If this was your first trip to Canada

[JennyMominRI]

Which of these 2 city combos would you pick
Montreal and Quebec City
Montreal and Toronto
Montreal and????? someplace else?

We will be coming from Rhode Island and bringing 2 teenage boys

 

[NancyK]

Hi Jenny,
I've never actually been to Montreal. Toronto has lots to offer - theatre, major league sports, Canada's Wonderland theme park in the summer, shopping etc. But have you thought about Ottawa? It's the nation's capital and only a couple of hours from Montreal. I've only been there a couple of times, but my DS, 21 goes to university there and he is never planning on leaving. He loves it that much. Quebec City is kind of neat too. What time of year would you be coming?

 

[JennyMominRI]

Hi Jenny,
I've never actually been to Montreal. Toronto has lots to offer - theatre, major league sports, Canada's Wonderland theme park in the summer, shopping etc. But have you thought about Ottawa? It's the nation's capital and only a couple of hours from Montreal. I've only been there a couple of times, but my DS, 21 goes to university there and he is never planning on leaving. He loves it that much. Quebec City is kind of neat too. What time of year would you be coming?

July... For some reason I just imagined that Toronto was closer to Montreal..I didn't realize Ottawa was close.. I admit I don't know much about Ottawa

 

[Babyjustrun]

Montreal & Toronto, or Montreal & Ottawa.

Quebec City, is quite neat, if you like old stuff, and history. It offers a lot on the culture side.

 

[mommasita]

Montreal and Ottawa...

We are about an hour and a half from Ottawa. Ottawa has the parliament building and I think your boys would like that. Lots to see..

Now as for Montreal, there is TONS of stuff to see, and July is the perfect time. We have The film festival, internation Comedy festival (juste poure rire), international fireworks festival, the jazz festival (amazing)..

The city is buzzing in the summer, and during these festivals there is SO much to do, and you can walk around downtown from one to another...

As mentioned in a previous post, if you need any information, I can pick up any brochures or anything else you need..

 

[SandraC]

Montreal & Toronto!

I am from Montreal and now live near Toronto.

It's about an easy 6 hour drive between the two cities. Half way between is KINGSTON. That's Canada's FIRST CAPITAL! It's very historic and beautiful. You can take 1000 Island boat tours to castles! If you are into GHOSTS, Kingston has a fun family friendly Ghost Walk!

Sandra

 

[amw]

Which of these 2 city combos would you pick
Montreal and Quebec City
Montreal and Toronto
Montreal and????? someplace else?

We will be coming from Rhode Island and bringing 2 teenage boys

It all depends what your teenage boys are interested in. Definitely Montreal - as a previous poster quoted, there's so much to do in the summer there.

I've only been to Quebec City once as a teenager, but I loved it. It's very European, very quaint, very French, absolutely beautiful. That being said, I'm not sure it would satisfy 2 teenage boys unless they were into history.

Here are a few sites for you :
http://www.quebecregion.com/e/
http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/villesquebec0.html

I live in the Greater Toronto Area. There's lots to do here, but I never liked the 5-6 hour drive from Montreal. (I'm not a great car traveller ) It depends how long your vacation is whether it's worth the drive. You may decide just to stay in Montreal.

 

[tone.def]

Which of these 2 city combos would you pick
Montreal and Quebec City
Montreal and Toronto
Montreal and????? someplace else?

We will be coming from Rhode Island and bringing 2 teenage boys

I would do Montreal and Halifax if driving that distance is possible - it would be a full day drive at least (I think I did it in 12-13 hours) between the 2 places...

 

[jeannief]

I'm near Toronto and would say Montreal and Quebec City are my favourite cities. But that would not give you a great insight into the English side of Canada..... so Quebec/Montreal AND Ottawa are my picks. Quebec City is doable in a couple of days, Montreal a few and Ottawa a few. All three are good cities for lots of walking. Toronto is not really a walking kind of city, imho.

 

[ferris198]

Jennief, I am surprised that you would say that as we are a city that does walk as that is what we do.
It is obvious that you do not live here or you would have not made such a remark.

 

[jeannief]

Ferris, you will note that I said I live NEAR Toronto, not in it. I also said that IN MY HUMBLE OPINION that Toronto is not a walking city. I mean this from a tourist perspective. If you live in certain areas of TO, than certainly there are ample places/opportunties to walk. But after years of working in TO and countless escursions with relatives to many of our wonderful attractions, it is more about driving and/or public transit to get from place to place. For instance, would you walk from Casaloma to the CN Tower? From the ACC to Danforth?
In Montreal and Quebec City things are more compressed; at least the things I like to see.
I stand behind my opinion, as, after all, it is MINE. If you didn't mean to belittle my opinion then I apologize for my tone. If you did....



edit to add to Jenny that Toronto has an easy to use transit system. Sounds like the distance between the 2 cities might be an issue as per your second post. I still say do Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa.

