A new ranking has revealed what might be Canada’s most welcoming places — and one Quebec neighbourhood landed near the very top.
According to a June 2025 study by casino.org, which analyzed over 250,000 Tripadvisor reviews, Vieux-Québec in Québec City has been ranked the second-friendliest tourist destination in the entire country. The only spot to beat the historic hotspot? A winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Researchers pulled keywords like “friendly,” “helpful,” and “welcoming” from the most-reviewed attractions on Tripadvisor. Old Québec stood out with 9.9% of its reviews featuring those friendliness-related terms — including 711 mentions of “friendly,” 118 of “helpful,” and 71 of “welcoming.”
Famous for its cobblestone streets, 17th-century architecture, and iconic Château Frontenac, Old Quebec is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that feels more like a European village than a Canadian capital. Reviewers praised the warm energy of the historic neighbourhood, highlighting the friendliness of locals, shopkeepers, and tour guides despite language barriers.
The province’s capital city wasn’t the only French-speaking spot on the list, though. A pair of Montreal tourist spots also got friendly shoutouts, with the following spots cracking the top 20:
- Old Montreal ranked 9th in Canada, with 4.05% of reviews referencing friendliness
- Notre-Dame Basilica landed at 19th with 1.42%
Here’s the full top 20 list of Canada’s friendliest tourist attractions, based on Tripadvisor review data:
- 1. Konzelmann Estate Winery (Niagara, ON) – 17.73%
- 2. Old Québec (Québec City, QC) – 9.90%
- 3. Banff Gondola (Banff, AB) – 8.81%
- 4. Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (Halifax, NS) – 8.32%
- 5. Parliament Hill and Buildings (Ottawa, ON) – 4.77%
- 6. CN Tower (Toronto, ON) – 4.54%
- 7. St. Lawrence Market (Toronto, ON) – 4.53%
- 8. Butchart Gardens (Victoria, BC) – 4.40%
- 9. Old Montreal (Montreal, QC) – 4.05%
- 10. Capilano Suspension Bridge (Vancouver, BC) – 3.66%
- 11. Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada (Toronto, ON) – 3.48%
- 12. Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk (Halifax, NS) – 3.48%
- 13. Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse (NS) – 3.23%
- 14. Niagara Falls (ON) – 2.55%
- 15. Signal Hill (St. John’s, NL) – 2.39%
- 16. Granville Island (Vancouver, BC) – 2.34%
- 17. Lake Louise (AB) – 1.73%
- 18. Stanley Park (Vancouver, BC) – 1.51%
- 19. Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal, QC) – 1.42%
- 20. Moraine Lake (Banff, AB) – 0.84%
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