Why First Dates’ Fred loves Canada

tells how a holiday in Toronto have whetted his appetite to see more of Canada...

‘I’M BASED in London now, but I grew up in the countryside in France and lived in New York for a while. Arriving in Toronto, it felt modern, cosmopolitan and vibrant like Manhattan, but also had the warmth of a small, friendly neighbourhood town.

‘Walking around the city, discovering the museums and sampling local restaurants, you rapidly realise it’s really compact: everywhere we went, we stopped to chat with locals and get their recommendations There’s a fabulous restaurant at the top of the CN Tower, where I had an amazing piece of Canadian beef, but there’s another local dish – poutine – which is chips with gravy and cheese curds that I really like.

‘I loved Toronto, but hiring a Ford Mustang and driving out to Muskoka and to the Algonquin Provincial Park was blissful and the perfect escape from the frenetic life I lead at home. We stayed in an idyllic lakeside hotel in Muskoka, went waterskiing and swam in open water.

‘Our next stop was a log cabin in the wilderness, which was our base in Algonquin. From there, we did a guided ‘portage’ trip, canoeing on lakes before

setting up camp for the night. We truly immersed ourselves in nature and escaped from the modern world, cooking sausages on an open fire and felt like something from The Revenant, but the experience brought a sense of serenity: the perfect restorative holiday.

‘I truly fell in love with Canada and can’t wait to go back: British Columbia and Vancouver are high on my wish list, but there are plenty of other places I want to discover.’