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I have my last remaining old-style 241 to use before it expires on 30th September this year. Want to maximise its value and use for a long-haul trip but at the shorter end of the long-haul spectrum as can likely only get away for 4/5 nights max, so was thinking Canada/US east coast. Player 2 is averse to anywhere with an average daily temperature of over 27 degrees which is slightly limiting! I think Montreal may be a good option, neither of us have ever been. Any recommendations for trip length/best sights to see/good hotels/bars/restaurants etc would be much appreciated please! Also interested to know if English is widely spoken in the hospitality industry there? (Neither of us speak much more than patchy GCSE French…)
Great choice, we went to Montreal in October and stayed at the Intercontinental. Very nice city and everyone speaks English as well as French. I much preferred it to Toronto. You can also take a day trip to Quebec city which is worth seeing. FYI the plane we were on has the old style Club World but its a shortish flight anyway.
We went to Montreal (as well as Toronto and Quebec City) in October last year, delayed from our original plan of July. Firstly be warned that it can be very hot in the height of summer, so you may want to consider September. If you can do the very end of September you should see the fall colours which are stunning. Quebec City was stunning and you should definitely do an overnight trip there at least, it’s about 3 hours on the regular trains centre-centre. In Montreal, our hotel had great reviews but was average so won’t recommend that, but in terms of things to do you will likely want to climb Mont Royal (great views of the city), see the Old town (we went on a walking tour which was excellent and also showed us parts of the underground city which Montreal is famous for -because of those extreme temperatures!). We didn’t do the jet boating on the river but that looked a lot of fun, and in terms of restaurants we went to Monarque which was superb and on the AMEX platinum list so most of the bill was covered. You’ll miss the start of the ice hockey season but might catch a pre-season friendly if that’s of interest. Finally we went to the biodome which is worth a visit, like a mini Eden project in the old Olympic Velodrome. There’s a lot more than that to do and you can buy an Access Montreal card which gets you free or discounted entry to a lot of attractions. All the sights other than the biodome are either in or walkable from the centre so it’s worth staying central.
The setting of Québec City, the only fortified city in North America, is much more impressive and there is a lot more to see in than in Montréal so it merits more than a day trip [you can sort of gauge that from the things to do list above]. There is less English spoken in QC than M. The Saute-Moutons boat trip over the rapids in Montréal is fantastic; you will get totally soaked even with the waterproof they give you, but you leave dry clothes at the dock. As mentioned by others, don’t go in the summer.
Many thanks @jumpfrog @NigelHamilton @JDB – really appreciate your insights. Re weather think we’ll aim for either early June or September to avoid the heat. Definitely keen to incorporate Quebec City seeing as it’s only a 3 hour train trip so will look at splitting 3 nights/2 nights between them, ideally 3-3 if we can get the time off. If only BA flew to QC so we could avoid the return trip to Montreal airport! The river rapids boat trip sounds really up our street. Fortunately we’ll have the opportunity for ice hockey in January as we already have a 15 night 241 trip booked for Vancouver-Whistler-Revelstoke-Banff-Calgary to combine city sightseeing and some (hopefully excellent!) skiing.
I’ll add my 2p worth for Quebec City as well- we really liked it there and it’s worth at least the same time as Montreal if your plans allow. It’s very much more like a European City due to its history. If you’re doing the train, we booked on Via Rail and the business class was definitely worth it, about £60 each way bought in advance but came with a decent meal and free alcohol. We didn’t do this but Air Canada flies from Montreal to Quebec in about 50 mins, both airports are outside the city so probably worth doing that on the way home and take the train there. In the city itself, you could spend ages wandering the streets taking photos. We stayed at the Quebec Hilton which is just outside the old walled city and in a very tall building, hence magnificent views. We also had some excellent meals, La Pizzaio (1 min from station) looks like nothing from the outside but was the best meal we had in Canada with a fantastic owner. Then we went to Le Lapin Saute and La Buche, both of which you would need to book in advance as they were very popular. We had a rickshaw bike tour with (I think) Tours Vois Quebec and a walking tour booked through the Quebec tourist office. Also for a great view of the Chateau Frontenac you could get the ferry to Levis rather than shell out for a river cruise. Finally we visited the Fort which was interesting and also has great views. Have a great time, I would love to be back there!
For anyone who has more time around Québec City and plays golf, the Richelieu golf course (where there is a Fairmont) is about 1 1/2 hours away – really spectacular course with views of the St Lawrence. We did it as a day trip but next time we’ll stay there.
Our summer plan is to fly into YQB for 3 nights, coach to Montreal for 3 nights, coach to Burlington for 3 nights (where we intend to hire bikes and cycle the Lake Campion rail trail), Amtrak’s new service from Burlington to NYC, one night then fly home.
We were in Quebec last August. It never got too hot but maybe we were lucky. The underground city in Montreal is needed in the winter when it gets rather cold. I agree that Monarque is excellent.
Hilton in Quebec City has a very good exec lounge on the top floor for diamonds. Fantastic views. Very good food (but you pay for alcohol).
We went as far as Tadoussac for the whale watching in the St Lawrence river which was brilliant.
Thanks all, plenty to think about!
The Governor’s Residence in Quebec is worth a visit.
https://www.gg.ca/en/visit-us/citadelle/what-see-and-do/residence
Thanks for this, I was going to ask the question myself, going to see drake (the rapper) out there so looking for thinks to do!
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