Banff

Banff is Canada’s mountain dream turned real — glacier-blue lakes, snow-cut peaks, pine forests, alpine roads, and views that look almost impossible. Lake Louise gets the postcards, with turquoise water from glacial silt and the Fairmont Château Lake Louise sitting at its edge like an alpine palace. Hike higher and the tea houses make the mountains feel wonderfully old-world. Ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain, where every turn reveals a new view of water, mountains, forest, and sky. Moraine Lake is even more unreal, now shuttle-access only, so plan ahead. Then drive the Icefields Parkway toward Jasper for Bow Lake, Peyto Lake — where the earth looks hand-painted in impossible blues — the Columbia Icefield, and one of the greatest mountain roads on earth. Stay in Banff for the classic park experience, Canmore for a cheaper, more local mountain-town feel, or splurge on one of the castle-like Fairmont stays when you want the Rockies to feel grand.