In lieu of birthday gifts, my sister (who lives in Vancouver) and I decided to get together for a girls’ getaway. We decided the best way to keep costs down was for only one of us to travel. Since I hadn’t been to Vancouver in a few years, I headed to her hometown for a weekend of spa-going and sister-bonding time.

As I spot the humpback whale cresting the waters of the Sagenuay Fjord, I freeze. Where do I aim the camera? At this once-in-a-lifetime view, or at my four-year-old son, Tristan, whose eyes are so wide they look ready to pop? After all, this moment has been months in the making.

You can cover quite a bit of terrain in just a 24-hour slice of time. This is particularly true when the destination in question happens to be a bustling city, where finding fun things to do is just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Widespread democracy movements, rebellions in the Middle East and the Occupy movement combined with the ubiquity of smartphone cameras and the global circulation of images online have all shaped this year’s CONTACT 2012 photography festival in Toronto.

It takes Andrew Emsley less than a minute to catch his first fish — but you’ll never find him eating it. “I don’t like the texture,” he explains. “If you want a fish, I’ll catch and fillet it for you, but I won’t eat it.” These wouldn’t be such surprising words if they weren’t coming from the owner of Dave’s Fish Huts, an ice-fishing rental business in the “ice-fishing capital of Canada.”

If you’re wondering what to do in Toronto for Family Day, here are some ideas for squeezing the most out of your time with loved ones. Family Day 2012 falls on Monday, Feb. 20 and is a holiday in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Vawn Himmelsbach and Tanya Enberg, co-founders of Chic Savvy Travels: A Backpacker’s Guide for Grown-Ups, use their website as a platform to tell women (and savvy men) the world over that it’s never too late to embark on an adventure, even after exceeding the stereotypical backpacking age.

After the magic of Christmas has run its course, many of us look to jet away to tropical locations during the cold months ahead. But if Santa forgot to put a plane ticket in your stocking this holiday season, don’t fret. There is still fun to be had in the city — whether you’re a local or visitor.

High atop a cliff, overlooking the majestic St. Lawrence River, sits Canada’s very own European-style retreat. But unlike a trip across the pond, a trip to Québec City is so do-able that it needn’t be a once in a lifetime event. It’s close, it’s affordable and it’s so gorgeous you’ll want to go back.

Every year, Toronto urbanites get the chance to escape city-life for a dose of country living without even having to leave their home turf when the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair rolls into town.

Some folks just like to live on the edge — and Toronto’s famous sky-reaching CN Tower definitely delivers. The EdgeWalk at the CN Tower has received the Guinness World Record for the Highest External Walk on a Building.

Explore the narrow cobblestone roads of Old Montréal in Québec and you’ll feel like you’re visiting Old World Europe as you wander among world-class restaurants and quaint shops, as well as many of Montréal’s museums and art galleries.