seascape

In late May my husband and I will be staying in Toronto for 5 nights and then driving to Montreal (via the 401?)for a 4 night stay. We are stumped as to where we should spend the one night between the 2 big cities. I was thinking about a B&B but have no idea as to what city/town would be interesting/quaint. Any ideas?

kodi

I would highly recommend staying in Kingston. It's a very historical city and is right on the water. We have stayed at the Rosemount Inn which is right downtown and we loved it.
http://www.rosemountinn.com/

There are many great places to eat as well. Also the downtown area is not too far off the highway, so you aren't going out of your way to stop there.

I really like Kingston.

last_mango

If you're willing to detour off the 401 a bit, Prince Edward County is wonderful. We stay at the Bayside B&B: http://www.bbcanada.com/baysidebb
It's close to the Waupoos Winery as well as a cidery.

LuvToTravel77

Personally, I would say do the drive in one day. It's only 6 hours (you can do it in 5- 5 1/2 if you drive quickly) and your time and money in my opinion would be much better spent in either Montreal or Toronto than one of the cities in between. I've been to Kingston many times and while it divides the trip evenly, I find it to be a quite boring town. Perhaps it's because I've been there many times but I really think that it is worth skipping.

Paul_Chretien

I'm with the previous poster 100 per cent. Unless you have real difficulty staying seated for 5 or 6 hours, I wouldn't try to break up the drive.

While there are decently pretty places to see along the way, like Cobourg or Brockville, which are both on the water, or the Thousand Islands parkway, which is an alternate road for a few kilometres that goes along the water, none of those places is a big enough draw to warrant an overnight.

I personally have bad feelings towards Kingston (must have something to do with an unfortunate dinner spent at a restaurant called Buckaroo's Cowpoke Grill) and think Kingston is best for a pee-break and a Tim Horton's coffee.

highflyer

We had lunch in Kingston and carried onto Montreal. Can't remember the name of the little cafe but the coffee/hot chocolate was very good.

Daniel_Williams

I like Kingston too, for its history and architecture (briefly was capital of the dominion of Canada). It's not big city excitement, but just a pleasant large town. A nice walking tour would start downtown near Confederation Park and work one's way toward Queen's Campus and MacDonald Park. Pan Chancho's there is a great bakery/lunch stop. I found folk quite friendly there too.

Cheers, DAN

seascape

This is the first time I have used a forum, and I am thrilled at the responses. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. After considering the feedback we are going to drive straight through to Montreal adding another day there. We will just have a quick peek at towns along the way and stop for lunch in Kingston. (Or another suggestion?) We will probably stay at the Omni in Montreal but are looking for quaint restaurants/neighborhoods in Montreal. (We wont't have a car - big cities and parking are too much for us.) If anyone needs info on the Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz area (California), I might be a help. Thanks again.

mitchdesj

seascape, glad you are enjoying the forum; you might want to do a search using the words

montreal food

it will turn up many threads on restaurants to guide you; then you can determine what seems to be your budget, preferences; there's so much to pick from in Montreal.

BAK

Since you're from the quaint towns part of California...

From Toronto, take highway 401 east troward Montreal, getting off not far from Toronto, at Port Hope. Go down to highway 2, which runs alongthe side of Lake Ontario, and take this through Port Hope and over to Cobourg. Then back to highway 401.

Take 4012 to Trenton, where you once again head south, crossing into Prince Edward County. Follow the road along the side of the Lake, go through Picton, and head for teh Glenora Ferry.

Take the ferry back onto the mainland and follow the road into Kingston.

From Kingston, back to highway 401 for a little while, until you see signs for the Thousand Islands parkway. Follow these signs, and you'll be beside the St. lawrence River for a little while,a nd then the parkkway curves and meets 401, and you stay on this all the way to Montreal.

If you're interested in ships, around Brockville and Cornwall look for access points to the river, where there will be viewing stations to watch ships going through the locks.

If you follow this suggestions you will spend a very interesting day, and still get to Montreal in time for a mid-evening dinner.

BAK

laverendrye

Kingston is a lovely city and a good place to stay overnight if you are not in a hurry to get from Toronto to Montreal. If you have the time, certainly follow BAK's itinerary for a much more interesting trip than the very boring trek along 401.

When in Kingston, take the time to visit Fort Henry, which will open around the middle of May. http://www.forthenry.com/home.htm

Belleview House, the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald is also very interesting and worth a visit.

Kingston was briefly the capital, not of the Dominion of Canada (formed in 1867), but the United Province of Canada from 1841 to 1844.

Kingston has a number of B&Bs in the historic older part of town, including the Rosemount Inn. I haven't stayed there, but it has had lots of good reviews. There are also several modern hotels right on the water downtown.

I wouldn't put much faith in recommendations to skip Kingston on the basis of a bad meal or an opinion that it is "boring".

laverendrye

For more on Kingston, here's an article in yesterday's Ottawa Citizen:

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...7-3f3f562c893d

In the same edition, there are pieces on the "best" of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifx.