surich

Couple from England touring Canada. Starting Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa. Hiring a car. Is parking bad in these cities? If so where are the best places to stay and any free car parking. Also what kind of weather can we expect and what clothing goes.

Many thanks

BAK

The weather in this part of Canada varies depending on the time of year,unlike the really far north, where it is always cold.

When is your visit?

Parking in these cities is a lot easier than I understand parking is in London. Downtown hotels charge for parking, and it is pretty much impossible to find free parking, for longer than two hours. And that two-hours-free is hard to find, too.

Clothing varies; many visitors dress as they would for business; gentlemen were ties, and if not suits, at least sports jackets. Others are very casual. Clean jeans are good enough to gain admission to most mid-level restaurants, even at dinner.

BAK

zootsi

I often go to Montreal and stay at b&bs in the Plateau area. Free parking on the streets is readily available, you just may need to move the car on certain days.The person at the place your staying can usually direct you to free available parking. If you stay more in the downtown area, you will probably need to pay for hotel parking, whic usually runs about $14 cdn a night - ditto for the old city. As for Quebec City, there are some small hotels and b&b's in the old city that offer parking for a nominal fee. Street parking is more difficult in Quebec City than Montreal. As the above poster mentioned, nearly any kind of dress is ok, but Montrealers tend to dress up a bit more than in most other North American cities. As for the weather, the winter is bitterly cold, spring is almost non-existant, summer is very pleasant shirt sleeve weather, and fall is usually crisp and cool.

taggie

Parking will be a dream compared to parking in any of the cities I've been to in the UK!
Any downtown hotel will almost certainly have an attached garage where you can park either for free or a fee of something like $15 overnight.
Hotels not in the downtown cores will probably not charge for parking. Motels will not charge - you park outside your room.
Canadian dress casually pretty much all the time. Some restaurants might require a jacket and/or tie but they are few and far between, and very fancy!
It's generally warmer in most of Canada during the summer, and colder in the winter, than it is in England. The climate on our West Coast is similar to what you have over there, although again with warmer summers.

chocaholic

All hotels downtown charge for parking. But you should probably look for one with 'In an Out' privileges. So, that you pay for the day instead of paying again when you went out for a couple of hours. In Montreal, staying in a hotel that is 20 minutes away from downtown is okay (and you will get free parking), but if you like to walk around at night see downtown and old Montreal, it may be best to stay around downtown.