maryanntex

We are in the early stages of planning a trip to Montreal next summer, and I'm trying to figure out how many days to spend and where to allocate our time. We are three (or maybe four) women. We like sightseeing, museums, art and antiques, shopping, performing arts, walking and hiking, eating--just about everything except hanging out in bars. We will fly into Montreal and can stay between 7-14 days. For sure we want to go to Quebec City. Ottawa, too? Anywhere else? Should we take the train, or rent a car? Spend the night or do day trips? Thanks so much!

almcd

I would say that three days is about right to see the sights of each city. Renting a car for a day from Ottawa might be best, but I am not knowledgeable on the area around. However, the train is a good idea to get to Quebec City from Montreal. Since you are three or four, it will be more expensive but you would not need a car in Quebec City, so it would just lie in a parking spot for almost all the time. It might be worth considering renting a car from Montreal to Ottawa, since I did recommend using it for some sight-seeing while you were there. I guess you are flying out of Montreal, so you would be returning the car to the place from which you rented it. Look up www.viarail.ca for train schedules.

Carmanah

Ottawa, definitely - it has the best collection of museums in all of Canada. Be sure to visit the Museum of Civilization, the Canada War Museum, the National Gallery, and the Aviation Museum.

Gavin

To save time backtracking you should consider flying into one city and out of another.

In addition to being the best museum city in Canada, Ottawa is a pleasant city to visit so you should include it if you can. I don't think that a car is essential (or even particularly desirable) for any of these cities. A car is handy/essential if there are more rural areas that you wish to visit as well.

kkukura

Last year I went with my two children, 16 and 20, for 12 days to Montreal, Quebec City, and then further north to Tadoussac. We had a wonderful time. In Montreal we stayed in the Plateau area at a B & B. We took a bike tour of Montreal, walked everywhere to check out neighborhoods, went to a Cirque du Soleil performance, saw an International fireworks show, went to the History Museum (fantastic), rode bikes around, enjoyed Parc La Fontaine, and eating out. In Quebec City, we went to the Citadel, took in a baseball game, enjoyed shopping. I even learned about ringing church bells in one of the smaller churches in QC. I took a tour of the Parliament buidling. We ate at some great places too. I rented a car to drive from Montreal to Quebec City. I only used it in Quebec City when we drove to the baseball game. But I needed it to drive to Tadoussac (it was cheaper for me to rent it in Montreal and keep it for the week, then for us to go by train, even though it sat at the B&B in QC most of the time). On the way to Tadoussac we stopped at Montmorency Falls and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. We stayed in a chalet (great!) in Tadoussac. There we relaxed, enjoyed the beauty of the area, ate great seafood, and took a whale watching tour. We had a wonderful mix of cities, history, and nature.

maryanntex

Thanks so much to each of you for your helpful suggestions! I will be back later to ask about specifics once we have our tickets.