Canada vacation help needed

[kathmzh]

Hello all, I'm hoping it's OK to ask on this forum, I figure you guys are the experts! We're a family of five (kids 13, 10 and 10) traveling to northern VT for a wedding in August, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to take a long-awaited trip to Canada. My first thought was Montreal, it looks like a lovely city, but I have no idea what to do there with children. What is in the city/area that would make for a great vacation? We have varied interests, I would love any and all suggestions! (Restaurants, hotels, off-the-beaten-path stuff). Thanks!!

 

[damo]

Montreal is definitely a lovely city.

There are some great walking tours in the old section. The churches are very cool. There is a cute little six flags park called LaRonde. There are also very nice cruises down the St. Lawrence and, of course, the Bio Dome (which is like a science centre).

http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/TravelTrade/05/attractions.asp

We usually stay at the Loews Vogue hotel but I am sure there are other people who will recommend nice places.

 

[Saratoga Souris]

Quebec City. It is like a little slice of Europe. I have travelled all through Canada (helps when you are Canadian) and my 3 favourite cities are:

#1 Quebec City
#2 Victoria
#3 Ottawa

Montreal would be #4 - still a GREAT city

 

[MegaWoman]

I grew up in Montreal, and we camped in Northern Vermont all the time. It's not too far at all. Montreal in August is HOT! And there are things to do!

There is the Fireworks festival, Tam-Tams on the mountain, I think there's a Cirque du Soleil exhibit.

Just walking around shopping, visiting Old Montreal, eating at a restaurant patio and people watching is great.

You'll have a super time there.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

OP I have a bunch of info saved from when we visited, pm me if you'd like me to email it to you.

Frommers guide to Montreal was excellent, the online guide is almost as good as the book. We had won a trip for the presidents cup (golf thing) last Sep, so stayed at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. We went to the Biodome, the olde Montreal area, the Notre Dame cathedral w/ the light show, etc. My fave restaurant was rue Jardin Nelson in olde Montreal. Awesome atmosphere, live music, truly -you sit in a gorgeous garden, great food.

(just btw- I love Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal. I haven't been to every province yet though.)

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

OP, as I'm looking through things to send, I see it is 90% about food.

I have to say that in August it will be stunning in the Botanical garden and I will look for things for you there - when we went in September they had a magic lantern festival at night that was cool.

We enjoyed taking the public transit a couple of times (like to the botanic gardens) and it truly makes you feel part of the city.

If Montreal is your choice, you will love it, however parking is expensive and drivers can be , my DH was convinced at times that it was going to be the end of us. And he is an awesome driver.

HTH!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 

[Valjean13]

OP, as I'm looking through things to send, I see it is 90% about food.

I have to say that in August it will be stunning in the Botanical garden and I will look for things for you there - when we went in September they had a magic lantern festival at night that was cool.

We enjoyed taking the public transit a couple of times (like to the botanic gardens) and it truly makes you feel part of the city.

If Montreal is your choice, you will love it, however parking is expensive and drivers can be , my DH was convinced at times that it was going to be the end of us. And he is an awesome driver.

HTH!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Yeah, Montreal drivers are pretty crazy! And remember that in Quebec you can't turn right on a red light (but in Montreal you can drive right through it, as the joke goes )
I would second the idea of checking out Quebec City. You could go to both, it's about 3 hours or less of a drive between them.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I would probably recommend Quebec City over Montreal but I love both.

My top recommendation, though, we be the Maritimes. Go to Halifax, Nova Scotia. It's a great city with all your usual city stuff but with a certain European charm. From there you can take many side trips to some of the most scenic areas in the world.

 

[beachwarmer]

Yeah, Montreal drivers are pretty crazy! And remember that in Quebec you can't turn right on a red light (but in Montreal you can drive right through it, as the joke goes )
I would second the idea of checking out Quebec City. You could go to both, it's about 3 hours or less of a drive between them.

You can now turn right on a red light in the province of Quebec, but just not on the island of Montreal.

In Sunday's New York times there was an article about Montreal.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/travel/06choice.html?ref=travel

I just ate at Liverpool House last week and it was great.

Montreal has some great neighbourhoods to explore...

