Montreal or Quebec City

[OZDUCK]

I have already said on here that we are going to be in Canada for August this year - first time. I am now trying to work out timings. I have 5 nights to allocate between Montreal/Quebec City - probably on a 3/2 night basis. After Quebec City we will be hiring a car to drive to Prince Edward Island & Nova Scotia - an AVIS one way hire, dropping the car off in Halifax to fly back to Toronto for our CX flight home.

Which split would you suggest? We are not clubbers or big drinkers so most of our time would be wandering around looking at the sites and trying the local foods. We will already have spent 8 nights in Toronto & Ottawa.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. (if you think 5 nights is not enough for both cities let me know.)

 

[civi_joe]

I was in Quebec last year for 2 full days and felt that was enough to see everything. Nice compact old city for walking around, with some great French food and architecture. Brush up on your French too.

 

[clazman]

I would do 3 days in Quebec city due to the great architecture and history.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'd suggest 3 nights in Quebec City and two in Montreal. Both are very nice and that timing is probably OK.

What route are you taking to PEI? From Quebec City I'd head through the Eastern Townships (Saint George) and into Maine, then head along the coast road in Maine north for as much as time allows and then through Saint John, New Brunswick.

 

[oobi doobi]

My choice would be 3 days Quebec City even though it is a compact city compared with Montreal. As civi_joe said brush up on your French, it will make things a lot smoother. Was the hire car a lot more expensive for a one way trip to Halifax? Will discuss in a week or so when we see you ozduck.

 

[amaroo]

I agree with others 2 Montreal and 3 Quebec City.

We've also driven however, going the other way NS > Quebec - great drive. Are you doing the ferry across the Bay of Fundy, Saint John > Digby? The tide is something to see Bay of Fundy Tides: The Highest Tides in the World!

 

[amaroo]

I have already said on here that we are going to be in Canada for August this year - first time. I am now trying to work out timings. I have 5 nights to allocate between Montreal/Quebec City - probably on a 3/2 night basis. After Quebec City we will be hiring a car to drive to Prince Edward Island & Nova Scotia - an AVIS one way hire, dropping the car off in Halifax to fly back to Toronto for our CX flight home.

Which split would you suggest? We are not clubbers or big drinkers so most of our time would be wandering around looking at the sites and trying the local foods. We will already have spent 8 nights in Toronto & Ottawa.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. (if you think 5 nights is not enough for both cities let me know.)

We did three nights in Montreal a couple of years ago. My TR might interest you, the Montreal part starts here http://www.australianfrequentflyer....es-helicopter-airboat-57072-3.html#post978093

Sorry no TR on Quebec City or the drive from NS ... that trip was well before AFF existed.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for your responses. I think my thoughts are the same - more time in Quebec City for, as civi_joe & clazman said, the architecture, history & food.

My French is merde, but was enough to get us around Paris, Verdun, Rheims & Picardy a couple of times in the last few years so hopefully it will suffice. I can certainly exchange the proper pleasantries, ask for a table in a restaurant, read the menu and order a demi-litre of biere & un verre de vin so that is a start. I understand that the French complain about the Quebecois accent so we will see.

RooFlyer, at the moment I am thinking of doing it basically the other way. Driving along the north bank of the St Lawrence (Charlevoix) and then catching a ferry to Trois Pistoles and going down to PEI from the north. But that is still subject to change. Was the Maine trip worth the hassle of crossing the borders twice?

One way car hire is still cheaper than flying in Canada and there look to be some nice places to visit on the way.(oobi doobi I will see you later.)

(Thanks amaroo, I just saw your post after I had posted my reply. I will have look at your trip report.)

 

[RooFlyer]

I lived in Quebec (the province) for a year and can assure you they don't speak French there ("quebecois") . Admittedly it was up-country; in Quebec city its probably a bit more sophisticated and in most of Montreal your English will probably work better than stumbling French.

When we drove from Quebec to New Brunswick via Maine it was winter, and before 9/11 and the ramping up in the USA border process, so not really analogous to now. But if you check for the optimal road border crossing into the USA, I think it would be worthwhile. The Maine coast - we accessed via Bangor - is very pretty and, of course, great lobster, in season, if you are a fan. Northern New Brunswick is mainly forest, lakes and swamps, but if you do go that way, drop in on Frederickton. Quite pretty too. The St Lawrence River valley is scenic, but keep off the freeways - you won't see so much.

Edit: I guess you are driving up from Toronto? The 401 freeway is demon! Take it to Kingston but afterwards take the other roads. Kingston is gorgeous (I lived there for 18 months going to uni) and the 'Thousand Islands' between there & Gananoque is really nice. if there is a ferry or a cruise around some of the (mostly tiny!) islands, try to get on it.

 

[Homer]

Just another vote for spending more time in Quebec City than Montreal. We did it the other way around and regretted not spending longer in Quebec City.

