared bathrooms. I stayed in a female dorm and private room before, and I love that it has a fireplace!
The private rooms can accommodate 2-5 guests, and they have bunks, queen, twins, and queen/bunk bed combinations to choose from. Like other hostels, the Jasper Downtown Hostel has a full kitchen, lounge, lockers, and laundry facilities for guests to use.
Here’s a great overview of what this hostel offers, video credit of Jasper Downtown Hostel:
Jasper Downtown Hostel Video
Where to Eat & Drink
Same as other touristy places, Jasper has tons of cafés and restaurants to offer. Here are some places we checked out during our visits:
Lou Lou’s Breakfast & Pizzeria
Address: 407 Patricia Street, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
Lou Lou’s Breakfast & Pizzeria is a smaller and a bit more budget-friendly restaurant in Jasper, but the food is very tasty! There’s a great selection on the menu. We ordered a Meatlovers’ Pizza and Pineapple and Mushrooms Pizza.
Gluten-free pizza is available as well, but unfortunately, I didn’t see any vegan pizza options. They also have salads, poutine, pasta dishes, burgers, and wings on their menu.
The De’d Dog Bar & Grill
Address: 404 Connaught Drive, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
The De’d Dog Bar & Grill is right next to the Astoria Hotel! You can choose between many comfort food options, like Shepherd’s Pie, chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, but also salads and a Buddha Bowl.
I’m having the latter, which is perfect for a healthy pick-me-up after a long day of skiing or boarding! After dinner, grab a drink and challenge your friends to a pool tournament! They also have live music quite often.
One Sushi Japanese Restaurant
Address: 622 Patricia Street, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
One Sushi Japanese Restaurantis a perfect spot if you love sushi and other Japanese and Korean food! For Korean food, you can order Yangnyeom Crispy Chicken, Chibab, Dak-Gangjeong, and more!
We tried the Crazy Girl Special Roll, Veggie Teriyaki with tofu and rice, and Avocado Roll. Everything was to die for and the calm vibe of the restaurant and super friendly staff were just another bonus!
Fiddle River Restaurant
Address: 620 Connaught Drive, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0, Canada
While this rather classy restaurant is great for seafood, fish, or meat lovers (e.g. chowder, fish cakes, salmon, mussels, and steak), the Fiddle River Restaurant has a very small veggie selection as well.
I ordered their vegan Fiddle Veggie Bowl (Lentil and rice bowl with grilled veggies and chickpea fritters with a black olive and tahini dressing) and it was really yummy! Their desserts are really good, too! I hope that they’ll add more veggies entrées with time.
Directions to Jasper
If you’re driving, there are three different ways to get to Jasper:
From Calgary, take Highway #1 towards Banff, then travel north until you reach the Icefields Parkway (Highway #93). Then just keep going straight ahead and it’s about a 5-hour drive.
From Edmonton, keep following Highway #16 westbound, which takes about four hours.
From Kamloops, take Highway #5 North, then turn right at Highway #16 (eastbound) at Tête Jaune Cache. It’s about a 5-hour drive to Jasper.
If you don’t have a car, you can book a bus ticket with Thompson Valley Charters from Kamloops (Mondays and Thursdays) or Edmonton (Tuesdays and Fridays). It stops at the Via Rail Station in downtown Jasper.
SunDog Tours also offers daily bus service from Edmonton to Jasper and back. They also provide transportation from/to Calgary from October 2024 to April 2025.
Lastly, Via Rail Canada also goes to Jasper, so if you have time, hop on “The Canadian” from Vancouver to Toronto (or vice-versa). It goes either way twice a week and there’s also a train from/to Prince George and Prince Rupert three times a week.
A quiet morning in Jasper.
Wrap Up on Spending a Ski Weekend in Jasper
Jasper, Alberta is the a great spot to spend a Ski Weekend. From awesome skiing or snowboarding to a great selection of hotels and restaurants, Jasper will have you covered.
So hopefully, I’ve inspired you to Spend a Ski Weekend in Jasper someday 🙂
If you’re visiting Calgary on your trip to Alberta and love cats, check out this blog post:
While planning my trip to Victoria and Vancouver Island in 2021, I learnt about the cool-sounding “Orcas: Our shared future” exhibit at the Royal BC Museum. These giant marine creatures have been in my Top 5 of favourite animals for many years, so of course, I had to check it out!
After being in the making for five years, this exhibit opened in mid-April 2021 and ended on March 31, 2022. It covered 10,000 square feet, and featured 10 movie presentations and 7 interactive games for its visitors.
Poster advertising the Orcas exhibit at Victoria International Airport.
The Royal BC Museum Corporation was founded in 1886, and as per its website, is “one of Canada’s greatest cultural treasures”. In a nutshell, its core galleries (Natural History, Becoming BC, Our Living Languages, and First Peoples Gallery), and temporary exhibits teach visitors about British Columbia’s natural and human history.
The IMAX Movie Theatre is in the same building, where you can watch both educational and commercial films. The Royal BC Museum stands on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Xwsepsum First Nations), who have lived here for many years.
Lastly, this is one of Victoria’s most popular tourist attractions (860,000 visitors in the 2018/19 season), and is only steps away from the Inner Harbour and Empress Hotel in downtown.
After taking an escalator to the first floor, where the Orcas exhibit was displayed, the first thing you saw was the whale tail-shaped entrance door. What a great way to start a museum tour!
Right after entering, visitors were greeted by Ruffles, Slick, and her daughter, Scarlet, three local orcas hanging from the ceiling, who, of course, weren’t real, but 3D printed replicas. They were Southern Resident Orcas, and each replica looked exactly the same as the original. For example, Scarlet had several scratches and scars on her body, which were caused by her difficult birth, when other orcas of her clan had to pull her with their teeth out of her mother’s womb.
There was very little light in this room of the exhibit, and several screens on the left and right showed marine creatures, just swimming around and singing, and you could hear them breathe, by listening to the bubbles rising up to the “surface”. Some of them were orcas close to the replicas, so Ruffles, Slick, and Scarlet felt comfortable, and it felt like you’re right there with them in their home!
The whale tail-shaped entrance door, and the three 3D printed orca replicas, and screens on both sides. Both photo courtesy of the Royal BC Museum.
Then I walked to the next section of the exhibit, which showed a bunch of panels with cool information about orcas. For example. did you know that more than a dozen orca species live in all oceans, both inside the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, and they are distinguished by their behaviour, hunting styles, anatomy, and diet?
Apart from the Southern Resident Orca, who eat mostly Chinook salmon, the Bigg’s (Transient) Orca, who’s diet consists of other whales, seals, and sea lions, and the Offshore Orca, who prefer to eat sharks and other fish, call the North American west coast home.
A detailed overview of orca kinds around the world, and what’s unique about each one!
Another panel in this section taught visitors about the orca’s anatomy, and that females can weigh up to 5,000 kilograms (11,023 lbs), and can be up to 8.5 meters long (27.88 ft), and live up to 80 years in the wild! Males, on the other hand, can even weigh up to 6,000 kg (13,227 lbs), and get up to 9.5 meters (31 ft) long, but “only” live up to 60 years!
Lastly, they can stay underwater for up to 17 minutes, like to swim 55 to 60 km (34 to 37 miles) per hour(!), and can dive up to 260 meters (853 ft) deep.
Next, did you know that orca species around the world live and travel in pods (e.g. the Southern Resident Orcas are separated into J, K, and L-pods and each whale has his/her own number), and every family has its own dialect and preferred territory to swim in?
Each pod is led by the oldest female, who, with other females of the group, passes on her extensive knowledge about ocean life (like good areas to hunt, and which to avoid), including their unique dialect, down to their offspring.
