There's a bear in there... Peyto Lake in Banff National Park

Canada's most famous national park is now almost as well-known for its summer crowds as its incredible scenery. On peak days up to 50,000 visitors arrive, with much of the tourist traffic of the coach-tour variety.

This intense summer buzz, at its height in the town of Banff at the centre of the park, can however be fun, making it a bustling and likeable base. Most visitors spend the bulk of their time shopping in the souvenir stores and upmarket outdoor clothing and equipment shops along the main street, but there are also a few surprisingly good riverside strolls here and a gondola to fabulous views over town.

The park's other key spots are Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, two gorgeous alpine lakes cradled by sublime scenery that again attract visitors in their thousands.

It's worth a few moments of anyone's time, but if you've come to commune with nature, you'll want to leave all these hotspots as soon as possible. Luckily that's easy enough to do if you're prepared to do a bit of leg work down the hundreds of miles of excellent trails, which criss-cross the park.

Come winter, many of these become excellent cross-country ski routes which remain quiet thanks to the presence of two world-class ski resorts within the park: Sunshine and Lake Louise.