My friend and I are flying into Montreal, Quebec and driving down to Boston then to Washington, DC. We will have 3 days in each city, and are taking our time for the drive South to each city. We will arrive in Montreal in the middle of September. After our stay in D.C., we will be driving back up to Montreal for our flights home.

We pretty much have a good idea as to what to see/do/eat in each city, but are at a loss as to which route to take. We know that it will be the begining of the beautiful foliage season, so we'd like to take the scenic routes. Also, suggestions as to any "off-the-beaten-path" towns/cities/restaurants along the way would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for any advice!!

Jacquie

up you go.

Hi Jacquie-
I can maybe help with the Montreal to Boston portion of your trip. From Montreal, I would head east into the eastern townships-basically the towns along Route 10 between Montreal and Sherbrook. Get a good map and pick a route! I would cross the US/Canada border at Rock Island (I-91). You can either take I-91 South which is scenic, or Route 5 which is also very scenic to hte St. Johnsbury area and spend the night there. There is a new Comfort Inn and a couple mom and pop motels. The next day, follow I-93 south briefly into NH and pick up Route 302 East. Follow Route 302 east through New Hampshire's White Mountains and into Maine. You could spend your next night in the Portland area. The next day take your time driving to Boston via Route 1A-you'll go through some great coastal towns. If you'd like more specifics about things to do along this route, just let me know!

Visit the Sebago Lake area as you head through Maine, just beautiful that time of year.

Also Cape Cod, south of Boston, is lovely and worth a detour in September.

The Boston to Washington run is about 8.5 hrs. if you are taking the fastest route and have no traffic. If you want to shun-pike, you may have to spend one over-night -- see my rec. below.

We did this recently -- recommend it:

From Boston take turnpike (I-90) to Worcester (see it's museum - a gem). From Worcester continue on 'pike to Sturbridge exit and see Sturbridge village (colonial-era working town, good restaurants). From Sturbridge, take I-84 across Conn. into NY to Newburgh. Head south on 9w = Palisades Pkwy. -- this is a very scenic route, and stop at the Storm King museum/reserve. Right now there's an exhibit outside of Calder sculptures.

Follow the Palisades Pkway 9W down to to I287 west to Garden State Parkway. Stay on Garden State Parkway only as far as I80. Take I80 west to I287. Follow I287 around NYC to exit for NJ 202 to New Hope, Penn.

New Hope is in beautiful, quaint Bucks County. There are several lovely B&Bs there and some wonderful restaurants. I'd do a search for more info on this area (New Hope/Doylestown). If you are willing to take the time, it would be a great overnight.

From Bucks County/Doylestown, take PA 611 to the I-276 Blue Route beltway around Phila. to I-95 to Wilmington. (There are some spectacular things to see near Wilmington, notably the Winterthur grounds and museum.)

From Wilmington, if you still don't want to take I-95, many people love to take rte. 13 to rte. 301 to rte. 50 / I-595 into Washington.

(Strongly recommend getting a set of detailed maps to help you stay on the right rtes.!) Let us know how you do.

I always forget that sometimes writing the name of an interstate comes out looking like a route number beginning with a one. Please note (depending on what font your display is in) that all those routes begin with a capital "I" (for Interstate) except for Rte. 13.

(And apologies to Punctuation Police for the "it's" when I meant "its." It's the heat.)

Hey thanks, guys!!! This is perfect! Now we have our Montreal-Boston trip and our Boston-DC trip figured out. Thanks for the help!