In 2018, you may have seen tons of media content about a heartbreaking incident that happened to Tahlequah (J35), when her baby had died only an hour after birth. Afterwards, she kept carrying her child’s body with her on the surface for 17 days, which, in my opinion, is a proof that orcas, among other animals, can experience grief and other sad (or happy) feelings, just like us.
Panel showing a few members of the J-pod of the Southern Resident Orcas. Photo courtesy of the Royal BC Museum.
Here’s one fact that amazed me the most in this section: Orcas used to live and walk on land, before entering the water about 50 million years ago, which caused their back legs to get smaller, their tails grew long and powerful, and their nostrils turned into blowholes! The earliest known orcas (Pakicetus) had ankle bones similar to a cow’s, deer’s, or hippo’s, and the latter is the closest living relative of today’s whales.
Man, the animal world has so many surprises to show to us humans!
The next stop of this exhibit was the Indigenous Views Gallery, which told visitors about the strong significance that orcas have had for local coastal and inland tribes for many years. As per Lou-Ann Neel, Curator of Indigenous Collections of the Royal BC Museum, orcas are perceived as family, and these groups believe that orcas feel the same way, because they are so gentle and friendly to us.
They are respected like elders, and some nations are convinced that their loved ones are reincarnated as orca whales after passing away. Orcas can also transform themselves into humans and other animals, and talk to all of these beings, to share their wisdom, wealth, power, and healing.
I was very impressed by these beliefs, but also by the stunning art pieces displayed in this gallery. There were 100+ indigenous artifacts, and a lot of them were traditional work, like a large orca carving, and a button blanket with Killer Whale crest by Elizabeth Kasalas Hunt of the Kwagu??, Kwakwaka’wakw tribe, which was made before 1897, but also contemporary art.
My personal favourite was a screen print reproduction called “Killerwhales”, that was created by Don Yeomans from the Haida people in 1999, because I thought that the blue, red, white, and black colours match very well.
Last but not least, there were animations by two young Haida artists, telling stories about orcas that have been passed on to younger generations for many years!
From the top left to bottom right: “Scana with the Woman” screenprint reproduction by Freda Diesing of the Haida people (1980), Button blanket with Killer Whale crest by Elizabeth Kasalas Hunt, “Killerwhales” by Don Yeomans, and orca carving,
Now it was time to check out the Science Section of the exhibit, that had a bunch of great information about orcas as well. One of the best parts, in my opinion, was a real skeleton of Rhapsody, another local Southern Resident orca, that hung down from the ceiling! Sadly, Rhapsody was pregnant when she died in 2014, and her calf’s bones were displayed underneath her skeleton.
Next, you could look at (and touch!) a silicone replica of an orca brain next to a human’s brain, it’s amazing that the orca one is almost 4 times bigger than the human’s (5 kg vs. 1.3 kg/11 lbs vs. 2.8 lbs)!
There was no way to miss the scientific equipment from various decades, that’s been used to support orca research in BC and around the world, like drones, hydrophones, a tape recorder, and a digital acoustic recording tag. The latter is needed to find out the speed and orientation of whales while they swim, both during the day and at night!
Last but not least, I learnt that orcas can hear frequencies of 0.5 Hz to more than 120,000 Hz (in comparison, a human can hear frequencies of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz), and use echolocation (i.e. reflected sounds), to find and hunt their prey.
From the top left to bottom right: silicone replica of an orca brain vs. a human’s, scientific equipment to research orcas whales’ behaviour, partial panel about orcas finding their prey through echolocation, and Rhapsody’s skeleton.
Next, let’s look at a dark era of orca history, which was caused by human beings. I’m talking about Orca Captivity, that first started close to Saturna Island in BC in 1964, when Moby Doll was captured and later taken to the Vancouver Aquarium.
Before that, humans never got this close to an orca, and marine scientists were able to study them close-up for the first time. For many years, orcas were seen as “killer whales” in Western culture, and many people were scared of them, but then, they learnt what Indigenous cultures had known for a long time: Orcas are intelligent and friendly creatures towards us humans, so they fell in love with them.
Soon after, more orcas and other marine creatures were captured, and marine theme parks and aquariums featuring them opened their doors, like SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, and Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain. These marine theme parks were incredibly popular in earlier decades, and the exhibit displayed some original material, like a trainer’s wetsuit, and tons of rare footage. Some of it hadn’t been shown to the public in 40 years!
Moreover, there was no way to miss the Wall of Commercial Photographs, which were supposed to promote a fun time for the entire family, and the small movie theatres in the exhibit showed rare film footage, too.
But with time, it became obvious that taking orcas away from their families (often at a young age), and forcing them to perform and spend the rest of their lives in a tiny pool terribly affects their mental and physical health. In the wild, orca families stay together for their entire life, and if there are conflicts with other pods, they can get away from each other, but this is not possible in captivity.
Another sign of stress and mental trauma is a floppy dorsal fin, which commonly happens to orcas in captivity, but only to 1% of them living in the wild. Nowadays, life captures of orca whales are banned in BC, but they are still captured and bred in marine theme parks in other parts of the world.
After taking in this sad (but I think, important to know) information, I moved on to the next section, Orcas in Popular Culture. In the past, several orcas gained fame while participating in popular movies, like Namu, the Killer Whale (1966) and Free Willy (1993), and this section featured the original movie posters, and a detailed biography of each famous orca.
I’ve loved Free Willy since I was a kid, and Keiko, the whale who played Willy, was the first orca being released back to the wild in 1998, after children around the world had raised money to make this possible. Of course, it’s devastating that Keiko wasn’t able to survive on his own for long, and passed away because of pneumonia in 2003.
Partial area of the Orcas in Captivity and Orcas in Popular Culture sections. Photo courtesy of the Royal BC Museum.
Original movie poster of Free Willy and Keiko’s detailed biography.
Thankfully, the popularity of marine theme parks has decreased drastically in recent years. One reason for this is the documentary Blackfish, published in 2013, which shows how much orcas suffer in captivity, and how this affects their mental and physical health, and other beings around them. The “main character” of this movie is Tilikum (1981-2017), an orca who lived in captivity for many years, and killed several of his trainers. The original movie poster of this movie was displayed in this section as well.
With time, several orca rights organizations were founded, such as the Free Morgan Foundation, who fights for Morgan, a malnourished orca whale who was rescued off the coast of the Netherlands in 2010, but once she was cured, was taken to Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain, instead of being returned to the wild.
In 2018, Morgan gave birth to a calf, Ula, from whom she was separated right after, and last year, Ula died, at only 3 years old. Until today, Morgan still lives at Loro Parque, so hopefully, she’ll be freed someday!
According to Dr. Lorne Hammond, Curator of History at the Royal BC Museum, children who visited marine theme parks often become teenage activists, who fight for orca rights. My family and I visited SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, in 1993, but after my mother learnt about these horrible conditions, we never went to one of these places again.
I only became an animal (including orcas) activist in my early Twenties, though! 😉
Collaterals from the Free Morgan Foundation and buttons that support orca rights.
A much more ethical way to get close to orcas is Whale Watching. There are several whale watching companies in Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island, and many people like to support them, especially national and international visitors.
Of course, it’s not guaranteed to see orcas and other marine creatures (like in an aquarium), but I think it’s worth it, to see them happily swimming around their natural environment, and either way, it’s always exciting to be out on a boat!
If you’re out with a tour group, the tour leader tries his/her best to make the whales feel comfortable while they’re being looked at. For example, he/she would turn off the boat’s motor, or it’s switched for a quieter electrical motor, and the boat is within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of the whales.
The Signal Flag, introduced by the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association.
Although capturing orcas to perform is much less popular nowadays, there are still other man-made threats that orcas and their fellow sea dwellers have to deal with. Orcas are apex predators, so same as humans, they don’t have any natural enemies.
