John Lennon & Yoko Ono recorded 'Give Peace a Chance'
during a 'bed in' at Fairmont's Queen Elizabeth Hotel in 1969

Montreal, Quebec - This cool site is 18 floors directly above Central Station in downtown Montreal. It’s room 1742 of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, a 45-year-old landmark affectionately known as the 'Queen E'. This is where John Lennon and Yoko Ono caused a media frenzy in 1969 by puttng on their jammies and inviting the world press for their 10-day ‘bed-in’. They recorded the song Give Peace a Chance in their suite's living room. Friends who dropped in and joined in on the recording include: Tommy Smothers, Petula Clark, Dr. Timothy Leary and members of the Canadian Radha Krishna Temple. Photograph by Gerry Delter.

Where: The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel is located directly above the VIA Rail and AMTRAK Stn, at 900 Blvd Renne Levesque West in downtown Montreal. It is connected to the city's underground pathway system which links office towers, resaurants, buotiques and cultural attractions, which makes it easy to get around whatever the weather.

In the New: Today, the suite’s walls feature memorabilia composed of press articles, framed gold records and pictures of the dynamic couple. In the spring of 2009 special events and exhibits took take place to commemorate the Bed-In’s 40th anniversary, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ special free exhibition entitled Imagine, which featured artwork from Yoko Ono as well as photographs, records, movies and clips detailing their famous weeklong peace protest.

Canada’s Coolest:

Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email Lucy@CanadaCool.com. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!

The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives

Here are some of my favorites...

The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.

The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.

The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.

And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...

More from Canada’s Coolest

'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:

• Golf Course Features
• Haunted Hotels
• Hotel Special Services

Send your suggestions to lucy@CanadaCool.com

Recent 'Canada's Coolest' topics: