Which Canadian city for a short family hockey trip?

[HuGo Sham]

Literally 6 of the 7 Canadian NHL cities can claim this.

Winnipeg and Edmonton will hit +40 and -40 in the same year.

lol i stand corrected

It’s not much of a prize.

Montreal and Ottawa basically have the same weather, we just usually get it half a day before you do.

very true. lol. i love ottawa. Beautiful city, I'm there for the day tuesday for work

February is usually a pretty reliable time to skate the canal in Ottawa.

this is a great activity in Ottawa and you can walk over to the parliament buildings after

Yeah, to visit and then gtfo.

How anyone can afford to live there I have no idea. Like I cannot contemplate how a Tim Horton's employee can actually get by.

yeah, I find the cost prohibitive and traffic insane. But I enjoy visiting for work and sporting events. Some of the smaller, ethnic boroughs are great to visit

 

[34]

A person born after the leafs won their last cup would have been 27 watching the Rangers win theirs.

People like this are the reason to choose Montreal/Vancouver over Toronto.

He is not wrong. Why don’t you tell us how much you hate the Leafs.

 

[Golden_Jet]

A person born after the leafs won their last cup would have been 27 watching the Rangers win theirs.

People like this are the reason to choose Montreal/Vancouver over Toronto.

Or any city, guys looking for help for vacation, try and be helpful, and poster gives obtuse response. That would be fine, if any other any other topic.

Instead of pick my city, it’s the best in the world. The other city is snobby and won’t speak English. (False).

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Toronto, so you can also see the Hockey HOF. Great memory for a young kid.

 

[JianYang]

Yeah, to visit and then gtfo.

How anyone can afford to live there I have no idea. Like I cannot contemplate how a Tim Horton's employee can actually get by.

I like Toronto although I've never been there in the winter.

The bigger question about affordability to me is Vancouver. At least Toronto's market has some higher paying jobs in the financial sector. Not saying it's easy in either case, but it's worse in Vancouver.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

lol i stand corrected


very true. lol. i love ottawa. Beautiful city, I'm there for the day tuesday for work


this is a great activity in Ottawa and you can walk over to the parliament buildings after


yeah, I find the cost prohibitive and traffic insane. But I enjoy visiting for work and sporting events. Some of the smaller, ethnic boroughs are great to visit

Exactly. People talk a lot of crap about Terrawna (including me) and it's probably justified.

But if you've lived around it your whole life, well then you know where to go and what you want. Yet it's hard to suggest it as a tourist destination.

Everything is kinda right there though....I'll give it that. Union Station..... then whatever you're after.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Hockey culture across Canada anywhere is absolutely magic in Winter. Every city is filled with love of the game.

But...Avoid Vancouver though no snow and no Winter so takes away from that Winter atmosphere.

Toronto only worth going if it's cold so check weather but they also don't have a real Canadian Winter as it's always grey.

Other cities have Winter and cold so it's perfect to see Hockey culture.

English Canada - Very American so if you like being around people who think and are like Americans you'll fit in.

French Canada - The only place in Canada that gives Canada culture. If you enjoy stepping into a new world with different outlook then yes come to Quebec.

Try to speak French. You wouldn't go to Russia without speaking russian , Sweden speaking Swedish, etc. Come to Quebec and try to speak French and enlarge your horizons.

That's what travel is at the end of the day.

I always knew this but hfboards is filled with 40% weirdos who enjoy warm weather.

What weird people following Winters biggest celebration and want to live and be in warm climates. Disgusting and you people need help.

 

[Mattb124]

We often see Canadians come here to California in Feb when their teams make the ANA/LAK/SJS trip because it is more affordable for them to buy tickets for 3 games, fly here, rent a car, and line up hotels than it is for them to do so at home. Not to mention they get a break from the cold and snow at home.

 

[NyQuil]

When I go to Toronto, aside from visiting friends, usually it’s for an event: Molson Indy, Blue Jays, Raptors and I’ll hit up a show or a nice restaurant or the HHoF while I’m there.

It’s fun to go on a long weekend in the summer because all the traffic is leaving the city to get to cottage country.

