moosegolf55

My wife and I are planning to go to NIagra Falls in late July, early August. I want to travel through Canada on the way out through Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Maybe come back through New York. Better to drive the whole way or fly to Niagra Falls and rent a car and fly back? Also how would you allocate time if spending 7 days?

jjmb

I have driven Toronto to Portland, Maine via Montreal many times. It is about 6 hours from Portland to Montreal (not sure where in Maine you are starting from). From Montreal to Ottawa, it's around 2.5 hours (depends on traffic and how heavy your foot is). From Ottawa to Toronto, it is 4.5 to 5 hours (again, traffic and heavy foot). And about 1.5 from Toronto to Niagara. From Niagara back to Maine, going through New York, is about 13ish hours, I think.

If you like driving, this is doable. The drive between Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto/Niagara is not particularly scenic. If you were to drive from Maine straight to Niagara and back, that is 2 full days of your 7 days, 1 on each end. If you make detours for Montreal and Ottawa, tack on another day. It's a lot of ground to cover.

As for allocating your time, it depends what you like to do. If your timing is right, in Montreal you can catch some shows at the Just for Laughs festival. There is of course great dining there too.

Ottawa has the Parliament buildings and the canal, along with some good museums.

Toronto has terrific theatre and some great restaurants, plus the CN tower, Art Gallery, museums, science centre, and lots more.

Niagara has the falls of course, and the butterfly conservatory, the casinos, and of course all the wax museums!

What kinds of things interest you?

moosegolf55

Thanks for the reply. My wife wants to see the falls (but probably wont want to do the maid of the mist). I really want to see the Cathedral in Montreal and just see the city. Friends I know who are Canadian suggest going to Old Quebec City. This doesn't seem practical if also going to Niagra Falls. My wife always says I try to cram too much into a vacation and she is probably right. I will probably drive one way through Canada and the other way through New York. We like food, scenery and history. Any suggestions on what to put in and what to leave out? I heard the glass museum in Corning is nice and possibly baseball hall of fame.

jjmb

It kind of depends what your starting point in Maine is whether Quebec City is viable or not. There is certainly lots to see and that area is quite scenic. And they have good restaurants and lots of history.

Each city - QC, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto - has their own attractions, but I think it would be so compressed if you tried to do them all in 1 week. While Ottawa is a lovely city, I would leave it out because it would save you a day and you need a slight detour to get there. And I would probably save QC for another trip. You can get there fairly easily from Maine any time.

It's too bad the drive is not particulary scenic along the 401 highway. But the drive back through NY State and NH is pretty.

moosegolf55

Thanks all for the reply. Probably will skip Ottawa and Quebec City. Maybe head there in the future.