Two B.C. cities named the best in Canada by travellers

Canada is full of beautiful places, but two B.C. cities have been given the title of the best in the country to visit in a new travel survey.

This is according to the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, in which over 180,000 readers completed its 2025 survey about their favourite travel experiences, ranking their preferred hotels, cruise lines, cities and more.

Readers ranked cities based on six specific criteria: sights/landmarks, culture, food, friendliness, shopping, and value.

For each category, readers could pick a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor, with the final scores being averages of their responses.

“This year’s list of the best in Canada includes both small cities and major metropolises on both coasts, plus a couple on the grand Saint Lawrence River,” stated Travel + Leisure.

So, which Canadian city was crowned the best in Canada?

According to survey results, Quebec City topped the list of the travel magazine’s reader-favourite cities for the 10th straight year.

Quebec City scored an impressive 86.79, and readers said they were fans of its “French architecture and winding streets, excellent food and shopping,” as well as its historic sites.

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Montreal was second with a score of 82.93, and not far behind in third was Vancouver with an 82.79 reader score.

Halifax came in fourth (82.26), and rounding out the list was Victoria, B.C.’s capital city (80.70).

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Travel + Leisure said readers were fans of Victoria’s “stately British architecture and green spaces” and noted Butchart Gardens is a must-visit site.

Aside from B.C. cities, accommodations in the province were also named as some of the best in the country by Travel + Leisure readers.

The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler was crowned the best resort in the country, and two other B.C. destinations made the list, including Fairmont Chateau Whistler at number two and The Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino at number three.

With files from Daniel Chai 

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