 

[amw]

Jennief, I am surprised that you would say that as we are a city that does walk as that is what we do.
It is obvious that you do not live here or you would have not made such a remark.

That's not necesary. I live in Markham, and I agree with Jennief. Are you going to walk from Toronto Zoo to the Science Centre to the Eaton Centre?

You can "walk" in any city, but you have to admit that Toronto is a large area.

Just because some Torontonians are suggesting to the OP to skip the city doesn't mean we don't love it and its world-class features. You're taking this way too personally

 

[iluveeyore]

Ottawa is a beautiful city with lots to see and do. Also, have you considered the Niagara Region of Ontario, especially Niagara Falls? Lots to see and do there for all ages.

 

[myasmum]

I live in Toronto LoL So I would say Montreal and Toronto LoL I have always wanted to go to Montreal heard its great.

Well I would say Toronto IF you are coming in the summer months, There is Canadas Wonderland http://www3.cedarfair.com/canadaswonderland/
Casa Loma http://www.casaloma.org/
Ontario place http://www.ontarioplace.com/
C.N.Tower http://www.cntower.ca/portal/
Last 2 weeks in Agusut there is the C.N.E http://www.theex.com/
Other things also

IF you are staying in the city for the night if you come on the weekend you can travel all over the city by Public Transit and buy a day pass which is $8.50 for 2 adults up to 4 kids under 18yrs old and unlimited travel get on and off the buses, subways, etc... I live in the city and this is how we travel all the time as no car.

If you want more info on Toronto or things around here let me know I will try to help as much as possible.
Robyn

 

[MouseFaninQueue]

Skip them all and come West where it's the Best!!!

 

[happycamper83]

I would vote for Montreal and Ottawa. For one, they are close together to not make travelling between them tedious. There are plenty of things to do in both cities, that's for sure. Both very beautiful cities, full of Canadian culture, IMO.

Toronto is a great destination as well, with some unique things the others can't offer... but I guess it all depends on what your family is interested in.

 

[calliemom]

We live about 20 minutes outside of Toronto and although we have spent many weekends in the city after just returning from 5 nights in Ottawa I would say that Ottawa is a great choice. You can contact the following tourism office:
'ottawainformation@ottawatourism.ca'
and they will be happy to forward a tourist information package for free.
Some things that we saw and really enjoyed as a family are:
Royal Mint
Museum of Science and Technology
National Gallery
Parliament Hill
Museum of Civilization
Byward Market -great restaurants and shopping
and much more that we were not able to get in on our 5 night stay.
Stayed at the Lord Elgin and it was a really nice property in a fabulous location (could walk to all the above except Science and Tech. Museum).
An if your boys are old enough to stay in alone at night, you can take a free shuttle from the hotel to the Casino in Gatineau.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I do like both Montreal and Quebec city, but if you are definitely going to Montreal, I'd suggest going to either Ottawa or Toronto as your second destination. They both have a lot to offer. One thing, if you are staying in Toronto, you could take a trip to Niagara Falls - the Canadian side is great and has lots to do.

Teresa

 

[NARM Forever]

I'm a Brit who has lived in downtown Ottawa for 12 years. Its a lovely city on the Ottawa River with lots to do for children and adults (museums, parliament buildings including the changing of the guard ceremony, market with good bars and restaurants, canal etc etc), its a good city for cycling too.

Montreal is great, took me a while for it to grab me but it did, again lots to do for the children, the biodome is a good day out and Old Montreal with its cobbled streets and artists is a great way to spend an afternoon/evening.

Quebec City immediately grabbed me, I loved it, the people were far friendlier than I expected and the food.... didn't have a bad meal in the 5 days we were there, every restaurant we tried was quality. We went in winter -30C weather and there was lots to do. Summer must be fantastic.

As for Toronto... if I was young and single I would definitely live there. Coming from Europe I was totally blown away by the size of the buildings (coming from North America this might not be so impressive). We enjoy the museums, the people, the transport and I love the relaxing nature of Toronto Island after the bustle of the city.

Good luck with your decision, definitely look at Ottawa as a possibility it has a lot to offer.

NARM

 

[sheilag]

I live in Ottawa, which is a great city and the nation's capital; but "home" is the west coast of Newfoundland. You might not have time to make the trip to Nfld. this time around, but I'd highly recommend you take a trip down east soon. It puts these other spots to shame for natural beauty and wonderful people (excuse my humility ...).

Seriously, the Vikings landed in L'anse aux Meadows, and Western Brook gorge is a natural fjord in Gros Morne National Park. What are you waiting for?