Boutique hotels in Canada

Canada is the second-largest country in the world, and its best small hotels are spread across very different landscapes: the French-speaking cities of Quebec, the glacier-carved Rockies, the rainforest coast of British Columbia and the fishing villages of the Atlantic provinces. What they share is a strong sense of place, often with local food, wood and stone at their heart.

The cities

Montreal and Quebec City lead our ranking. Old Montreal and Old Quebec, the only walled city north of Mexico, have small hotels in 18th- and 19th-century stone buildings. Vancouver and Toronto are more modern, multicultural cities with design-led hotels, and Victoria and Halifax are smaller, walkable harbor towns.

Mountains and lakes

Banff, Jasper and Whistler are Canada's great mountain resorts, as rewarding for hiking and wildlife in summer as for skiing in winter. Muskoka and Mont-Tremblant are the lake and mountain getaways of Toronto and Montreal.

Wine country and the coasts

The Okanagan Valley, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Prince Edward County are Canada's main wine regions. On the Pacific, Tofino is known for surf and winter storms. In the east, Charlevoix, Lunenburg, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton and Fogo Island offer dramatic coastlines, seafood and a slower pace.

When to go

Summer and early autumn, from June to early October, are best for most of the country, with fall colors peaking in late September and early October in Quebec and Ontario. The ski season runs from December to April.