Victoria Day
 

I am travelling to Canada from the UK at the end of May including the weekend around Victoria Day which I understand is Monday 24 May. I am not sure at this stage where I will be on that day.

However, I was wondering if I need to be aware of anything different that weekend - eg do lots of people travel that weekend so would it be good to get a hotel booked sooner rather than later. We will be in Montreal at least for the Friday and Saturday of that weekend but will have left by Monday 24.

On Victoria Day itself, will a lot of things be closed and transport services reduced or will there be hardly any difference in the major cities. We have Bank Holidays in the UK at that time so I am comparing Victoria Day to one of our Bank Holidays.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Dave, as you can see from my online name, I'm not in Montreal but rather in Calgary. In Calgary (and I suspect in the rest of Canada too), Victoria Day is like a Sunday. Train and bus frequency is reduced, as it is on a Sunday, banks are closed, and most ordinary businesses are closed. Many families go out of town for the weekend, so the roads into and out of the city at the beginning and end of the weekend tend to be busy. Most retail stores, however, are open for a few hours on Victoria Day, just as they are on a Sunday.

I suspect you're right in thinking that you probably would be better off booking your hotel sooner rather than later.

Judy, thank you for you reply. It sounds exactly like our Bank Holidays here in the UK.

I was wondering why hotel rates seemed higher in Montreal for that weekend compared to other places I have been looking. I wasn't sure whether rates were generally higher in Montreal (compared to say Ottawa, Toronto) or it was that weekend that was casing rates to rise.

In Central Canada, (Ontario & Quebec), it's customary to have fireworks on Victoria Day. I never did understand where that tradition came from because here in Vancouver it's Halloween that is the traditional time for fireworks - other than Canada Day of course.

The Tulip Festival in Ottawa, www.tulipfestival.ca runs until May 24. If you think you are going to be in Ottawa on that weekend, and you wish to stay in centre town, you would be well-advised to book accommodations early.

In Ontario, shopping on holidays such as Victoria Day, is limited to locations of touristic interest. in the case of Ottawa, that is the By Ward Market area.