Intro
In October 2025, I had the opportunity to visit 3 cities in the East of Canada - Montreal, Québec City & Ottawa, staying for 2 nights in each. This was my first trip to Canada, so I didn't know what to expect however I will definitely be returning!
Montréal
We started the trip in Montréal, in the province of Québec which was my favourite of the 3 cities. I stayed at the Montréal Marriott Château Champlain, which was the perfect location to walk to the city centre as well as to the old town / Port. Montréal has an underground city, so even in winter / rain it is easy to get around. There is a Métro station under the hotel too, connecting you to the rest of the city & the main station to take the VIA Rail.
To begin the 2 nights here, we had a bus trip across 3 islands in Montréal, learning about the history of the city and it did help us get our bearings as we were only there for a couple of days. We visited Mount Royal, the F1 racetrack, finishing with the AURA Experience at the Notre-Dame Basilica, which is definitely worth going to. The next morning, we took a 10 minute walk from our hotel to the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, which we visited for a hotel tour. In the hotel, there is a suite in which John Lennon stayed in for a week and wrote the song 'Give Peace a Chance' as well as a mini museum in one of the rooms - you can book this suite from around £1,500 per night! It was very interesting to see and to actually go in the room. We then walked to the McCord Stewart Museum, and we visited the 'Indigenous Voices of Today' section. Personally, I didn't know too much about Canada's history before, and I am really glad we visited and got to hear their stories and see lots of donations from some of the indigenous groups of Canada.
Quebec City
On day 3, we headed to Québec City, taking the VIA rail from the train station under the Fairmont Hotel. We travelled in their business class carriage, so had access to their lounge at the station with complimentary soft drinks and coffees. The trip took around 3 hours - it was really scenic with lots of the journey being through the countryside and the forest. October is one of the most popular times to visit Québec, due to their fall and the colours of the trees so we visited at the perfect time.
Again, in Québec city we began our stay with a 2 hour walking tour. We started in old Québec and walked through Quartier Petit Champlain, a very pretty shopping street. Unlike the other cities. the town was not built up so it didn't feel like being in a big city. We then walked along the Terrasse Dufferin to the viewing point of the Parc du Bastion-de-la-Reine, with views of the old town as well as the cruise port. It is a steep walk, however there is a funicular that's open every day and goes up/down the hill too. We stayed at the Hilton Québec, located close to the city so very easy to walk around. One of my highlights was on our second day there, visiting Montmorency Falls. Only a short drive from the city, this waterfall is 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls. You can do walking trails, a cable car or a Zipwire. We did the zipwire across the waterfall and then took the cable car to see how tall the waterfall actually was. Included in the price of the ticket is a video of you taking the zipwire, which you can download after.
In the afternoon, we took a 15-minute drive from Québec City to Wendake, home to one of First Nations of Canada - the Wendat's. In Wendake, there are shops, a hotel, museums and activities you can book, as well as taking guided tour. We had a tour and learnt about their history as well as visiting some of the shops. In the evening, we went to Onhwa' Lumina, still located in Wendake, which tells their story through a light show as you walk through the forest. We did this as a tour which you can also book to visit by yourself and there are QR codes to scan with further information on - It was a very good experience to finish our time in the Québec region with.
Ottawa
Both Montreal and Québec City are in the French province of Québec, so it was really interesting to see the difference when we arrived in Ottawa, which is in Ontario. Whilst there were still French aspects, you could tell that you were in a different province. We drove from Québec to Ottawa which took approximately 5 hours; however, you can fly or take the VIA Rail. On the drive, we visited Parc Omega, a 12 km safari trail with elk, bison, wolves, bears, deer etc. You can either drive through or you can hire one of their carts. You can feed some of the animals too, if you’re driving.
On our second day here, we took a tour of the Canadian Museum of History, featuring the world's largest indoor collection of totem poles, all made by indigenous artists. We also went to the Royal Canadian Mint and had a tour around the factory to see how the coins are made as well as to see the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics medals. To finish the trip, we did a food tour at the ByWard Market with C'est Bon. This lasted for a couple of hours, and we walked around the market and surrounding areas, so again I would recommend this at the start of your stay here.
I had the best time in Canada and will definitely be planning a trip to go back soon. What surprised me most about this trip was how none of the cities felt overly busy, especially with Ottawa being the capital - you could easily visit any of these cities as a 2 centre trip, or even all 3 by taking the VIA Rail between them! For me, the province of Québec was by far my highlight and with only a 7 hour flight (and 6.5 hours on the return!), the provinces of Québec and Ontario are far closer than they may seem! If you are considering a trip to either of these regions, please come in to see me in our Cheltenham shop and we can start getting your trip planned!
