Kangerlussuaq to Toronto

Kangerlussuaq Havn is the eastern Greenlandic gateway to the Scoresby Sund — the world's longest fjord system — where sheer basalt cliffs, colossal icebergs, and one of Earth's most isolated Inuit communities await expedition vessels from Ponant and Hapag-Lloyd. Visit July through September for muskox encounters, midnight-sun ice photography, and the Arctic in its most concentrated and demanding form.

Evighedsfjorden is Greenland's 'Fjord of Eternity' — a seventy-five-kilometer passage flanked by ice-capped peaks and tidewater glaciers that provides one of expedition cruising's most profound Arctic landscape encounters. Navigate July through August via Ponant or Seabourn for midnight-sun glacial photography, humpback whale encounters echoing off cliff faces, and a passage so vast it transforms the concept of eternity from abstraction to sensory reality.

Ilulissat sits beside the Northern Hemisphere's most prolific glacier — the UNESCO-listed Sermeq Kujalleq, which calves forty-six cubic kilometers of icebergs annually into a fjord of almost incomprehensible frozen spectacle. Visit June through August via Silversea or Hapag-Lloyd for midnight-sun zodiac cruises among hundred-meter icebergs, Knud Rasmussen's childhood museum, and the light show that transforms Greenland's ice into one of Earth's most transformative visual experiences.

Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn) is the principal settlement on Greenland's Disko Island, a remote Arctic community of eight hundred people set against volcanic basalt mountains and the iceberg-filled waters of Disko Bay. Essential experiences include hiking to the Lyngmark Glacier, whale-watching for humpbacks amid tabular icebergs, and exploring the historic Arctic Station research facility. Visit July through August for midnight sun, peak whale activity, and Arctic wildflowers.

Qassiarsuk (Brattahlíð) in southern Greenland is where Erik the Red founded the first European settlement in the Americas in 985 AD — today a tiny sheep-farming village preserving Norse ruins, a reconstructed Viking church, and a graveyard of 144 colonists. Must-dos include walking the archaeological remains with a local guide, visiting Hans Lynge's bronze Erik the Red, and absorbing the fjord-and-ice-cap setting. June through September provides snow-free access and wildflower-dotted ruins.

Qassiarsuk (Brattahlíð) in southern Greenland is where Erik the Red founded the first European settlement in the Americas in 985 AD — today a tiny sheep-farming village preserving Norse ruins, a reconstructed Viking church, and a graveyard of 144 colonists. Must-dos include walking the archaeological remains with a local guide, visiting Hans Lynge's bronze Erik the Red, and absorbing the fjord-and-ice-cap setting. June through September provides snow-free access and wildflower-dotted ruins.

Unartoq is a small island in southern Greenland famous for its natural hot springs where visitors bathe in thirty-seven-degree water while gazing at drifting icebergs and glacial peaks — one of the world's most extraordinary bathing experiences. The must-do is soaking in the thermal pools surrounded by Norse ruins and Arctic wilderness. July and August offer the warmest conditions, though the hot springs are a revelation in any weather.

Unartoq is a small island in southern Greenland famous for its natural hot springs where visitors bathe in thirty-seven-degree water while gazing at drifting icebergs and glacial peaks — one of the world's most extraordinary bathing experiences. The must-do is soaking in the thermal pools surrounded by Norse ruins and Arctic wilderness. July and August offer the warmest conditions, though the hot springs are a revelation in any weather.

Woody Point is the gateway to Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, a UNESCO site where the extraordinary Tablelands expose Earth's mantle rock at the surface, helping prove plate tectonics theory. Must-dos include hiking the otherworldly Tablelands Trail and cruising the landlocked fjord of Western Brook Pond. July and August provide the warmest weather for hiking and boat excursions.

Red Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Labrador's coast where sixteenth-century Basque whalers operated the world's largest whaling industry, leaving remarkably preserved shipwrecks and onshore tryworks. Must-dos include visiting the National Historic Site museum, taking a boat to Saddle Island's tryworks ruins, and watching for whales and icebergs in the Strait of Belle Isle. Visit July to August for the warmest weather and best wildlife sightings.

Red Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Labrador's coast where sixteenth-century Basque whalers operated the world's largest whaling industry, leaving remarkably preserved shipwrecks and onshore tryworks. Must-dos include visiting the National Historic Site museum, taking a boat to Saddle Island's tryworks ruins, and watching for whales and icebergs in the Strait of Belle Isle. Visit July to August for the warmest weather and best wildlife sightings.

Tadoussac is a historic village at the mouth of Canada's Saguenay Fjord, where cold river waters meeting the St. Lawrence create one of the world's premier whale-watching destinations with up to 13 species including belugas, fin whales, and occasional blue whales. Must-dos include a Zodiac whale-watching excursion, kayaking the dramatic Saguenay Fjord, and visiting North America's oldest wooden church. Visit August or September for peak whale diversity and autumn foliage.

The Saguenay is a glacially carved fjord of Norwegian grandeur hidden in Quebec, where three-hundred-meter cliffs plunge into waters hosting the world's southernmost beluga whales alongside blue whales, fins, and humpbacks. Visit September through October via Cunard or Azamara for autumn-color fjord transits, world-class whale-watching at Tadoussac, and one of Canada's most spectacular and least-expected natural treasures.

Quebec City is North America's only walled city, a UNESCO treasure where 400 years of French colonial architecture crown a St. Lawrence promontory beneath the iconic Château Frontenac. Visit September through October via Cunard or Seabourn for autumn foliage transforming stone ramparts, elevated Québécois terroir cuisine, and the singular experience of genuine Old World atmosphere on a continent that rarely provides it.

Ontario stretches from Toronto's cosmopolitan waterfront through Niagara's wine country and waterfalls to the vast wilderness of the Canadian Shield. Must-dos include tasting icewine in Niagara-on-the-Lake, cruising the Thousand Islands, and exploring Toronto's world-class museums and multicultural food scene. July and August offer warmth, while September and October deliver legendary fall foliage.

Toronto is Canada's most multicultural metropolis, where over 200 languages, the ROM's Libeskind crystal, Frank Gehry's AGO redesign, and neighborhoods spanning every cuisine on Earth create one of North America's most rewarding and underestimated cities. Visit September via Viking for the Toronto International Film Festival, waterfront island escapes, and the revelation that Canada's financial capital harbors cultural diversity rivaling any city on the continent.