We often see Canadians come here to California in Feb when their teams make the ANA/LAK/SJS trip because it is more affordable for them to buy tickets for 3 games, fly here, rent a car, and line up hotels than it is for them to do so at home. Not to mention they get a break from the cold and snow at home.

Lately I’ve been timing my trips to Florida and Vegas and such to coincide with a Sens game.

If you’re going to go there anyway, might as well catch your team while you’re at it.

I’m usually already planning a trip there but I’ll time it that way.

 

[denverdevil]

Well Montreal definitely would tick that box the most. Awesome place to experience for the first time. Truly a unique city in North America and the world.

The one thing I would say is that February can sometimes produce some ridiculous weather. It can be -20C but somehow still very damp, with small freezing ice pellet snow with a windchill that somehow blows in your face in every new street direction you turn down. It's almost like God just experiments with what kind of f*cked up weather he can come up with there in the winter.

But it can also hover around freezing and be sunny and charming, with kids playing hockey on the outdoor rinks around the city like something straight out of a Hallmark winter postcard.

In fact it's pretty likely that if you're there for 3-4 days you'll experience a bit of both winter worlds.

*Adds “God’s messed up weather playground” under Montreal cons column.*

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Hockey culture across Canada anywhere is absolutely magic in Winter. Every city is filled with love of the game.

But...Avoid Vancouver though no snow and no Winter so takes away from that Winter atmosphere.

Toronto only worth going if it's cold so check weather but they also don't have a real Canadian Winter as it's always grey.

Other cities have Winter and cold so it's perfect to see Hockey culture.

English Canada - Very American so if you like being around people who think and are like Americans you'll fit in.

French Canada - The only place in Canada that gives Canada culture. If you enjoy stepping into a new world with different outlook then yes come to Quebec.

Try to speak French. You wouldn't go to Russia without speaking russian , Sweden speaking Swedish, etc. Come to Quebec and try to speak French and enlarge your horizons.

That's what travel is at the end of the day.

I always knew this but hfboards is filled with 40% weirdos who enjoy warm weather.

What weird people following Winters biggest celebration and want to live and be in warm climates. Disgusting and you people need help.

Today I unlearned english and learned that only 40% of HFboards weirdos prefer warm weather?

I'm not even trying to be a jerk here. I'm just so confused.

 

[HuGo Sham]

Exactly. People talk a lot of crap about Terrawna (including me) and it's probably justified.

But if you've lived around it your whole life, well then you know where to go and what you want. Yet it's hard to suggest it as a tourist destination.

Everything is kinda right there though....I'll give it that. Union Station..... then whatever you're after.

for sure. I'm also tired of fellow Canadians on here crapping on other Canadian cities for 0 reason. Every city has its advantages and disadvantages. .

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Calgary or Vancouver. The Rockies are beautiful any time of year. Toronto sucks and is crowded and the people are rude and f***ing racist as hell. Every city is going to be expensive.

 

[NyQuil]

for sure. I'm also tired of fellow Canadians on here crapping on other Canadian cities for 0 reason. Every city has its advantages and disadvantages. .

I’ve been to every hockey city (Edmonton only for work so not much of a visit) and I’ve had a fantastic time in all of them.

Vancouver - running Stanley Park and eating all of the Asian and Indian food

Calgary - floating down the Bow river, Stampede, driving to Banff and Canmore

Winnipeg - the Forks area is actually a very cool place to hang out with lots to see and do, eat and drink

Montreal - lively city with a touristy Old Port area, good restaurants and clubs

Ottawa - expressly built to cater to tourists, war museum, aviation museum, museum of history, museum of nature, National Gallery, Parliament, Gatineau Park, Rideau Canal, etc.

Toronto - great for sports, HHoF, theatre, restaurants, a nice waterfront area

 

[Bizzare]

Calgary or Vancouver. The Rockies are beautiful any time of year. Toronto sucks and is crowded and the people are rude and f***ing racist as hell. Every city is going to be expensive.

No racists in Alberta or other parts of the country…

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

for sure. I'm also tired of fellow Canadians on here crapping on other Canadian cities for 0 reason. Every city has its advantages and disadvantages. .

Totally agree and I think it's just the nature of crapping on our hockey teams, somehow that becomes crapping on each other's big cities and acting like there's a big difference between us.

