The food is good in Canada and there's plenty of it. The cuisine has a French flavour on the east coast and, unusually for ski resorts, seafood (particularly west coast salmon) is both really good and inexpensive in comparison to Europe. We're not saying you can eat and drink like a king, but you can certainly try.

As you would expect from the second largest country in the world, Canada has masses of ski resorts – and masses of good ones. It is also known as the backcountry capital of the world – so if you have a penchant for powder, look no further.

Having said all that, there are a few drawbacks. If you're travelling from Europe, it's a long way to the west coast, so it's a good idea to go for longer than a week if you can. And although Western Canada's resorts have virtually guaranteed snow, it can rain in resorts or suffer from bitterly cold temperatures, -30°C in Banff/Lake Louise is not uncommon.

On the east coast, much more accessible to Europeans, the snow is not such good quality, nor is it as consistent. And although the resorts do not run short, the snow can often be wind-blown and icy when the temperatures are low, or slushy when they rise. These resorts also tend to be smaller in both extent and vertical drop – but perfect for weekending townies from the big cities of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.