we would like to go beginning of August. Like history and outdoors 2 parents and a 20 year old. beach would be nice. any help would be greatly appreciated. we have been to vancouver and victoria and absolutely loved that trip. thanks

No real beach in any of those places that I know about! Well, Toronto has Lake Ontario & "The Beach" area(East of Downtown To) but the actual beach is often closed b/c of high pollution counts. It's not a "beach" like Florida or Nova Scotia or PEI! It's a beach on a lake & the water is often polluted in August. So, cld you give us some more info as to what you are lookng for besides a beach? How long are you staying? Are you driving? Flying? And, from where? Quebec City is historically rich. You may be able to drive to a real beach from there...I don't know.

History? Outdoors? Go to Quebec City and then North to Tadoussac. Both are awesome world treasures. Literally, both are designated as such. Tadoussac has a beach but it is cold water - filled with Whales! Web search both.

For history and outdoors, I would choose Quebec City or Ottawa. Quebec City is very French, very old, and very scenic. Heading northeast from Quebec City, there is some wondeful countryside for hiking and exploring. Ottawa is very historical, very scenic, and has unparalled bicycling paths.
Montreal is the ultimate fun city for dining, nightlife and shopping - not much outdoorsy stuff, except for bicycling, unless you drive up into the Laurentians. None of these Canadian cities or outlying areas are particularly great beach destinations. As someone else mentioned, Tadoussac is somewhat of a 'beach resort' town, but the water is icy cold and not too inviting. There are lots of kayaking opportunites in this area however.

Gatineau Park, 20 minutes from downtown Ottawa, has nice beaches on Philippe and Meech Lakes. There are also beaches in the city on the Rideau and Ottawa rivers, but thy are sometimes closed.

http://www.capcan.ca/bins/ncc_web_co...297&lang=1

we can live without the beach. trying to please 20 year old and history loving dad. young one likes to do things not one for museums we will be driving from pa. map quest says 8 hours for toronto or montreal. what should we expect to pay for hotel nice but not elaborate. as always thanks for your help

maybe it would be interesting for you as well, "wine country" Niagara-On-The-Lake

http://inozo.com/activites/?ct_id=110