The Plateau has great restaurants and a great French vibe....the stores are unique....some of the restaurants are BYBO for wine.

Westmount is the English area and has some beautiful parks. The french bake shop Gascone on Sherbrooke St W is simply amazing.....

The underground city is a neat place....and in the winter a life saver. It is a collection of tunnels under the downtown which connect many buildings...with stores, train station, etc.

The biodome is an great place for kids. It shows the St. Lawrence ecosystem as well as others. There are animals etc.
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/site/site.php?langue=en

The history and archeology museum in Old Montreal, (View Port) is interesting for kids too. http://www.pacmuseum.qc.ca/index.aspx?lang=EN-CA

I love this hotel - http://www.aubergeduvieuxport.com/index_en.php
It is right in Old Montreal with the Caleche horses driving past. They have a great roof top, that would have an amazing view of the fire works festival.


A little farther:

Mont Tremblant - http://www.tremblant.ca/index.htm

Quebec City is celebrating it's 400th birthday so this summer would be a great time to visit there is you have the chance.
http://monquebec2008.sympatico.msn.ca/MonQuebec2008/?lang=en-ca

Ottawa - the capital is only about 2 hours as well


Have a great trip.

 

[Ham Ham]

Yeah, Montreal drivers are pretty crazy! And remember that in Quebec you can't turn right on a red light (but in Montreal you can drive right through it, as the joke goes )
I would second the idea of checking out Quebec City. You could go to both, it's about 3 hours or less of a drive between them.

When I moved to Ontario from Montreal I was amazed at how many poor driver there are, going to slow, sitting in the passing lane, not signaling, u-turns, slamming on brakes, not cleaning snow off their cars, driving way too fast in the snow...


I agree they may drive aggressively in Quebec, but they drive better.
Putting on flame retardant suit.
zzziiipppppppp.

OP. Quebec City and Montreal would be my recommendations. Culture, Great Food and a different Vibe.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

wow Ham Ham that's a shiny suit

 

[esdras]

Everyone has already mentioned some of the great things to do in Montreal, so I won't add to that. Since it is a major city, there will be stuff to do for everyone - your problem won't be finding something to do, but deciding what you will do and what you will skip.

The one bit of adivce that I will offer though is regarding the driving - just don't. Seriously.

Yes, you will have to drive into Montreal to get to where you are staying but I would adivse you to find a hotel close to one of the Montreal Metro (subway) stations. Basically, if you go to some of the Montreal tourist websites, you will be able to get a map of the Metro system, and then cross reference that with hotel locations. When my wife an I were last there (sadly, that's almost 10 years ago), we stayed at a Holiday Inn on (if I remember correctly) Sherbrooke St. in West Montreal. If we left the hotel via the back door, we simply had to cross the street and there was a Metro station RIGHT THERE. 10 years ago, an adult Montreal Transit one week pass (unlimited use of the system) was about $11 or so. That is well worth the cost (you'll have to pay to park your car at the hotel anyway - whether you take it out of the garage or not), when compared to the sanity it provides. You can get to pretty much anything of interest to your family with the transit system and you won't have to pay for parking upon arrival. You might wind up saving money by doing that in the long run.

Have a great time!

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I agree with Esdras. You don't have to drive in Montreal. They have a great public transit system.

I still vote for Halifax though!

 

[MrMarv]

Montreal's public transit system is among the top three in all of North America, certainly neck-and-neck with Toronto (another awesome city), and San Francisco.

Their extraordinary subway system and 'underground' will knock your socks off.

 

[esdras]

Montreal's public transit system is among the top three in all of North America, certainly neck-and-neck with Toronto (another awesome city), and San Francisco.

Their extraordinary subway system and 'underground' will knock your socks off.

I absolutely prefer Montreal's Metro to Toronto's Subway - for two reasons.

Montreal's underground Metro is far more comprehensive than Toronto's - it just goes more places.

More importantly - Metro trains run on RUBBER TIRES, as opposed to most systems (such as Toronto) which run on rails. The Montreal Metro is just smoother and MUCH quieter!

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I personally find the Montreal system more confusing than Toronto's. T-dot's is definitely more user-friendly in my opinion. However, Montreal's system is still great too!