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-   -   Quebec City to Niagara Falls (https://www.fodors.com/community/canada/quebec-city-to-niagara-falls-943424/)

aussie_nomads Jul 18th, 2012 10:54 PM

Quebec City to Niagara Falls
 
My husband & I will be travelling from Australia to New York for the marathon on 4 Nov. We're planning to do a driving holiday beforehand from NYC to Quebec City and return. We will have10 days. I would appreciate any suggestions for planning the itinerary, accommodation, restaurants, must-sees. I'm thinking of having an overnight stop in Vermont and then 2/3 days in Quebec City and appportioning the remaining time between Montreal, Ottowa, Toronto & Niagara Falls and back to NYC. Do you think this is too much to cover in 10 days? We're also interested in any good music venues, particularly Blues and French Canadian culture.

ozgirl Jul 18th, 2012 11:58 PM

Hi aussie_nomads! In 2011 we spent 5 weeks doing Boston/Bar Harbor/NB/PEI/Nova Scotia/Quebec City/Niagara Falls/Boston in that order!
A little longer than you have but my (very long!) trip report may give a bit of useful info..

http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...nd-a-moose.cfm

Let me know if there is anything you think I can help with :)

garyt22 Jul 19th, 2012 08:37 AM

we did a similar trip and found that two nights in each city allowed us a taste of each... your final drive after Niagara is about 10 hours so you may want to split that with a stop in the Finger Lakes of NY...

Andrewaddison Jul 20th, 2012 03:29 AM

Thanks for the great info.

http://www.umiasfashion.com/

mat54 Jul 20th, 2012 07:17 PM

The main attraction in Quebec City is the historic Old Quebec district and 2 days would be fine to stroll the cobblestone streets and enjoy the historic architecture, cafes, shops, street artists, etc. An optional third day if you want could be spent daytripping up the St. Lawrence through the picturesque Charlevoix Region perhaps to Baie Saint Paul.

Montreal is a bigger city, but with a vibrant downtown. The Old Montreal historic district, though smaller than Quebec City's, is pleasant and popular. Lots of fabulous dining in Montreal.

Ottawa is a nice city with a compact downtown - attractions include several excellent museums and the Byward Market district of shops and restaurants.

A possible stop or even short detour between Quebec or Ottawa and Toronto/Niagara is the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River. Veer off the highway to take the Thousand Islands Parkway. If time permits you can do a scenic cruise. If overnighting you could stay in either Gananoque (small town) or Kingston (larger town/small city with a pleasant downtown - a few nice restaurants and various shops).

And Toronto has many Big City attractions, theatre, museums, dining, multicultural neighbourhoods, etc. From Niagara Falls a short scenic drive away(via the Niagara Parkway) is the charming historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake - situated within Ontario's Wine Region (lots of wineries, some with excellent dining). But it's a lot to fit all these stops and their various attractions/activities into your time frame. What are your primary interests?

aussie_nomads Jul 22nd, 2012 07:37 PM

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Mat54 - thanks for your suggestions. I will definitely keep Gananoque & Kingston in mind if time permits. We both prefer small towns to large cities. Several of our friends also recommended Niagara-on-the-Lake and I will endeavour to incorporate an overnight stay there. We're both interested in wine so this would give us an opportunity to do some tasting. We also like browsing through book shops, bric-a-brac shops, art galleries, theatre & local cuisine. We love music - all kinds from classical, folk, country, rock, but especially blues.


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