Here are the available villas for rental in Canada.

Fantastic all year-round

Wonderful. We have stayed in Banff summer and winter.
Tunnel Mountain in a camper van in the sun or in the snow. Fantastic. Just to see the wildlife running free is an experience not to be missed

Mountaineering the easy way

Welcome to the Rocky Mountaineer! said the bobble-hatted attendant, giving me a 100-watt smile that could have vaporised a polar ice cap.
Outside Vancouver Central Station it was cold and dark, but inside the passengers were basking in the warm glow of excited anticipation.
The attendant beckoned and we boarded, ready to embark on what the brochure modestly described as 'The Most Spectacular Train Journey in the World'.
The Rocky Mountaineer departs at an uncivilised hour. But a 6.45am start is a necessary evil in order to complete the journey from Vancouver to Calgary via the majestic Canadian Rockies in just two days.
Dawn broke and we began to thaw out in the plush air-conditioned two-storey carriages. Ours consisted of a cosy dining room downstairs and 'dome window seating' upstairs.
Imagine a goldfish bowl on wheels and you're halfway there. Whatever you call it, the glass roof afforded stunning views of the Rockies.
The mountains, however, were several gin and tonics away. After leaving the station we rumbled through grimy suburbs before breaking out in to the wilderness.
The Goldleaf Service includes breakfast, three-course lunch, snacks and a bottomless vat of eggnog. If you're not bothered about extravagant dining and dome windows, opt for the Redleaf.
In the serenity of Goldleaf, we reposed in our seats, soaking up the prairies, gorges and mountains whose white faces grew ever more sheer with every mile.
White faces were also to be seen in coach number 10 as we crossed some spectacular ravines on bridges that, from afar, appeared to be constructed from matchsticks. As we rattled across, the ground would plummet away leaving a queasy drop.
Everyone recovered pretty quickly, and thankfully it didn't affect our eggnog consumption. But barely had we quaffed an eggnog or five, and it was time for lunch.
The tables were laid with crisp white linen, delicate cutlery and fresh flowers. ... more

Have a terrific time in Toronto

From the Daily Mail

Toronto may not be Canada's capital (Ottawa gets the honours), but it's top of the pile in every other respect. It is the country's largest city, as well as its major shopping, theatre and sports destination.
As the weather warms up it makes a great location for an offbeat long weekend. And, it's cheaper than you think. With a flight time of under eight hours from London, you can be there by late Friday afternoon and get three full days under your belt before flying home on Monday night, arriving back first thing on Tuesday morning.
ESSENTIAL PACKING
A fistful of Canadian dollars and your passport - no visas are required for British citizens.
WHAT'S MY FIRST STOP?
If it's a clear day, head for the CN Tower (daily until 11pm), which is still clinging to its claim to be the world's tallest free-standing building. Get your bearings from 1,465ft and then take a walk - if you dare - on the glass floor (don't worry, if it had to, it could withstand the weight of 14 hippos).
AND THEN?
After a traditional Saturday morning bacon butty at the St Lawrence Market, call at the Hockey Hall Of Fame for an introduction to Canada's national sporting obsession (it's the iced variety). Don't miss the Royal Ontario Museum, with everything from dinosaurs to Egyptian mummies. The interactive Children's Own Museum is next door.
In the afternoon, take a ferry across Lake Ontario to the Toronto Islands for super skyline views or meander through the city neighbourhoods. Catch another museum: The Pier, for nautical exhibits, the Art Gallery Of Ontario or the Shoe Museum, complete with former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's footwear.
Keep Sunday for a day trip to Niagara Falls, 90 minutes' drive from the city, and included in many city-break packages. Although the close-up cruise, Maid Of The Mist, does not start until May, you can always enjoy wine tastings, a horse-and-carriage ride around Niagara-on-the-Lake and - best of all - a helicopter ride over the falls.
On Monday, allow time to check out Canada's Walk Of Fame in front of the Royal Alexandra Theatre. You didn't know Jim Carrey was Canadian? Shame on you. ... more

Bags of fun in Toronto

You'd think that New Yorkers would be happy shopping on Madison Avenue. Not my friends there. They've been going to Toronto, where everything is much cheaper.
There was nothing else for it - I would have to go there to find out for myself.
When I first visited the city in the late Sixties I was advised to take everything I could conceivably need, as there simply wasn't anything to be found in the shops that a person would want to buy.
I had no problem fulfilling this brief as my shopping habit and love of clothes was well established at a tender age.
I had a great time in the city, making it my mission to try every variety of cheesecake but didn't do much shopping.
Returning five years on in the Seventies to attend a tennis tournament, things were changing and the boutiques and coffee shops on Yorkville were starting to emerge.
In the late Eighties, I paid another visit to the city - famous for its 1,815 ft landmark, the CN Tower - this time to call on a friend who had been sent there to work. I didn't recognise the place. It had changed beyond recognition.
I stayed at the Park Hyatt which just happens to be - and now all will become clear and you will realise why I chose it - smack bang in the middle of the shopping district of Bloor and Yorkville.
On leaving the hotel for an initial inspection of Toronto's shopping thrills, I stumbled upon the first one next-door: Vera Wang who is renowned for her wonderful wedding dresses.
Now, I hasten to add that I am not planning to marry in the foreseeable future but, as Vera Wang also designs stunning evening gowns, I simply could not resist a quick visit.
The clothes were sumptuous. It is easy to see why Victoria Beckham chose Vera Wang to create her wedding dress. ... more

Rocky ride on a jolly slow train

From the Daily Mail

There's a train service in Canada where passengers really don't mind if the train arrives late. On board the Rocky Mountaineer, glass-topped dome cars provided a 360-degree kaleidoscopic view of the dramatic ice-mantled peaks of the Canadian Rockies.
Our journey was barely under way when an attendant served us champagne and orange juice. A toast was the prelude to a party atmosphere with conversation and laughter so loud, you barely heard the commentary.
Everyone had an allocated seat, but no one remained in it for long. Outside our hermetically-sealed dome-car, snow had transformed the landscape into a post-apocalypse, monochrome setting. And low cloud resembled vapour trails left by the Red Arrows.
From Castle Mountain, near Banff, we passed Lake Louise. Then it suddenly got very dark as we entered the spiral tunnels of Cathedral Mountain, which was used in Doctor Zhivago. In an incredible feat of engineering, we turned around in the mountain and doubled back on ourselves twice before re-emerging once more into daylight.
Before its construction in 1909, the track had twice the recommended gradient for a railway line; the result was many runaway trains. Today, longer freight trains can sometimes be seen entering and emerging from tunnels simultaneously.
The Rocky Mountaineer certainly restores some of the romance of rail travel, with signs for exotic places such as Kicking Horse River, 'Avalanche Area Ends' warnings and cries of: 'Look, there's an elk!'
Our train also proved that it's possible to spend a few winter days in the Canadian Rockies without hitting the slopes. The only injuries aboard our train were pulled muscles when jaws dropped open in awe of the scenery.
Most passengers stay on for two days all the way to Vancouver, retracing the legendary western Canadian routes of the first transcontinental railways. But we joined it for only a day between Banff and Kamloops. It would leave for Vancouver tomorrow without us. ... more