impacked

Montreal or Toronto?
We have 5 days on land to celebrate my 60th birthday mid September. I like culture, being very active, a little (not all day) museums and fun places to wander. Both places were recommended to us.
For hotels I like small not high rises, charming not Fancy but nice. Boutique hotels are my things. You know, romantic, nice linen, etc.
I'd love to hear your advice or opinion. Many Thanks!

impacked

Forgot to add that Bali really would have been my choice since I love ethnic culture, local markets etc but we don't have enough time. Costa Rica was a consideration but weather is not good at that time. Even thought rurual is really my thing I do love New York city.
If that explains me.

friendlys

Go to Montreal and stay in Old Montreal (Old Port) area - it's very original, old buildings, but renovated nicely. A lot of cute restaurants. We stayed at St.Sulpice hotel, it's right next to the Notre Dame church and has a great outdoors restaurant. Great place! If you like to be active, you can rent a bike and just ride it around town (they have statiosn all over the Old Port). There are a lot of restaurants and shops on St. Denis and St. Laurent streets as well, you can walk there forever. Also you can visit St. Joseph oratory, they have very nice Chemin de la Croix gardens, with sculptures of of the last road that Jesus took till his crusifiction.

Toronto to me seems to have more distances to overcome. Though they have there a lot of ethnical areas with restaurants.

garyt22

If you're looking for a NYC experience with double the melting pot of ethnic groups and experiences, Toronto fits the bill...

If its a touch of Old Europe with a French flavor... then its Montreal... some areas are very quaint

For Theatre, Art and Music, as well as museum quality, look to Toronto as the Canadian leader with the edge over Montreal...

For a heartier dose of French Canada with a Parisian flair, there's also Quebec City...

OceanBreeze1

I like Gary's suggestion of Quebec City! That wld be a wonderfully romantic place for your 60th birthday celebration!

I also like Montreal. Le Germain is a great little boutique hotel downtown (close to McGill University.) From Le Germain you can stroll over to the Museum on Sherbrooke. You'll pass one of our favorite restaurants ( Il Cortile on the south side of Sherbrooke). www.germainmontreal.com

Another interesting city is Halifax in Nova Scotia. Mid-September is the perfect time to be there. Off the top of my head, no boutique hotels spring to mind but I will see what I can find.

impacked

Hmmmm, lots of good stuff! Thank you allfor your time and great suggestions. Today is Sunday so I will have time for research.

mat54

Well, it sounds like you might be open to just about anywhere that 5 days (and decent weather) permits if those were the only reasons you ruled out Bali and Costa Rica! Those 2 places for me conjure up visions of beautiful scenery and unique nature. As well as culture and interesting food.

In any event, although this may be in large part because I grew up in Toronto (still live fairly close) and have visited Montreal often, I would choose somewhere else if I had 5 days to spend anywhere in Canada and wanted something special and unique. A few thoughts:

- Vancouver Island: splitting the 5 days between Victoria and the Tofino/Pacific Rim National Park area. (Superb natural wonders include old-growth temperate rainforest, Pacific Northwest Native culture and art, great seafood, and lots more). Depending on your flight times, etc, this might be a bit of time push though.
- Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia: Gaelic/Celtic culture in the west, spectacular Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park in the North, more great seafood. Fly into Halifax and rent a car (maybe spend your last night in Halifax which has a vibrant Harbor district - shops, historic properties, pubs, boardwalk).
- The Canadian Rocky Mountains: A high end Resort Lodge in Banff or Lake Louise or Jasper with day trips to include the Icefields Parkway at least as far as the Columbia Icefields.

However, I do like Quebec City, which was suggested, also. In 5 days, you could do both Montreal and Quebec City. The latter is uniquely charming, but the main attraction of "Old Quebec" ("Vieux Quebec") - the 17th century fortress city - is quite compact and can be explored in a couple of days. That would allow you to still spend 2 or 3 nights in Montreal (about a 2 1/2 hour drive away) - in one of the "Old Montreal" district boutique hotels. This mix will give you a little bit of French-Canadian culture, interesting sites to wander and options for some great dining.

And, Toronto certainly has wonderful city-type attractions. The Royal Ontario Museum is top-notch and a must if you like museums. The city is very cosmopolitan with multi-cultural neighbourhoods and a huge variety of restaurants.

BAK

I'd fall asleep in Quebec City for five days, but not in Montreal.

Toronto's fine, but Montreal is more different.

BAK

impacked

Thanks for all you helpful information Mat!
Bak, loved your description...I totally get it.

v0yage

Montreal and Quebec City