Some major threats are starvation, often because of overfishing, air and noise pollution, habitat destruction, climate change, and (plastic) trash found in the oceans.
Remember Scarlet, one of the 3D printed orca replicas who greeted us in the beginning of our tour? Unfortunately, she’s not with us anymore, as she passed away from malnutrition in 2018, at only 4 years old. Moreover, her clan, the Southern Resident Orcas, are endangered because of these issues.
So this section wants to show visitors how some of our behaviour influences the lives of orcas, either directly or indirectly, and us as well in the future, because everything is connected.
There was the Ocean Health interactive table, on which you could move pieces around, to learn how our habits affect the health of the oceans and orcas. What a cool way to learn about these issues, for both kids and adults!
One of the Royal BC Museum’s slogan was “Orcas need clean, quiet oceans, and pollution-free food. What about you?”, and I think that’s all that needs to be said to motivate humans to think about how we can improve, so hopefully, we can all live together in peace someday!
The Ocean Health interactive table, and a display of trash found in the ocean in the background. Photo courtesy of the Royal BC Museum.
This was the end of the Orcas exhibit, and wow, I’m amazed by all the great things I learnt about these magnificent marine mammals!
The Royal BC Museum is open daily from 10 am – 5 pm, and tickets are valid all day, for all exhibits, so it’s a great way to spend a cold or rainy day in Victoria! I recommend to arrive fairly early, so you’re in no rush to explore the museum. Visitors are strongly encouraged to buy tickets through the museum’s website here. You can also buy combination tickets to visit both the museum and the IMAX theatre!
CONTACT INFORMATION
Royal BC Museum
675 Belleville Street
Victoria BC
V8W 9W2
Telephone: +1 250-356-7226
Email: reception@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca
MUSEUM ADMISSION PRICES
Adult (19+) $29.95
Senior (65+) $19.95
Youth (6-18) $16.95
Student (19+ w/ ID) $19.95
Child (3-5) Free
What I really liked about this exhibit is that it was fully accessible to everyone. The museum is fully wheelchair accessible, elevators are provided, and several benches are available if you’d like to take a break.
But wait, of course, no museum visit is complete without checking out the gift shop, lol! It’s on the ground floor of the Royal BC Museum, and upon entering, a bunch of cool orca souvenirs (e.g. t-shirts, books, stuffed animals, and chocolate) grabbed my attention.
But if you keep on walking around the store, there are even more nice things, like gifts made or designed by local indigenous people, games, jewelry, puzzles, and other items related to exhibits at the Royal BC Museum.
Awesome orca souvenir selection at the Royal BC Museum’s gift shop, and really yummy orca chocolate 😛
Thank you for checking out my blog today 🙂 Cheers!
Nanaimo, also called “The Harbour City”, is on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. It’s the second largest city on the island and is right next to the Strait of Georgia inside the Salish Sea.
While less popular with tourists than other places on Vancouver Island, you shouldn’t miss Nanaimo. It’s known for its stunning areas of unspoiled nature, artistic vibe, and its growing culinary scene!
I visited Nanaimo for two days in July 2021 and I’m psyched to share the Best Nanaimo Travel Guide with you!
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
The Best Things to See and Do in Nanaimo
The Urban Art Gallery
Address: 458 Wallace St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B5, Canada
Downtown Nanaimo alone has many cool things to see and do, so I recommend you start your tour here. The attraction that striked me most is the amazing Urban Art Gallery at the previously decadent A&B Sound Building.
These murals were launched by Humanity in Art, a local artist initiative, and five local artists in 2018. This organization also hosted the Hub City Walls Mural Festival in 2020, when even more local artists could add their artwork around downtown.
I loved the variety of colours, painting styles, and themes, which I think makes both Nanaimoites and visitors smile, no matter if it’s a rainy or sunny day. You can also walk on rainbow-coloured crosswalks on Bastion & Commercial Street (painted in 2016 by the LGBTQ2+ community)!
Browse around Cool Shops & Boutiques in Downtown Nanaimo
If you’re on a hunt for hidden gems, Nanaimo’s downtown area has awesome stores to offer.
For example, Sound Heritage (33 Victoria Crescent, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B9) has Nanaimo’s largest selection of used and new CD’s, vinyl, tapes, video games, electronics (like stereos, speakers, and record players), and more!
Flying Fish(180 Commercial St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G6) has many stylish kitchen and cooking accessories, jewelry, body products, furniture, and other home décor.
Next, I bought a cute kitty-themed notebook created by UK artist Hannah Dale at Nanaimo Museum’s Gift Shop (100 Museum Way, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5J8). They also have books about local history, jewelry, crafts, and First Nations merchandise and art.
Downtown Nanaimo has trendy clothing boutiques as well, such as Lucid, Guava Apparel, and Cayo Fashions (all on Commercial St). I loved the drawings of celebrities (including Kurt Cobain!) next to one of the shop’s windows!
You can also find boutiques and specialty shops within the Old City Quarter (Fitzwilliam St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3A9), only a few minutes of a walk from the downtown core.
The Historic Bastion
Address: 98 Front St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5H7, Canada
Next, stop at the two cannons outside of Nanaimo’s historic Bastion. It’s a three-floor blockhouse built from 1853 to 1854 by the Hudson Bay Company to defend its coal mining operations.
It’s the oldest building in Nanaimo. During the Summer 2024 season, the Bastion is open from June 29 to September 2 on weekends and stat holidays only. Group tours can be booked as well.
Historic photo of the Bastion (photo credit: Nanaimo Museum D1-25) and the two cannons.
The Harbourfront Walkway
Afterwards, go for a stroll on Harbourfront Walkway, a shared and fully accessible 4.5 km (2.7 miles) long path which snakes along downtown waterfront and Newcastle Channel. Breathing in the salty ocean air and watching the boats and seaplanes in the harbour marina made me feel calm and relaxed right away!
One of the best locations to take photos of the Salish Sea is the Swy-A-Lana Lagoon Walking/Fishing Pier, which is also popular for fishing crabs.
Maffeo Sutton Park
Address: 100 Comox Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3H7, Canada
If you keep walking, you’ll get to Maffeo Sutton Park that overlooks Nanaimo Harbour. It’s a great place for picnics and community events and has a swimming area, playground, walking trails, as well as the Nanaimo city sign!
Harbourfront Walkway continues almost all the way to the BC Ferries Departure Bay Terminal.
Swimming area by Maffeo Sutton Park and more cool street art!
Bowen Park
Address: 500 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, BC V9R 1Z7, Canada
If you want to keep exploring, Bowen Park, one of Nanaimo’s 200+ parks, should be on your list. It’s a 36-hectare natural area, and is only 10 minutes from downtown by local bus. Its many interpretive trails are all close to Millstone River inside the park.
Be sure to check out the scenic waterfall and duck ponds, and just enjoy the earthy scent. All of these will surely make you forget that you’re in a city!
Bowen Park has plenty of amenities as well, such as an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, disc golf course, picnic shelters, and amphitheatre. Dogs are welcome, too, but have to be on a leash at all times.
Other Things to See and Do In and Around Nanaimo
Unfortunately, it was impossible to see everything Nanaimo has to offer in just two days.
So here are a few more things that sound pretty awesome:
Gabriola Island. This Gulf island inside the Strait of Georgia has a year-round population of 4,200 people. It’s just a short ferry ride from the Nanaimo Harbour ferry terminal in downtown or accessible by float plane from Vancouver International Airport.
Gabriola Island is also called “The Isle of the Arts” because many artists live here, and it has more than 70 artist studios open to visitors.
Moreover, you can learn how to make cheese, check out a festival, taking it easy at one of the beaches, or have a bite at a restaurant. Gabriola Island is an outdoor person’s paradise, with more than 170 kilometers (105 miles) of hiking trails, kayak and bike rentals, swimming areas, salmon fishing spots, and more!
Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park. Also known as Saysutshun, this island, same as the rest of the Nanaimo region, is traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nations. They lived on Saysutshun throughout the late winter and early spring every year to catch as many herring as possible.
After someone of the community died, people close to them came here to spiritually cleanse their body and soul from the suffering, and letting go of their tears.
Nowadays, attractions include interpretive tours of the island, visiting Snuneymuxw village sites, hiking on trails, eating at Q’uluc’tun Bistro, and admiring the view of the Coastal Mountains.
Newcastle Island is only accessible by passenger ferry from Maffeo Sutton Park from May to mid-October (about 10 minutes, 7 days a week). Afterwards, the ferry will run on a low season schedule, and you can also get there by private boat, stand-up paddleboard, or kayak.
Whale Watching with Vancouver Island Whale Watch. Nanaimo’s only whale watching company is along the downtown seawall (#5, 90 Front St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5H7). They offer three to four-hour whale watching tours inside the Salish Sea.
It’s either on an open vessel or a semi-covered boat, and private tours. There’s a 90% chance to see wildlife on their tours, like Transient (Bigg’s) orca, humpback whales, sea lions, harbour seals, porpoises, and eagles.
Their goal is “to offer BC’s most sustainable whale watching”, as per their website, so their tours don’t focus on the endangered Southern Resident orca whales. C$ 2.00 from every ticket purchase is donated to whale conservation initiatives in BC and they work with the Keta Coastal Conservation organization.
If you’re looking for more info about Nanaimo, Tourism Nanaimo (2450 Northfield Road, Nanaimo, BC V9S 0B2) is the best place to stop. The Visitor Centre is open year-round.
Where to Eat & Drink in Nanaimo
Like other bigger cities in Canada, Nanaimo offers a large selection of cuisines from around the world.
Here are a few restaurants I recommend you check out in Nanaimo:
New York Style Pizza & Pasta (Downtown) (299 Wallace St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B4). It’s one of Nanaimo’s oldest restaurants. In 2009, their pizza was proclaimed the best in the city! Their menu features many pizza and pasta dishes, but also salads, like the Manhattan Salad.
I grab their Mushroom Fettuccine for takeout. The sauce is super creamy and the meal size is perfect! Their pizza can be veganized by ordering dairy-free cheese for a small surcharge, and gluten-free pizza crusts are available as well.
If you feel like lunch (or satisfying your sweet tooth), take the bus to Columbia Bakery (2151 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, BC V9S 1H8). They offer many European pastries (e.g. apple strudels and “Bienenstichkuchen” (bee sting cake)), but also savory sandwiches, breads, soups, and pretzels.
I’m having their German cheesecake while sitting in the cute café area. The rich filling is to die for, very similar to my German grandmother’s cheesecake! Moreover, you can find a small selection of imported groceries, like pancake mix, candy, and prepared cooking sauces.
I also had dinner at the Coach & Horses British Pub, which unfortunately, closed its doors for good in January 2022. 🙁
Some of the walls were decorated with beer coasters from around the world and the menu included burgers, savory pies, wings, fish & chips, and many vegan options. They also offered imported and local beers.
The Nanaimo Bar Trail.While visiting Nanaimo, you shouldn’t miss the famous Nanaimo Bar, the city’s major invention! The Visitor Centre staff is happy to give you the Nanaimo Bar Trail Brochure, to learn where you can enjoy this tasty dessert.
There are 39 places all over and close to Nanaimo selling the classic Nanaimo Bar and many variations, such as raw, vegan, gluten-free, deep-fried, fudge, ice-cream, and even spring rolls!
I had my Nanaimo Bar fix at Waffle Magic (101-427 Fitzwilliam St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3A9), which has a Nanaimo Bar waffle. It’s a perfect combination of hot and cold ingredients! They also have many other kinds of sweet and a few savory waffles, either Brussels (light and crispy) or Liege style (soft and sweet).
Brussels style waffles can be made gluten-free for a small surcharge.
Where to Stay in Nanaimo
I stayed at the HI Nanaimo – Painted Turtle Guesthouse (121 Bastion St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3A2), a cozy, clean and affordable hostel in a heritage building in downtown. It’s only a few steps to most tourist attractions and is open year-round.
I booked a private queen bedroom this time, which was quite bright and spacious. Besides, although right next to the road, it was very quiet at night. There are also 4-bed dorms (mixed, male, and female) and family rooms, and shared bathrooms are found on each floor.
The hostel has a kitchen, small library, lounge area, laundry facilities, and WI-FI, towels, and linens are included. Of course, the friendly staff is also happy to share insider tips on what to see and do in Nanaimo and its surrounding areas.
How to Get To and Around Nanaimo
Nanaimo has a good local bus system (BC Transit) and buses go pretty much everywhere. But the city is quite spread-out, so it can take some time until you arrive at your destination. Fares start at C$ 2.50 for a one-way ticket.
It’s easy to get to Nanaimo Airport from Kelowna, Vancouver, Fort St. John, and Calgary. Several seaplane airlines (e.g. Harbour Air) and HeliJet Helicopters fly from Vancouver Harbour and Richmond (YVR Airport South) to Nanaimo as well.
Moreover, Nanaimo has two ferry terminals (Departure Bay and Duke Point), and ferries go to Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen) many times a day. Ferry service is provided by BC Ferries. Of course, Nanaimo is easily accessible by car, too, via Highways 1, 19, and 19A.
Since August 2023, there’s a new ferry service from/to Nanaimo’s Port Authority (100 Port Way, Nanaimo BCV9R 0C7) to the Harbour Flight Centre in Downtown Vancouver called Hullo.
Buses go to/from Nanaimo every day, such as the Vancouver Island Connector, Tofino Bus, and IslandLink Bus, from many locations (including Victoria, Tofino, and Campbell River). Ticket prices are reasonable and the buses are safe and clean.
In general, Nanaimo is very walkable. It’s also one of Vancouver Island’s most popular mountain biking locations, so there are more than 50 km (31 miles) of trails for all skill levels to ride on and enjoy the scenery! There are also many bike shops in Nanaimo.
Departure Bay next to the BC Ferries Terminal.
While visiting Nanaimo is most popular in the summer, its temperate climate also invites travelers to check it out during the rest of the year, when it’s less busy. With all the great things to see and do and delicious restaurants and cafés, I think it never gets boring here!
So hopefully this post will inspire you to visit Nanaimo someday!
Feel free to check out my posts about other cool places in BC as well:
When I first arrived in Canada in May 2012, I spent about a month in Toronto. I’d never been there, so unlike many other people, who started their Canadian adventure in Vancouver, I decided to check out Toronto.
Toronto is in the eastern province of Ontario and is Canada’s largest city by population. This city is known for business, technology, architecture, arts, fashion, culture, and tourism.
Toronto Pearson International Airport is the busiest and largest airport in Canada. Here’s the Best Toronto Travel Guide, in which I’ll tell you about its many attractions, such as CN Tower, Kensington Market, Sugar Beach Park, Lake Ontario and the famous NXNE Festival in June every year.
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
The Best Things To Do in Toronto
CN Tower
Address: 301 Front Street W, Toronto ON M5V 2T6, Canada
As I’m walking around downtown Toronto on my first evening in 2012, a tower higher than any other building amazes me. It’s CN Tower, a communications and observation tower built out of concrete, that is 553.30 meters (1,815.3 ft) high.
CN Tower is Toronto’s major landmark, first opened in 1976, and more than 1.5 million visitors stop here each year. Until 2009, it was the world’s highest tower!