 

[torks]

RooFlyer, at the moment I am thinking of doing it basically the other way. Driving along the north bank of the St Lawrence (Charlevoix) and then catching a ferry to Trois Pistoles and going down to PEI from the north. But that is still subject to change. Was the Maine trip worth the hassle of crossing the borders twice?

I went from Quebec City down into Maine about 18 months ago. There was some great place along the Maine coast. From my experience there was no trouble crossing the border into the US. We crossed at the Armstrong Canadian border, and there was no hassles, took about 10 minutes and didn't even have to get out of the car. I'd put it down as a non-factor in deciding wether to go to Maine or not.

 

[OZDUCK]

Once again, thanks for the responses. I think the consensus is pretty firm that Quebec City gets the three days.

Whilst the trip through Maine sounds good I do think that I still am leaning towards the north bank of the St Lawrence, overnighting at Tadoussac before crossing over to the south bank.

RooFlyer, we are indeed driving from Toronto but only to Ottawa. We then train to Montreal & Quebec City before picking up another car for the PEI trip. We have actually already booked a night in Gananoque especially for a Thousands Island cruise. Thanks for the info about the 401 - there seems to be lots of warnings about it. Wiki claims that it is the busiest freeway in the world - and I thought I had encountered terrible traffic driving on the Paris Route Peripherique in peak hour.

I had thought about leaving the 401 and passing through Kingston on the way to Gananoque so you have made my mind up for me - thanks. (By the way, I dislike lobster and crayfish - so naturally my son has 4 private craypots and we often have our freezer half full with them.)

 

[RooFlyer]

I wish I could post a pic of the 401. From memory (and a few years ago), within Toronto it was 4 lanes each way 'express' PLUS 3 lanes each way of 'collectors' on the outside of each way - where you get on and drive a few km before joining the express part or exiting again. But the drivers are nicer than in Paris, so that makes a difference.

Depending where you are in Toronto, from downtown area rather than the Don Valley Parkway then the 401, use the Kingston Road which sort of follows the coast and join the 401 just south of Pickering (where you can enjoy the views of the nuclear power station ).

If you buy Maple syrup to bring back, make sure its the good Quebec stuff. Accept no substitute!!

 

[OZDUCK]

Depending where you are in Toronto, from downtown area rather than the Don Valley Parkway then the 401, use the Kingston Road which sort of follows the coast and join the 401 just south of Pickering (where you can enjoy the views of the nuclear power station ).

I have been using wiki & google earth to look at the 401 and it is a pretty impressive, if daunting, sight.

We are staying in a new condo. York St - 40th floor looking over the lake, close to the CN Tower and will be picking up the car near Union Station as it is an easy walk, maybe 200m, from the condo. I can see the route via Kingston Road but from our start point would it be better than the Don Valley Parkway?

 

[c814875]

I would go the opposite from the crowd and spend more time in Montreal. Old port is great, excellent food, galleries, shopping and a six flags! What is the car hire like? I discounted doing one way hire as it was too expensive and did return drive from Halifax to PEI (bridge over, ferry back), it was a good drive. Also Halifax is very pretty and worth a few days if you are in the neighbourhood.

 

[RooFlyer]

I have been using wiki & google earth to look at the 401 and it is a pretty impressive, if daunting, sight.

We are staying in a new condo. York St - 40th floor looking over the lake, close to the CN Tower and will be picking up the car near Union Station as it is an easy walk, maybe 200m, from the condo. I can see the route via Kingston Road but from our start point would it be better than the Don Valley Parkway?

Might be best to ask locally, and dependent on the time of day you will be leaving. I used to prefer the Kingston Road but the freeways probably OK for out of peak.

The Gardiner Expressway is elevated and IIRC a bit hard to get onto from downtown (its the main feeder onto DVP). Anyway, I should leave it at that, traffic conditions probably vastly different when I lived there (Jarvis St, downtown ).

Altogether I had 3 years living in Toronto, Kingston and northern Quebec; hated Quebec but loved the other 2 places.

 

[OZDUCK]

Once again thanks for the replies.

c814875 (can I call you c) I agree that the one way hire price is more expensive but only by about $100 with AVIS. It does leave us with an extra couple of days to explore the maritime regions, including Halifax - which is where we intend to spend the last few days. It is good to know that it is worth a look. We have to get back to Toronto Airport & there are hourly flights from Halifax.

RooFlyer yes I agree that traffic will decide the way to go. According to me it is only 800m or so to an on-ramp. However there are huge roadworks & rebuilding around Union Station so I will ask the locals for their advice & it is good to know of an alternate route. I see that Jarvis St is very downtown and right next to the glamorously named CabbageTown.

 

[clazman]

However there are huge roadworks & rebuilding around Union Station so I will ask the locals for their advice & it is good to know of an alternate route. .

That was going on 3 years ago, good to see our roadworks aren't unique