swatson4873

First trip to Canda! Went to Sweden/Denmark last summer and our family is bitten by the international travel bug! We're planning a family auto trip w/ an 18 yr (male) and 13 yr old (girl) - will be driving from Boston, Mass to Quebec City and staying 7/26-28 at Hotel Acadia and then traveling to Montreal from 7/28-7/31 staying at Anne Ma Soeur Anne before returning to Boston. My son loves music (all types) and my daughter loves soccer and good food. Any suggestions for activities, restaurants are much appreciated! My son will start college in the fall and I'm trying to plan a fun family trip before he leaves home.Thank you for suggestions!

Vttraveler

You are in a great location for good eating in Montreal. Take a walk along Duluth just south of Anne Ma Soeur Anne and your main problem will be choosing between the many good restaurants. Many are BYOB. (Note that the drinking age is 18 in Quebec province so your son will be "legal" there).

Be sure to sample some smoked meat at Schwartz's deli
http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/index2.html
and some Montreal bagels at the Fairmont or St-Viateur bakeries.
There is a decent-sized Chinatown and a pleasant Little Italy neighborhood with an excellent market (Jean Talon)

Our favorite museums are the Musée des Beaux Arts (there is an interesting-looking exhibit about Miles davis this summer which might appeal to your son), the Biosphere and the
Pointe-à-Callière archeology museum.

check out the official tourist site for events--the summer is full of festivals. Unfortunately you will miss the weekly summer tam tam (drum) concert on Sunday afternoon.

There are lots of bike paths and your family might want to rent bicycles and explore that way, too. The city has excellent public transit and I would recommend parking your car and using it.

Hope you have a great trip! It is nice that the whole family will have time together before your son heads off to college.

maryanntex

I just got back from Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa, and loved them all--and each so different!

Also at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Montreal is a small exhibition of diamond, ruby, emerald, etc. necklaces inspired by each of the Cirque de Soleil shows. Very cool. Also there is a great glass art exhibition at the same museum that might be interesting for you.

We loved the chocolate and the gelato at Suite 88 on St. Denis: http://www.suite88.com/

In Montreal, we loved m:brgr http://www.mbrgr.com/ Since we felt like we raised the average age to 25 when we walked in the door, it might be a place your kids would like. Great pulled pork sandwich. It's super loud, and not a restful dining experience, but we liked it so much we went twice. We also liked the food at Cafe Cherrier, but had terrible service. (We were in no hurry, so not a major problem.)

In Quebec City, in addition to the bike paths, there are separate roller blading and walk/jog paths next to the Museum of Fine Arts. I wished I'd had my roller blades with me.

In Quebec City, I took a 4-hour tour to Montmorency Falls, Ile D'Orleans, and the Basilica of Ste. Anne de Beaupre. https://www.toursvieuxquebec.com/en You can get information at the booth on the boardwalk in front of Chateau Frontenac. Really a good tour, and it didn't take up the entire day.

We ate at Sous le Fort (great food, great service), Cafe du Monde (good view, good food, not good service), Aux Ancienes Canadiens (go for lunch--much better deal price-wise, and the food is heavy), Il Matto (good Italian food, very sleek and modern restaurant, and much less expensive than you'd expect, based on the surroundings). My very favorite meal was the ravioli at Le Pain Beni, and the service there was excellent, too. We ate lunch (and dinner, too) several times at Pizzette on St. Paul. Good salad and pizza.

swatson4873

Thanks for the suggestions - I had planned on the Biosphere, however have seen on several sites that and the Insectarium are temporarily closed . . .However on their site it isn't mentioned??. The Musee des Beaux Arts will be added to our to-do list definitely. I can't wait - will report back as well. . .and yes how many times has my son reminded me the drinking age is 18!!Sounds like finding good food won't be a problem. Thank you!

Vttraveler

There are two different museums, the Biodome and the Biosphere. I think only the Biodome is closed.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/biosphere/
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/bio....php?langue=en

Re Quebec drinking age: Many kids in northern Vt go up to Montreal to celebrate after their 18th birthdays (reasonable to me as long as they plan to stay overnight and don't drink and drive). When my son was at McGill University he had lots of visitors.

swatson4873

Appreciate the clarification - will add it back onto our list of "to do". Cheers

Augusta78

We just returned home from a similar trip to Montreal and Quebec...and yes the biodome and insecterium are closed. We were told that they are closed due to labor strikes and that they have been closed for about a month now. Of course no one said anything to us until after we purchased the museum passes!
In Quebec city there is a free outdoor Cirque de Soleil show at night near old port. I believe it runs Tuesday to Saturday night. We really enjoyed it.
Since your son loves music, he might enjoy the Miles Davis exhibit at the museum of fine arts in Montreal, included in the museaum pass.
It would be hard to find a bad restuarant, however be prepared...they are really expensive (and i live pretty close to NYC)
Have a good time!

Vttraveler

For ideas on interesting inexpensive restaurants in Montreal you could check out Sarah Musgrave's Resto A Go Go.
Many of the BYOB restaurants on Duluth are also quite reasonable, especially because you are buying the beer or wine. You will also be near Prince Arthur street which has a fun pedestrian area but I think Duluth has the better selection of restaurants.

I forgot to mention La Ronde, the amusement park in Montreal which could provide a change of pace. This is a sore topic with our younger son because he has not been there for years--every time we have planned on going recently it has rained.

The Maison du Jazz is a good place to check out with your son
http://www.houseofjazz.ca/