So I got in line for one of the six glass elevators, that took me up to the Main ObservationLevel in only 58 seconds! This area is at 346 meters (1,136 ft), and what a great way to see Toronto and beyond from a bird’s eye perspective! There’s also a glass floor to stand on and look down.
You can even upgrade to access the Sky Pod Level at 447 meters (1,465 ft), where you can see up to 160 km (99 miles), all the way to Niagara Falls and New York state! Tickets for both levels can be bought online or at the bottom of the tower.
Another cool thing about CN Tower is that it’s often lit in various colours at night, especially during special occasions, like a hockey or baseball game!
Last but not least, 360 Restaurant, a fine dining place featuring local, fresh, and sustainable meals from across the country is inside this tower. At 351 meters (1,151 ft), it has the world’s highest wine cellar!
CN Tower is open daily from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm.
Edge Walk at CN Tower
When I visited Toronto again in July 2023, I felt really adventurous, so the Edge Walk at CN Tower was a must! This experience includes walking in a circle two stories above the Main Observation deck (at 356 m/1,168 ft) in 30 minutes!
First, I had to sign a waiver at the base camp on the ground level, then the helpful staff put me in a special red suit. Finally, our group took the elevator all the way up!
Your body is attached to “an overhead safety rail via a trolley and harness system”, according to CN Tower’s website. Of course, a guide is with you at all times, and if you dare, lean forward, and just enjoy the best view of Toronto! Alex, our guide, was super nice and very understanding of people being a bit scared (me, lol)! :p
Photo credit: CN Tower.
The Edge Walk experience occurs seasonally (in almost any kind of weather). It includes two photo prints, video, a certificate of achievement, and a visit to the two observation levels. You can also buy digital photo copies for an additional charge.
Kensington Market
Address: Kensington Avenue, Toronto ON M5T 2K2, Canada
Next, spend a few hours at Kensington Market, a multicultural and artsy district of Toronto. It has been a World Heritage Site of Canada since 2006. It’s in downtown as well and has many narrow streets, so it’s easier to walk than drive in this area.
Every last Sunday of the month (except during the winter months), only pedestrians can enter Kensington Market. You can enjoy live music and street theatre shows, dancing, and games, as well as the Winter Solstice Festival in December.
The biggest eye-catcher is the colourful Garden Car on Augusta Avenue & Oxford Street, which is used as a community garden from May to November every year. The original one put up in 2007 retired in 2012.
Soon after, the second Garden Car took over, and its look was updated again since then as well. It was launched by “Streets for the People”, a (now inactive) local anti-car advocacy group.
The Garden Car in 2012 (left) and in 2023 (right).
Kensington Market is also famous for its shopping (e.g. meats, fish, vegetable, cheese shops and bakeries), cafés and restaurants (with food from all over the world), clubs, new and vintage clothing stores, and lots of street food.
Kensington Market has been a popular spot for immigrants to live since the early 20th century, so it’s no surprise that its attractions are so diverse today! Lastly, don’t miss the many unique street artworks in this neighbourhood!
Explore Toronto Islands
Address: 40 Avenue of the Islands, Toronto ON M5J, Canada
Another place worth visiting is Toronto Islands, a group of 15 small islands inside Lake Ontario. It can be reached by ferry from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in downtown Toronto or by water taxi in just 13 minutes!
Locals and visitors come here for a picnic or BBQ at Toronto Island Park, rent a canoe, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, or bicycle. There are also tennis courts, Japanese cherry trees (Sakura), walking trails, playgrounds, water play areas, Centreville Amusement Park and petting zoo, and disc golfing.
This area is also known for its many beautiful beaches, including Hanlan’s Point Beach, where clothing is “not necessary”, one of only two of that kind in Canada! Many of these attractions, as well as the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, completed in 1908, are on Centre Island. It’s the largest and most popular of Toronto Islands.
But don’t worry, all islands are connected by bridges and pathways, so it’s easy to get to the other islands. The entire island area is about 5 km (3.1 miles) long.
I especially like the view of Toronto Skyline, which always makes a nice picture, whether it’s rain or shine! Toronto Islands is also home to various wild animals, like turtles, herons, swans, Canada geese, and 35 species of fish, and it’s pretty much a car-free area (except for service vehicles).
The ferry goes to Centre Island, Hanlan’s Island, and Ward Island several times a day, and roundtrip tickets can be bought online or right by the ferry dock in downtown Toronto.
Dogs on a leash are welcome on Toronto Islands and there are some cafés and restaurants as well. So Toronto Islands is an awesome spot for anyone looking to relax or explore and escape from the bustling city life for a bit!
NXNE Music & Gaming Festival
If you’re in Toronto in June, visiting the NXNE Music & Gaming Festival, which lasts for 10 days, is a must! It has been a part of Toronto’s entertainment scene since 1995. Its main location is Yonge-Dundas Square and a part of Yonge Street, but also many other venues in downtown.
Apart from live music, visitors can watch comedy shows, participate in eSports gaming tournaments, and browse a flea market. According to NXNE’s website, more than 200,000 people visit this festival every year.
NXNE Festival has been proud to host many local but also some famous music acts over time, like Billy Talent, Iggy and the Stooges, The Lumineers, The Tragically Hip, and Ludacris. The open air shows at Yonge-Dundas Square are always free, but you’ll have to pay for a ticket to go to concerts at other venues.
I visited the NXNE Festival in 2012, and found out by accident about the headliners playing at Yonge-Dundas Square: Bad Religion! I arrived just after the show started, so I was at the back of the crowd, but luckily, a screen was nearby, so I felt “closer” to the band, lol!
Bad Religion’s lead singer Greg Graffin and bassist Jay Bentley performing at NXNE Music & Gaming Festival in 2012.
Canada’s Walk of Fame
If you’re walking on King Street West and Simcoe Street in downtown Toronto, be sure to look down sometimes, so you don’t miss Canada’s Walk of Fame! This collection of stars looking similar to maple leaves was founded in 1998 and honours famous Canadians from various fields.
Examples are Bryan Adams, Terry Fox, The Tragically Hip, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Neil Young, Wayne Gretzky, and Alexander Graham Bell. Since the first induction in 1998, more than 190 Canadians have been added.
A map of the stars of Canada’s Walk of Fame (Photo credit: Canada’s Walk of Fame).
Lake Ontario
Next, sit by Lake Ontario for a little bit. It’s a nice spot to relax, soak up the sun, and watch the many boats and ships go by. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes in North America by surface and is accessible through parts of Southern Ontario and a part of New York state.
The word “Ontario” comes from the Huron word Ontarí’io, which means “great lake” and the deepest spot of Lake Ontario is at 244 m (802 ft). Since 1954, nearly 50 people have completed a swim across Lake Ontario.
Sugar Beach Park
Toronto also has beaches, such as Sugar Beach Park. This man-made urban sandy beach park next to Toronto’s East Bay waterfront was opened in 2010. It is right across from the Redpath Sugar Refinery.
While visitors aren’t allowed to wade or swim in Lake Ontario, there are lots of other things to do, like chilling in one of the lounging chairs, reading, playing in the sand, and joining social activities.
Sugar Beach Park also has sunshades, two giant granite rocks to sit on, an amphitheatre, and candy trim, so it’s a beautiful place to hang out without having to leave the city! Sugar Beach Park is also a popular spot for concerts and other events.
The Bata Shoe Museum
Address: 327 Bloor Street W, Toronto ON M5S 1W7, Canada
Finally, stop by the Bata Shoe Museum, a museum about footwear and its history. It has four galleries, and “regularly displays over a thousand shoes and related artifacts, chosen from a collection of over 13,000 objects”, as per theirAbout page.
