Quebec: Quebec City
Though most visitors opt for summer, there’s a sparkly magic to wintertime in this proudly French city, too. The Victorian set dressings (teapots, ruffles, fainting couches) are a big part of the charm at Hotel Le Close Saint-Louis, which offers “romantic packages” (bubbly in your room, couples massages). A strong morning plan: grab a micro-roasted coffee and an oven-fresh ficelle (a slim baguette) at local favorite Boîte à Pain, then make your way through the colonial-era Petit Champlain quarter. The “New Canadian” menu at La Planque, a rustic gastropub, ranges from oysters to foie gras to mushroom burrata. Located in the modern city, sadly, it’s outside of horse-drawn-carriage range.
Yukon
The wilds of the far north promise an adventurous, back-to-basics romantic recharge. In winter, make cozy Inn on the Lake—a 30-minute drive from Whitehorse—your base for viewing the glorious Northern Lights. (The lodge also offers snowshoeing and dogsledding.) The Takhini Hot Springs are a summer thing, as are hikes in Kluane National Park and airplane tours of its staggering year-round ice fields. Also consider the ultimate to-hell-with-it-all road trip: the notoriously rugged, unpeopled Alaska Highway.
British Columbia: Victoria
The Provincial capital has old-school English vibes and lots to do given its quaint size. For lodging, go big at the Fairmont Empress, a 112-year-old hotel with views of the harbor and a plush Willow Stream spa—or small with Abigail’s Hotel, a 23-room Tudor-style B&B with fireplaces and clawfoot tubs. The Royal BC Museum has been called the best in Canada; a life-sized wooly mammoth and 18th-century ship replica are two highlights. Historic Craigdarroch Castle, which narrates a fascinating soap opera of the coal-baron-owner’s squabbling heirs, is worth a visit. And best table for two? A table at Brasserie L’Ecole, which serves up seasonal French-country cuisine in an old Chinatown schoolhouse.
Ontario: Niagara
There are proposal-worthy panoramas on the Canadian side, too, not to mention an appealing wine region in the backyard. Family-owned Back Ten Cellars brings award-winning house Riesling to you in its tasting “bungalow.” For dinner, the seven-course menu at chateau-like Peller Estates includes mains like Ontario ribeye and slow-poached duck egg. It has excellent pairings, too—and not just of the estate’s well-regarded ice wines. Check in at 26-room Oban Inn, in the throwback town of Niagara-on-the-Lake; the English gardens are pretty and the spa, lap pool, and hot spring lend the environs a genteel wellness-retreat vibe.
Ontario: Ottawa
The Canadian capital has evolved, from a government hub to a beacon of highly consumable food and culture. Share a cinnamon roll or a tasty dill-potato loaf at Art Is In, where the classically trained chef also does a killer brunch. The mood lighting is just right at Riviera, where a pair of hot-item Ottawa restaurateurs serves up French classics and creative pasta dishes in a converted bank building. Meanwhile, masterpieces (from Renaissance to Indigenous artists) abound at the National Gallery of Canada, one of Ottawa’s several surprising museums. And get between the sheets at stately Lord Elgin Hotel. Newly renovated, it has modernized Deco style and grand views of the Rideau Canal—which, bless those Canadians, morphs into a nearly five-mile skating rink in winter. All you sunbirds out there: Hearts can melt when the rivers freeze—and often do.
Ontario: Prince Edward County
Just over two hours east of Toronto, this haven of lake shores and rolling pastures has seriously stepped up its food and wine scene. The Grange of Prince Edward, a 600-acre ancestral farm-turned-winery, prepares picnic baskets of cheese, charcuterie, and its own bottlings—and its “Day in the Life” tour will spark fantasies of opening a vineyard of your own. There’s cool art on site at the Drake Devonshire, an old country inn redone in hip-rustic fashion, where the top-notch restaurant has stupendous views of Lake Ontario. For a romantic stroll, head to Little Bluff Conservation Area, where pebble beaches and big views of Halfmoon Bay set the mood.
Whether you head east or west or to somewhere in the middle, Canada can be the romantic getaway option you never knew you had.