When really,

 

[crobro]

Quebec City during the pee wee tournament .

 

[Tom Polakis]

My wife and I did an "Original 6" trip that included Montreal and Toronto a while back. That option is amazing culturally, but could get expensive.

Since you're in the western U.S., I'd recommend our other Canada hockey trip, which was Calgary and Edmonton. As others have mentioned, the two cities are only three hours apart. The arenas couldn't be more different, and I loved them both for different reasons.; I know February at those latitudes can be a challenge, but there are certainly indoor things to do in both cities.

There are probably too many constraints for it to work, but if there's a chance that the Avs are making a western Canada trip, you could see them play twice. That's how we've designed trips to see both Florida and both Alberta teams, with the Coyotes losing all four times, of course.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

February is usually a pretty reliable time to skate the canal in Ottawa.

I went to Ottawa back in July and I've missed it ever since.

It felt like home.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

No racists in Alberta or other parts of the country…

Love the drive from Saskatoon to Edmonton. All the towns in between are lovely.

 

[jackjohnson]

My 13 year old son has gotten into hockey and I was very happy to hear him suggest that we go on a trip during a school break to somewhere in Canada to watch a game or two. Neither of us have been before, so seeking some suggestions. We'd likely go for 4-5 days sometime during February 17-25, 2024. It looks like every Canadian team is playing at home at least once during this time.

Here are the things we'd like, in order of importance:
1. NHL hockey (obviously). Stadium & game day experience, reasonable ticket availability and cost, ability to tour stadium, things to do around stadium, lower level hockey in the same city, other non-game hockey related things to do in the area.
2. Non-hockey sightseeing, things to do in the city.
3. Good food.
4. Not an outrageously expensive city would be a plus. Not looking to break the bank here.
5. Proximity to another NHL city, though we'd be okay with just staying in a single city, too.

Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg? Happy to hear any not-just-ripping-on-another-teams-city suggestions, thanks!

If you want to go to a warmer place then Vancouver will be warmer than other cities during this winter season.

 

[lucaseider]

I'll be sad to see it go lol... it's a dump but unique and beer is still reasonable. I can only imagine what the beer will cost in a $1 billion arena ;(

I'd do Toronto though and see the HHOF if it's a big hockey trip.

As long as the new place has the same beer. I dunno what they do to saddledome beer, but it ain't right being destroyed after 4 beers then completely sober 2 hours later.

 

[jackjohnson]

Avoid Vancouver if money is an issue as well.

I'm from Vancouver but would recommend the 2 Alberta cities and heck even Winnipeg for value.

Except there are not much things to do in winter time in the cities you mentioned. I mean go to Winnipeg which completely sucks in winter to save money? Might as well just stay home if that was the plan. Best to go to a place you can enjoy otherwise why go on a vacation lol. I mean what is there to do in Winnipeg? And Vancouver is walkable during winter time, won't be -190 C

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

My wife and I did an "Original 6" trip that included Montreal and Toronto a while back. That option is amazing culturally, but could get expensive.

Since you're in the western U.S., I'd recommend our other Canada hockey trip, which was Calgary and Edmonton. As others have mentioned, the two cities are only three hours apart. The arenas couldn't be more different, and I loved them both for different reasons.; I know February at those latitudes can be a challenge, but there are certainly indoor things to do in both cities.

There are probably too many constraints for it to work, but if there's a chance that the Avs are making a western Canada trip, you could see them play twice. That's how we've designed trips to see both Florida and both Alberta teams, with the Coyotes losing all four times, of course.

I'm taking the advice from the person who lives in the most non-hockey market yet most desirable place to take a vacation...............like yeah, seriously 100%

Not joking. What's it like to live there? I can watch hockey on TV.

 

[jackjohnson]

Let's pretend Florida is part of Canada?

I'm not going to suggest Toronto in February. Vancouver maybe?

I was going to suggest Quebec but dang............ You don't really want to be doing tourism at that time of year.

Honestly during the coldest month in Canada, Vancouver is the best option because you can actually walk outside without freezing your bum and there are lots of places to visit in Vancouver and Victoria. And if they want outdoor adventure, Whistler is awesome in winter time.