Over 4,500 years of history are featured in “All about Shoes”, their permanent collection and the three other gallery displays change on a regular basis.
In 1979, Sonja Bata started the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation and in 1995, the Bata Shoe Museum opened its doors. Unfortunately, I only saw this cool-sounding place from the outside, but some people I know visited it and had an awesome time!
The Bata Shoe Museum is open Mondays to Saturdays from 10 am-5 pm, and Sundays from 12-5 pm, and general admission is C$ 14 per person. On Sundays, admission is free!
Outside poster of the Bata Shoe Museum.
Where To Stay in Toronto
Clarence Park Hostel
Address: 7 Clarence Square, Toronto ON M5V 1H1, Canada
During my recent visit to Toronto in July 2023, I stayed at the Clarence Park Hostel. It’s only a short walk from cool attractions, like CN Tower, King Street West, and Kensington Market.
I slept in a female dorm and the bed was very comfortable (especially if you’re in a wider lower bunk bed), and every dorm has a private bathroom. There’s a simple free breakfast consisting of toast and cereal every morning and feel free to hang out in the common areas as well.
One of the common areas inside the Clarence Park Hostel.
My Couchsurfing Experience
Back in 2012, I did Couchsurfing for about half of the time in Toronto. It’s a worldwide online community where you can sign up to stay at local people’s homes at no charge.
I really liked meeting and getting to know my Couchsurfing hosts, seeing some parts of Toronto I hadn’t been to before, getting insider tips on what to do, and saving lots of cash!
Because let’s be honest, although it’s fun to stay in hostels and hotels, the cost for accommodation can add up very quickly! I even heard that some of these stayovers can turn into friendships or even relationships!
I usually stayed with a host for two to four days and everyone was very kind and helpful. For example, one host introduced me to Dollarama and another one let me use their bike. As a thank you, I helped with cooking, bought them some booze, and told them about my travel stories.
It’s important though to stay with hosts who are verified by the Couchsurfing community, who have received good reviews from previous guests. Also, be sure to tell your friends or acquaintances where you’re staying, especially if you’re a solo traveler.
Back in 2012, it was free to use the Couchsurfing website, but since May 2020, members in most developed countries, including Canada, have to pay a monthly fee of US$ 2.39 or US$ 14.29 for a whole year.
Where to Eat & Drink in Toronto
Toronto is a great place to visit if you’re vegan or vegetarian, as it has 100+ veggie restaurants!
So during my visit in July 2023, I ate at these places:
My favourite was Tenon Vegan Sushi(487 Bloor Street W, Toronto ON M5S 1Y2), which offers authentic Japanese sushi dishes and Thai appetizers. Their menu features an awesome selection of more than 30 sushi rolls and many fake meat, fish or seafood dishes.
I went for the Soy beef on a Skewer appetizer, Kay Satay (Soy chicken on a stick with Thai peanut sauce), King Mushroom Special Roll, and Salmon Sashimi with cucumber. Everything was super tasty, so part of me just wanted to keep eating, lol!
Another great restaurant I had to try was German Doner Kebab(246 Queen Street W, Toronto ON M5V 1Z7)! In case you don’t know, doner kebabs are a very popular street food in Germany. Although they serve meat, their Veggie Kebab with fries was delicious and very filling! :p
Of course, Toronto also has lots of dessert places to choose from!
If you’re vegan or gluten-free, a great place to check out is Bunner’s Bakeshop(244 Augusta Avenue, Toronto ON M5T 2L7) in the heart of Kensington Market. Their menu includes any pastry you can think of, from cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cinnamon buns, brownies, cookies, ice cream, to so much more!
I chose their Vanilla ice cream cone, and it was so nice and creamy!
Moreover, I went to Second Cup quite a lot back in 2012 and during my recent Toronto trip, and my favourite is their Frozen Hot Chocolate! They have locations all over the city.
How to Get Around in Toronto with Public Transit
It’s easy to get around in Toronto and its suburbs by public transit, which consists of subways, streetcars, and buses. The subway has two lines, the Yellow Line from Yonge Street to Union Station (north to south) and the Green Line, which runs from Etobicoke to Scarborough from east to west.
The Union Pearson Express takes you from Union Station in downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport (about 25 minutes) and vice-versa, at a one-way cost of C$ 12.35. They run every 15 minutes, seven days a week.
Toronto also has a second airport, the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Toronto Islands. It offers flights from/to more than 20 locations in Canada and the United States, including Montreal, Boston, Chicago, Halifax, New York, and Ottawa. Besides, it’s only a short walk to downtown Toronto!
Buses and streetcars go pretty much everywhere in and close to Toronto. GO Transit buses and trains and VIA Rail have their hub at Union Station in downtown, which take passengers to the Greater Golden Horseshoe region and other places in Ontario and beyond.
If you’re into biking, Bike Share Toronto has 3,000 bikes available at almost 300 stations throughout the city. But it’s fun to walk all over Toronto’s downtown area and beyond as well!
Toronto’s Union Station Bus Terminal from the outside.
My Opinion on Toronto
Spending time in Toronto was an awesome start to my Canadian adventures in 2012. First of all, the locals I met were very nice and helpful.
For example, I walked around with a tourist map (my antique phone didn’t have Google Maps) one day, and was surprised when total strangers asked me if they could help! This had never happened before, although I heard they are getting paid for this, and even if that was true, I much appreciated it!
I also liked Toronto’s multicultural and open-minded society, which in particular became evident in the Couchsurfing hosts I stayed with, who were from various countries and backgrounds. So it was great to learn about their culture and customs a little bit.
Another thing I like is that Toronto has some nice parks and other green spaces as well!
But it was really tough to find a job in May and June, which probably had to do with me not having much work experience (and none from Canada). Also, some people told me that many temporary positions were already filled earlier in the year with students. Of course, this is not Toronto’s fault!
Unfortunately, a few things were different in downtown Toronto during my visit in 2023. I noticed that it’s quite dirty (in 2012, I found it pretty clean) and there are way more homeless people as well. While they didn’t bother me, it makes me sad that this has gotten worse here since the pandemic.
But of course, these things won’t stop me from visiting Toronto again in the future!
If you’re spending some time in Ontario and like reptiles, check out this post as well:
It’s July 2019, and unfortunately, my trip through Western Canada is slowly coming to an end. But there’s one spot left on my list: The Regal Cat Café in Calgary, Alberta.
I first learnt about this place after their big opening in June 2017, but didn’t have a chance to visit until now.
So, as a cat lover, I’m super excited to check it out!
Introduction to the Regal Cat Café
The Regal Cat Café is the first and only cat café in Calgary. There are three rooms open to the public: The café area, Kitty Kingdom room, and a small preparation room between the two. Usually, up to 12 adoptable cats share the second room, waiting for visitors to relax, cuddle or play with, and maybe even become their new roommate!
The Regal Cat Café is owned by the MEOW Foundation, a local cat rescue organization, where all kitties come from. They’ve worked with them since Day One.
Before a cat can move to the Regal Cat Café, he/she has to be spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, up to date with vaccines, and in good health. Also, MEOW Foundation’s staff ensures that he/she enjoys socializing with other cats and humans, to make things as easy as possible, and the majority of cats is at least five months old.
In July 2023, the Regal Cat Café achieved a major milestone since its opening in 2017: More than 1,000 cats have found a loving home!
When I enter the Regal Cat Café, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and yummy pastries from the café area wafts up my nose right away. But first, I have to meet the kitties! Some of them are already checking me out through the big glass wall, that separates this room from their Kitty Kingdom.
After reading through the Kitty Visit Rules, washing my hands, and admiring the kitty drawings on the wall (all inside the preparation room), I’m ready to go!
