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The thing that really struck us on our first visit to Canada was the fact that they seem to refer to their country, at least in things like weather reports - as "North America"! I haven't remembered to ask any of the locals about this, must get around to doing that some time. While many things are similar to America, the place definitely has a different feel to it (and not just because all the signs are in French and English - or in some places, just in French!)
Of course the REALLY eastern side is Newfoundland, and we haven't been there (yet!). What we have done is more or less to follow the mighty St Lawrence River, passing through farmland, small towns, and the major cities of Quebec, Montreal Ottawa and Toronto. I've talked a little about what you can see around the Toronto section in the New England Road trip page.
Our experience in Quebec was not brilliant, but that's not Quebec's fault! Unfortunately we arrived around midnight after an unexpected delay as we were leaving Boston - we got lost in the city! We'd decided to catch a taxi out to the airport rental depot (about a 10 minute trip) and drive our hire car back to the hotel and pick up our luggage. For reasons which still escape me, we could not find our way back to the hotel and ended up driving around and around Boston for two whole hours! Arrgghhhh, that finished me for driving in Boston.
The delay meant we ended up crossing the US / Canada border very late at night - which seemed to make the border patrol quite suspicious, so we spent an extra half hour in the border post while they decided we were not drug runners. And then we had to find out hotel in Quebec in the dark. Turns out there are two with the same name - yep, we picked the wrong one first off. However, much to our surprise and delight, the bistro was still open, and we were pretty hungry by then, so we ordered dinner. I tried to do it in school-level French, while Trev stuck to English. He got what he ordered. Instead of lamb chops, I ended up with a ham omelette...so much for my French.
We should have left ourselves far more time to see the city in daylight, but all I remember is that it looked big, and the roads were confusing!
Montreal, of course, is a former Olympic city, and the famous tower is visible from many vantage-points, even in the smog. For some reason, I can't remember much else about the city, although I think we might have come across our first "Pommes Frites" van here, with long lines of people waiting to order.
Ottawa is a very charming city - we saw it at a time when it was covered in a light layer of snow and the river was frozen over. The sort of thing you used to see on Christmas cards! Again, we didn't allow ourselves enough time here. The farmland in between these major cities was serene and beautiful, and many of them seemed to be involved in the production of Maple Syrup.
We visited this side of Canada when Via Rail was still running between Edmonton and (with a bit of a drive in between) Vancouver - over the Rockies. I understand that the rail line has been privatised, and you can still do a similar trip (possibly even better, because they arrange it so you are always travelling during daylight hours - see All Aboard! Amtrak and Canadian Rail Journeys.
At that time, in Edmonton, they had just opened the "Biggest Mall in the Universe" (or something like that), which is why we dropped by. I guess it has been surpassed in biggness and bestness many times by now, but we couldn't help being impressed when we saw a beach with real sand, and waves coming in, in the middle of a shopping mall. Impressive, but weird (especially as it was freezing cold outside).
The mountain towns of Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff are lovely - if you are in Vancouver, even if you are not a skier (we aren't), go up and have a look at these towns, particularly the chateaux. In between them, of course, are spectacular icefields, glaciers and lakes - you might want to give them a quick look too, while you're up there!
Vancouver is a water-city, with great ferry trips and what to us seemed like a stunningly modern rail system (wonder how it is perceived these days?). It was also our first experience of extensive underground arcades joining city buildings and public transport hubs. These have become a bit more common in Sydney in recent years, but in Vancouver, you really need them, to be able to get around efficiently in winter.
I've talked a bit about Vancouver Island in the San Juans Ferry trip page.
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