Canada is an extremely historical country, and most cities offer free tours of the downtown and historically relevant areas. Check the local tourism websites for times and locations of tours, and do one on your first day in the city. It’ll help you learn the layout of the city and let you see some of the major landmarks! If you’re planning on taking a tour, make sure you wear your walking shoes and dress for the weather! They can be long, sometimes up to 2-3 hours, and the weather in some cities can change unexpectedly. Especially during the summer, most large cities have a variety of outdoor festivals with free entrance. Take advantage of the opportunity to see local artists and sample Canadian cuisine! If you’re traveling in the winter, don’t worry! Since Canada has long winters, they also have many cold weather festivals like the Igloofest in Montreal, WinterCity in Toronto, Festival du Voyager in Winnipeg, and Winterlude in Ottawa. This is one of the best ways to get a taste of the local fare while on a budget. Street vendors in Canada are normally very reputable and offer cheap options for a quick bite for lunch or a snack. Look for vendors and food trucks with long lines, as those tend to be the ones popular with locals! Canada is famous for the popular dish poutine, which is a plate of french fries with gravy and cheese curds. Many street vendors offer a variation of this dish, plus meats like hot dogs, sausage, and even veggie burgers! Canada is known for its beautiful forests, lakes, and trails. National Parks and Grasslands are extremely popular and have many free trails for hiking and biking, as well as lakes and rivers for kayaking and canoeing.  In the winter, you can go skiing, or rent a pair of snowshoes or cross-country skis for a low-cost excursion on one of the many public trails that remain open during the cold weather. In the cities, biking is a great and low-cost way to get around quickly. You can rent bikes for a few dollars a day or based on an hourly rate. Just be sure to return them when you’re finished! Art and history are extremely important cultural aspects of life in Canada, so there are many free or low-cost museums and galleries to visit. Additionally, most universities offer free tours of their campuses, some of which include small museums or historical landmarks. Some museums operate on a donation-basis, but it’s appropriate to give a few dollars to make sure the museum is compensated for their services. At these locations, it’s up to you to decide what’s a fair price! Sites like LivingSocial and Groupon sometimes offer discounts on local attractions and experiences based on your location. Download the apps and search for deals in the cities that you’ll be going to. Buying ahead secures your ticket and can result in extremely discounted rates for concerts, outdoor excursions, plays, and more! Sometimes new businesses will offer coupons on these apps to get people to try out their product. Keep your eyes out for new and fun experiences that might not be listed on popular travel blogs just yet!

Summary: Take free walking tours of the major cities. Go to music, art, and food festivals. Buy food from street vendors and local grocery stores. Get outside and take advantage of Canada’s vast wildlife. Visit museums, art galleries, and universities. Use coupons or deal-finding websites.


If you live together or have a favorite place to hang out at one of your houses, try writing there. The surroundings will remind you of them and can help get your creativity going. You can also write in your favorite date places, where you met, or anywhere else that reminds you of them. A song that's just about how much you love someone will leave your listener wondering why. Think of a story about your boyfriend or girlfriend that explains how you feel about them. Write down all the ideas you can think of and pick the one you like best.  It could be about how you met, the moment you realized you fell in love, or your favorite memory of them. It's okay to include how you felt in the story you're telling, but don't make your emotions the focus. If you're writing a series of ideas down, and one makes you feel extra emotional, or you just feel good about it, trust it! If you like it and respond to it, chances are your boyfriend or girlfriend will, too. For example, pay to attention to how you feel as you write your list of ideas. When you write down "the day we met" or "our first fight," do you start to remember that event in a lot of detail? If you do, and it makes you feel more emotional than other things on your list, go with that idea!

Summary: Write somewhere that reminds you of them. Focus on a story, not an emotion. Trust your instincts.


to strangers. Read a list of jokes, then find a place where you don’t know anyone.  Go up to strangers and see how many people you can make laugh! Remember to be friendly and cheerful, though, and never rude or tactless. Find a place with music and just let yourself go like you were a kid again. Don’t be afraid to flail your limbs around (just make sure to be considerate of people standing nearby). Dancing has plenty of physical and emotional benefits, too! Didn’t you love spinning in circles when you were a kid? It made you feel free, like you were flying (and maybe a little dizzy).  Try it out as an adult and see if it doesn’t make you feel like a silly little tot again. Part of being silly is getting in touch with things that make you happy. Put your favorite song on your headphones and sing every word as loudly as you can. Kids know how to bring the silly. Get down on the floor and follow their lead. Pretend to be animals, play with toys, or make up your own game with wacky rules. You don’t have to be reserved when you’re at the pool! Make a big splash in the deep end by tucking your arms and legs close to your body when you jump in. When’s the last time you got a bird’s-eye view of your surroundings? Some trees are just made for climbing. Just remember to be careful! Find a tree with strong, sturdy limbs that will support you, and don’t go higher than you feel is safe. Snow days are the perfect opportunity to get in touch with your silly side. Sliding down a hill on your sled will make you feel like a kid again! Try going down the hill in different ways, like sitting straight up, turned backwards, or laying on your belly.
Summary: Tell jokes Dance freely. Twirl in circles. Sing at the top of your lungs. Get on the floor and play with a little kid. Do a cannonball. Climb a tree. Go sledding.