The Kitty Kingdom
Wow, stepping inside the Kitty Kingdom feels like a whole other world! Immediately, a few friendly cats are walking towards me to say hello! Others are napping in one of the chairs or inside the coffee tables that are all over the room, playing with a visitor, or hiding somewhere. Many cats are less active in the afternoon, so it’s understandable that not all of them feel like hanging out with humans right now!
Today, nine kitties are sharing the Kitty Kingdom. The majority has cool fishy names, like Guppy, Tuna, Mahi Mahi, and Avery Shark! Most of them have black and white fur, but there are a couple of orange tabbies, and one grey and white tabby cat. Although it’s summer, there are only five other visitors in the room, and a kind staff member is checking on everything briefly as well.
After a while, the cats decide to go to someone else or have a bite (or a nap!). So I have a chance to look at the rest of the room’s features. There’s a large shelf with lots of napping and climbing spots for the kitties, but also a sitting area at the bottom with a few funny books.
Next, I read through each cat’s profile on the wall, which includes their name, gender, age, markings, the adoption date, and a brief description of their personality and background story. The youngest member of the gang is eight months old, and two of these lovely kitties are moving into their new forever home in a few weeks.
Suddenly, a few more cats are making their way towards me. The one who likes attention the most makes me laugh by crawling into a little box, then looking out at me! There’s also a large window to the street, for the kitties to watch the world go by.
Unfortunately, my half hour at the Kitty Kingdom is almost over, so I check out the kitty-themed games, that are sitting on one of the coffee tables. The ones most appealing to me are “Kitties in a blender” and “Cat Lady”, lol!
The Café & Gift Shop area
After all this kitty fun, I’m taking a break inside the café area. The Regal Cat Café is proud to offer a large selection of hot and cold drinks, like locally roasted coffee and tea specialties, juices, pop, and water.
Try one of their unique, mostly locally-baked treats as well, such as kitty-themed macarons, tarts, cookies, cupcakes, and muffins! Vegan and allergy-friendly (gluten, egg, dairy and nut-free) items are available, too. I’m having a Chai Tea Latte and a brownie that are to die for!
Then I walk to the gift shop next to the café area. Here, cat lovers can find pretty much everything their heart desires: T-shirts and pillows, greeting cards, key chains, mugs, tote bags, buttons, and enamel pins, but also loose tea, coffee beans, and kitty paintings. Most of these goodies are handmade or painted by local artists.
Top pictures: Small selection of drinks and pastries (all photo credit of the Regal Cat Café), and gift shop area.
Fun Events and Classes at the Regal Cat Café
The Regal Cat Café often hosts cool events and classes, such as Kitty Paint Parties with all supplies, instructions, and a kitty visit included. Their Cats & Yoga nights, Cat Photography class (for kids from 10-14 years), Paper Art Parties, and 3D Cat Portrait making class sound like lots of fun, too!
Besides, customers can book private events, like birthday parties or team events, visits in the kitty lounge, or a private version of some of the events above. You can find more details on these fun events here.
Kitty Adoption Procedure
Every second Wednesday evening of the month (except for holidays), the Regal Cat Café hosts their Adoption Night. Afterwards, a bunch of new adorable kitties arrive at the café.
If you’d like to adopt one or more, you should submit an application as soon as possible, as it’s first come, first serve. More information about the adoption process and a description of every cat currently living at the café can be found here.
Admission Prices and Hours
The Regal Cat Café has only limited walk-in spots available each day, so it’s highly recommended to reserve a spot through their website. For 30 minutes of kitty time, the cost is C$ 10.00 per person.
Children 10 and under have to be accompanied by an adult. Tweens and teens from 11 to 17 years can enter by themselves, but a parent or guardian has to sign a waiver before their visit.
Food and drinks from the café can be taken into the Kitty Kingdom, as long as there’s a lid on it, and they are not left unattended. Up to 10 visitors can be in the kitty lounge at the same time, and the Kitty Visit Rules need to be followed at all times.
Their FAQ pageis very helpful, especially if it’s your first visit to the Regal Cat Café. The entire place is also fully wheelchair accessible.
Here are the Regal Cat Café’s hours:
Monday-Sunday: 8 am to 8 pm
Please note that the Kitty Lounge doesn’t open until 10:30 am.
Directions to the Regal Cat Café
From downtown Calgary, take the red C-Train line towards Crowfoot, and exit at Sunnyside station. From there, it’s just a few minutes of a walk to the Regal Cat Café.
It’s also a short bike ride (ca. 15 minutes) or walk (about 30 minutes) from downtown Calgary. If you’re driving, paid parking is available in the Kensington building parking garage, as well as street and lot parking.
I have no doubt that the kitties at the Regal Cat Café are enjoying their temporary home at the Regal Cat Café very much! There are lots of hiding and napping spots, great food, fun toys to play with, and the room is very clean. Plus, they get to cuddle with their cat buddies and people every day!
But if a cat doesn’t feel like having company, he/she is welcome to hide and come out later. It’s obvious that the cats’ well being is the staff’s highest priority. Even more, it seems that the cats are encouraged to feel like royalty, which is awesome, as I’m sure some of them had horrible past experiences.
Besides, I love the warm and calming colours used for decorating the place. I think the mix of colours contributes to a relaxing and cozy atmosphere for both humans and cats, and the accessories in the kitty lounge are super cute! Also, I like that they stand for the “Adopt, don’t shop” motto.
While cats are awesome, it’s important to ensure the customers’ health and safety as well. That’s why the kitties are never allowed inside the café area. Many people can’t have cats because of allergies, landlord restrictions, other pets, or a lack of time, so this café is perfect for getting your kitty fix!
It’s also a great place for visitors to Calgary, who want to take a break from a long day of exploring. Last but not least, hanging out with cats is supposed to be great for your mental health, so it’s a fulfilling and calming change to everyday life!
Here’s a video about this cool place, credit of the Regal Cat Café:
So if “Cats, Cuddles, and Coffee” sound PURRfect to you, stop by the Regal Cat Café during your next visit to Calgary! 😀
Explore Regal Cat Cafe!
If you’re visiting Alberta and love skiing or snowboarding, check out this post as well:
Disclosure: I only recommend products that I’ve used in the past, and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of the links throughout the page to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks.
It’s June 2014, and we have a few days off, so we go on a short road trip, with no destination in mind. From Calgary, we head west on Highway #1 (Trans Canada Highway), that leads us through a very small part of the Rocky Mountains, then into British Columbia.
After a while, we’re thankful to see Golden appearing on the horizon. After driving around this town for a bit, we decide to spend the night.
Golden is inside the Columbia Valley in southeastern BC. It’s surrounded by the Rocky and Purcell Mountains, and is close to six national parks (Yoho National Park, Kootenay National Park, Banff National Park, Glacier National Park, Jasper National Park, and Mount Revelstoke National Park).
Besides, two rivers are located in Golden, the Kicking Horse River and Columbia River. Many tourists travel on the Trans Canada Highway every year, so Golden is a popular stop. That’s why the local economy is highly dependent on tourism.
We really want to go camping this summer, so we’re staying at the Golden Municipal Campground & RV Park(1411 9th Street S, Golden, BC V0A 1H0). It has 70 campsites (both serviced and unserviced tent sites, and rates start at C$ 35 per night. We’re lucky to find a spot right next to the Kicking Horse River, and are amazed by its turquoise colour.
This campground is perfect for us, as it’s clean and well maintained, and offers a bunch of amenities, like a convenience store, laundromat, free WiFi, showers, and a firepit at each site (fire wood can be bought at C$ 12 per bundle).
Besides, it’s only minutes away from downtown Golden, an outdoor swimming pool, playground, as well as the Golden Rotary Trails, which start at the back of the campground, and are popular with hikers and cyclists.
