Where to stay in Canada: the best places and hotels

Toronto is Canada's largest and most diverse city, a skyline of glass towers on the shore of Lake Ontario, with the CN Tower poking above it all. The fun is in its neighbourhoods: the theatres and restaurants of King Street, the designer shops of Yorkville, the food halls of St Lawrence Market, and ferries out to the car-free Toronto Islands.

Stay downtown so you can walk to the sights. The Fairmont Royal York, a grand railway hotel from 1929, is right by Union Station; the Shangri-La soars 66 floors above the Financial and Entertainment District; and the newly redesigned Four Seasons is the place to be in leafy, upmarket Yorkville.

No photograph prepares you for the noise. The great curve of the Horseshoe Falls sends a staggering volume of water over the edge, throwing up clouds of mist you can see from miles away, and boats nose right into the spray. Around them, the Canadian town is unashamedly touristy, with Clifton Hill's attractions, a casino and nightly illuminations, while the wineries and pretty streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake are a short drive north.

Book a falls-view room if you can: watching the falls light up from your window is a big part of the experience. The Hilton Fallsview has 53 floors overlooking the Horseshoe and American falls, the Brock sits directly across from the falls, and the two Marriotts in the Fallsview district have spas and indoor pools. Toronto is about 90 minutes away.

Montreal is the most European city in North America, and the most fun. Old Montreal is a grid of cobbled streets and grey-stone warehouses around the Notre-Dame Basilica and the Old Port, downtown is a lively mix of Sainte-Catherine Street shops and an underground city for winter, and Mount Royal rises in the middle of it all. Add a calendar packed with summer festivals and some of the continent's best restaurants, and you'll wish you'd stayed longer.

Downtown's grand hotels are the pick. The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth is steps from Sainte-Catherine Street, and the Ritz-Carlton, with a spa and indoor pool, is a 10-minute walk from McGill University and the Bell Centre. Hôtel Birks occupies a landmark jewellery store from 1894, and the glamorous Four Seasons has a spa and Marcus restaurant.

Quebec City is the only walled city north of Mexico, and its UNESCO-listed old town is a joy: steep lanes, stone houses with steep tin roofs, French bistros and the funicular down to the boutiques of Petit-Champlain by the river. In winter it's dusted with snow and hosts a famous carnival; in summer, street performers fill the squares. French is the language here, though English is widely spoken.

The Château Frontenac, the turreted hotel that dominates the skyline, is one of the most famous hotels in the world, with views over the St Lawrence. Le Capitole is a smaller hotel within the walls, attached to a theatre, and the Aristocrate is a quieter, good-value option at the entrance to the city. Further down the river, in the hills of Charlevoix, the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu is a French-style castle on a cliff above the St Lawrence.

Canada's capital is calmer than Toronto or Montreal, and all the better for a few days. The Gothic Revival Parliament buildings stand on a bluff above the Ottawa River, the national museums and galleries are first class, and the Rideau Canal becomes one of the world's longest skating rinks in winter. The ByWard Market is the place for food and drink.

The Fairmont Château Laurier, 'Ottawa's castle', has views of Parliament Hill and the canal and is steps from the market. Across the river in Gatineau, the Hilton Lac-Leamy has a casino, a spa, a pool and a lake with a beach, and the Delta Hotels Ottawa City Centre is a practical downtown choice with an indoor pool.

Vancouver might be the most beautiful city setting in the world: a peninsula of glass towers wrapped in water, with snowy mountains rising behind and the vast forest of Stanley Park at its tip. You can cycle the seawall, browse Granville Island's market, ski Grouse Mountain and eat superb sushi all in one day. It's also the departure point for Alaska cruises.

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the 'Castle in the City', has been a downtown landmark since 1939. The Fairmont Waterfront is a few metres from the cruise terminal, with a heated rooftop pool, and the sleek Fairmont Pacific Rim has a full-service spa.

A ferry ride or a seaplane hop from Vancouver, Victoria is British Columbia's capital and its most charming small city, built around a busy Inner Harbour overlooked by the domed Parliament Buildings. The Butchart Gardens are a short drive north, and whale-watching boats head out from the harbour in season. The rest of Vancouver Island is wild, rainforest-clad coast.

The grande dame is the Fairmont Empress, the grand château-style hotel on the harbour, famous for its afternoon tea and for hosting royalty. The Oak Bay Beach Hotel is a seaside resort with a spa and an outdoor pool, and the Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour and the DoubleTree are handy, comfortable bases a few steps from the waterfront.

Calgary is where many Rocky Mountain road trips begin. It's a modern, friendly city of shiny towers on the prairie, famous for the Calgary Stampede, its wild rodeo and festival every July, and Banff National Park is around an hour and a half's drive to the west. Spend a night or two here before or after the mountains.

The Fairmont Palliser is the city's classic grand hotel, in the heart of downtown, while the Hyatt Regency has city-skyline views and a club lounge, and the Calgary Marriott Downtown has a rooftop terrace. For early flights, the Westin Calgary Airport has an indoor pool.

In summer, the Okanagan Valley is Canada's answer to the Mediterranean: long, warm lakes, beaches, orchards and more than enough wineries to fill a week of tastings. Kelowna, on Okanagan Lake, is the main town and the liveliest base, while in the far south, around Osoyoos, the landscape turns to sun-baked desert and vines.

Spirit Ridge, overlooking Lake Osoyoos and the vineyards, is the valley's most dramatic resort. The Delta Hotels Grand Okanagan has a spa on the Kelowna waterfront, Sparkling Hill is an adults-only spa resort, and Kelowna Bed and Breakfast has individually furnished rooms and a garden terrace.