6 places you should visit for Canada's 150th anniversary (spoiler - JNAAG is on the list!)

Canada is a happening place this year as we celebrate our 150th anniversary. But there are also lots of cool spots in this country that don’t always get the attention they deserve. Here’s a look at some Canadian spots that should be in the limelight this year.

NEWFOUNDLAND (IN GENERAL): Come From Away, the musical about how folks in Gander came together to help stranded tourists after 9/11, opens for Broadway previews in New York City on Feb. 18 after a smashingly successful run in Toronto. If it’s half as popular in the Big Apple as it was in Ontario it should help give Newfoundland a bigger tourism boost and draw further attention to Gander, as well as the delights of St. John’s (including one of Canada’s top restaurants, Raymond’s) and smaller areas of the island they call The Rock.

EDMONTON: The new Rogers Place Arena has sparked a renewed interest in downtown Edmonton, specifically the Ice District area around the arena. Some $5.5 billion worth of new building is either underway or planned in the centre of the city, including a 54-floor JE Marriott Hotel with private residences. The new home of the Royal Alberta Museum opens downtown later this year, as will a new funicular railway that will whisk folks down into Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley. New restaurants such as Uccellino and Baijiu are attracting a loyal clientele in a city with a much-improved food scene. Crash is a funky new hotel in an historic building that features old arcade games and rooms with walls decorated with vintage suitcases or loudspeakers.

SARNIA, ONT.: Many parts of southwest Ontario are seeing a revival, thanks in part to soaring house prices in Toronto that have seen folks turn elsewhere for affordable homes and a general influx of creative talent. Sarnia's downtown features a lovely art gallery, the Judith and Norman Alix Gallery, with trendy and cool exhibits you'd expect at much larger galleries. You’ll also find great craft beer at Refined Fool (a nice play on Sarnia’s oil refineries), good food (try Ciao Chow and Under Wraps café) and cooler-than-you-might expect shopping at places such as Urban Escape.

WINNIPEG: Another city that is seeing renewed interest in the urban core. True North Square, a $400 million mixed-use development in the city centre, is considered perhaps the biggest investment ever in the downtown core. There’s also a 45-storey residential/retail/office tower planned at SkyCity Centre, which will make it the tallest structure in Manitoba. Several smaller downtown properties are being restored as well. Thirsty visitors can try a new craft brewery called Little Brown Jug. New restaurants include Izakaya Edokko and Aurora Pizzeria. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights continues to garner great reviews.

FREDERICTON: Any town with a university (The University of New Brunswick is located here) automatically punches a bit above its weight, with more cultural and artistic options than other cities might be able to offer. The Beaverbrook Gallery is a glorious spot for older and vibrant, new works of art. A two-storey addition with 14,000 extra square feet of space is slated to open later this year with four new galleries, a café, an artist’s studio and a multi-purpose learning centre. You’ll find excellent food at 540 Kitchen and Bar (try the kale salad with raisins and red quinoa or the pork buns with pork belly and spicy kimchi). The Lunar Rogue Bar is a fun spot with a fine patio in summer and some 600 types of whisky on hand.

FERNIE, B.C.: This is a gem of a town that a lot of visitors to Canada don’t make it to. Fernie is at the south end of the region called the Kootenay Rockies, just west of the Rocky Mountains and the Alberta border. It’s a fine town with a bit of a southern Ontario feel to its architecture, owing to the old brick buildings and store fronts. Still, it’s very much a British Columbia place; with organic chocolates and lively Mexican/Latin American food at Nevados. One of the newest spots in town is the Himalayan Spice Bistro. This is a beautiful part of B.C that's definitely worth a visit.

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