The first thing I do after arrival is going for a walk on the pretty path by the river, to recharge from the drive!
Several trains go by on the opposite side of the river quite often, so that’s fun to watch, too. Tonight we cook our own dinner, instead of eating at a restaurant, but plan to do that next time.
If you’re sensitive to train noise at night, you might want to book a campsite further away from the river and/or bring earplugs.
The pathway next to the mighty Kicking Horse River and our tent site.
The next day we don’t do much, except for driving around Golden a bit more, then head back home. Still, this town left a great first impression on us, so we can’t wait to see more of it in the future!
In October 2016, we travel around Alberta and BC again, and my companions want to see Golden. How exciting! Of course, the weather is a lot chillier now, so this time, we stay at Le Beausoleil Bed and Breakfast (1403 Deer Ridge Road, Golden BC V0A 1H1) for a few nights. It’s within a peaceful residential area, but just a short drive from the city centre and other attractions.
Heather and Bob Munro, the kind owners and our hosts, meet us at check-in, and the warm and friendly atmosphere makes us feel right at home. We also love that natural wood and stones were used to build this place, as it makes it even cozier than it already is.
Guests can choose between four large bedrooms, and there are private bathrooms, a guest lounge with TV and library, free WiFi, a ski and sport locker for storing equipment, an outdoor hot tub, and a beautiful garden area with a patio, deck, and walking path.
Le Beausoleil B&B from the outside, Purcell Room, and guest lounge. Photo 2 and 3 are courtesy of Le Beausoleil B&B.
A selection of tasty homemade breakfast food (bread, bagels, muffins, jam, waffles, etc.) is waiting for us each morning inside the two guest service areas. No single use dishes and cutlery are used, so that’s another bonus!
Since this residence is on a hill, it offers a great view of the Purcell Mountains and the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, and sometimes, local wildlife (e.g. eagles, bears, mountain sheep, deer, and coyotes) likes to hang out nearby, depending on the season.
Garden area, mountain sheep enjoying the nice weather, and a view of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in winter, from the back of the facility. Photos 2 and 3 are courtesy of Le Beausoleil B&B.
Unfortunately, as of June 2023, the lovely Le Beausoleil B&B is closed.
It’s a beautiful fall day, so we’re heading out to explore some of Golden’s downtown area right after. I’m excited to introduce my companions to the Kicking Horse River, which hasn’t changed at all since our last visit, and they love it just as much!
So we go on a long walk on the path next to the river and back, and walk across the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge(8th Avenue N, Golden BC). It’s 46 meters (150 ft) long, and was completed in 2001. As per Tourism Golden, it is “the longest freestanding timber frame bridge in Canada”.
The Kicking Horse River and Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge.
We keep strolling around downtown Golden for a bit, when suddenly, a bright yellow and red coloured building grabs our attention: The Bacchus Bookstore & Café (409 9 Avenue N, Golden, BC V0A 1H0).
This quirky independent business has been at its current location for about 20 years, and is co-owned by Katie Mitzel and Petra Musick, who have many years of experience in professional cooking and catering.
Bacchus Bookstore & Café from the outside, partial sitting and books area, and some gift items. All are photo courtesy of Bacchus Bookstore & Café.
The building has two floors, where new and used books of numerous fiction and non-fiction genres, but also journals, maps, and cards can be found!
They also have many handmade gift items, like jewelry, bags, t-shirts, mugs, paintings by local artists on the walls, and even chocolate from Mexico for sale! But now it’s “refueling time”, so we walk up the creaky stairs, where their café area is located.
Bacchus Bookstore & Café offers a variety of homemade sweet and savory foods for breakfast and lunch (e.g. muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies, sandwiches, soups, and Buddha bowls), and is eager to use as many local ingredients as possible.
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available, too. For drinks, you can choose from coffee (by The Banff Roasting Company) and tea specialties (by The Banff Tea Company), smoothies, and other cold drinks.
My companions are in the mood for a café latte, and I’m having a berry smoothie, and all are super tasty! We’re happy to relax and enjoy our drinks while sitting at one of the tables, which gives this place a very cozy and “no rush” vibe.
“Coarse Salt and Caramel Cinnamon Rolls” and “Mama’s Turkey Soup and Garlic Bread”, both photo courtesy of Bacchus Bookstore & Café.
It’s too bad that it’s cold outside, so we cannot spend time in their outside sitting area, but it’s only open during summer months anyway.
Bacchus Bookstore & Café is open Monday-Saturday from 9-5 pm and 10-4 pm on Sundays.
Later that day, we have burgers for dinner at a restaurant in downtown Golden. We much appreciate the tasty food and friendly service, but unfortunately don’t remember the restaurant’s name. 🙁
In general, Golden offers a variety of cuisines for restaurants, such as North American, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian, as well as pubs and bars, cafés, and fast food places (e.g. Mc Donald’s, A&W, and Subway).
Many among these have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, and welcome families with children. More details can be found on TripAdvisor or Tourism Golden’s website.
Although we only saw a very small part of Golden, we had a blast, and can’t wait to come back! This gorgeous little mountain town is a wonderland for adventure seekers and outdoor enthusiasts, no matter what time of the year you visit.
So here are a few ideas for spring, summer, and fall, which sound like lots of fun:
Golden offers numerous water and land activities to locals and tourists. For example, there’s kayaking and canoeing on the Kicking Horse River and Columbia River, and on lakes in the nearby backcountry, like Emerald Lake inside Yoho National Park. These bodies of water, same as Blaeberry River, Kinbasket Lake, and Cedar Lake, are great for stand up paddle boarding as well.
Nearby national parks (Yoho, Glacier, and Kootenay National Park) look like a Hiker’s paradise for all abilities. The Kicking Horse Bike Park (accessible by gondola from late June to early October) and Mount 7 are mountain biking hotspots, especially if you’re into downhill riding!
Golden is famous for (whitewater) rafting as well, on the Kicking Horse River, Columbia River, and Blaeberry River. Yoho National Park and the Northwest Ridge of Mt. Sir McDonald, 80 west of Golden, “one of the three classic 50 climbs in North America”, according to Tourism Golden, are great spots for climbing and mountaineering.
Of course, there are a lot more things to do, like sightseeing, fishing, waterfall viewing, horseback riding, golfing, skydiving, and last but not least, lots of shopping opportunities (like the Golden Farmers’ Market from late May to early October)!
If you’re into indoor climbing and bouldering, check out the Dogtooth Climbing Gym and Gear Store, which is open all year, and all ages and abilities are welcome. Depending on the activity, tour packages, rentals or lessons can also be booked with local operators all year.
The Golden Visitor Centre (1000 Trans Canada Highway, Golden, BC V0A 1H1) is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm until September.
The staff is happy to give you Golden travel guides and maps, and hiking and biking trail maps, if you wish. The visitor center has free WIFI, picnic tables, a dog run, sani dump stations, charging stations for electric cars, and you can buy Parks Canada passes and Kicking Horse Resort passes.
Here’s a video about fun summer activities in and around Golden:
Golden BC - Seek And You Will Find
If you’re driving, Golden is about 3 hours west of Calgary, and 7.5 hours east of Vancouver. The Rider Expressbusoffers transportation from/to Vancouver (11 hours) and and Calgary (4 hours) as well.
For visiting Yoho and other nearby national parks, it’s recommended to buy a Discovery Pass, which allows unlimited entry to all national parks of Canada for one year. Please see Parks Canada’s website for more information.
So whether you’re into spending time outdoors and being adventurous, or looking for a relaxing getaway, I suggest visiting his cute little mountain town in the future!
Please feel free to check out my other posts about destinations in BC as well: