401 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Canada - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Canada

Toronto, Ontario

The Monkey's Paw

A book collector's dream, The Monkey's Paw in Toronto has the world's first "Biblio-Mat", a random book vending machine.

Added by Donia Varghese

Malakwa, British Columbia

The Enchanted Forest

An old world fairytale-land with over 350 fairy folk figurines hidden amongst 800 year old cedars.

elinar

Added by elinar

Qualicum Beach, British Columbia

Free Spirit Spheres

Sleep snuggled in a sphere suspended atop the forest canopy of Vancouver Island.

rebeccaclara

Added by rebeccaclara

Vancouver, British Columbia

VanDusen Garden's Elizabethan Hedge Maze

This Elizabethan hedge maze is one of only six in North America.

canuck

Added by canuck

Toronto, Ontario

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

One of Canada's most incredible rare book collections hold hundreds of thousands of gorgeous tomes that the general public can touch.

Brandon Finney

Added by Brandon Finney

West Vancouver, British Columbia

Capilano Suspension Bridge

This expansive bridge in the Canadian wilderness was originally just built for friends.

Added by ljr331

Toronto, Ontario

Casa Loma

A 98-room castle in the middle of Toronto that bankrupted a 19th century electricity multimillionaire.

lewblank

Added by lewblank

Hope, British Columbia

Othello Tunnels

Railways may have forged this quintet of lovely tunnels, but now they are open to hikers.

SamR

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Atlas Obscura Trips

Secrets of Newfoundland

Sep 5—Sep 14, 2019

Discover an island filled with natural wonder, rich history, fine art, and hyper-local cuisine—not to mention the incredible community of people who call it home.

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Unique
Food & Drink
in Canada

Sugar on Snow

Gastro Obscura

Sugar on Snow

Where maple sap flows, all one needs to make taffy is snow.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

Snow Cream

Gastro Obscura

Snow Cream

Ice cream made with fresh snow is a beloved Southern tradition.

Gastro Obscura

Added by Sam OBrien

Spruce Beer

Gastro Obscura

Ritual & Medicinal

Spruce Beer

This Christmas tree elixir kept Vikings and Captain Cook alive.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

Tiger Tail Ice Cream

Gastro Obscura

Tiger Tail Ice Cream

This orange and black licorice flavor is kind of a big deal in Canada.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

See all 21 things to eat in Canada See all 21 things to eat in Canada

Explore Canada

Launch Map

Recent Canada Activity

javtiger7 wants to go to Mount Thor

annalisa wants to go to The Badlands Guardian

annalisa has been to The World's Largest Dinosaur

annalisa has been to The Hoodoos of Drumheller Valley

sweetheart6052 has been to Clifton Hill

Stories
About Canada

A grape meets a hydrogel bead, and sparks fly.

These Physicists Finally Figured Out Why Microwaved Grapes Ignite

They're raisin hell.

February 20, 2019

Stefansson was a famed explorer and proponent of Inuit foodways.

The Arctic Explorer Who Pushed an All-Meat Diet

Vilhjalmur Stefansson wanted to prove a point.

August 28, 2018

Windfall apples inspired this design.

Meet the Artist Making Delicious Food Quilts

Japanese sweets, turkey dinners, and produce alike are immortalized in fabric.

August 21, 2018

Chef Rich Francis at his home in Six Nations, Ontario.

How an Indigenous Chef Is Decolonizing Canadian Cuisine

Rich Francis is reclaiming and reinventing an erased food culture.

by Gautham Krishnaraj

August 03, 2018

A photo of one of the footprints (left) and a digitally enhanced image of it (right). The toe impressions and arch indicate that it is from a right foot.

Found: 13,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Off Canada's Pacific Coast

They support a hypothesis that early people followed a coastal migration route into North America.

by Christina Ayele Djossa

It's looking at you.

Highway Workers in Canada Keep Running Into Rattlesnakes

So far, no one has been bit.

by Erik Shilling

The Stolen Head of Baby Jesus Has Been Reattached

It had been replaced—quite unsuccessfully—once before.

by Erik Shilling

Keep Your Eye Out for Canada's New Glow-in-the-Dark Toonie

The special-edition release is the first photoluminescent coin to ever enter circulation.

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