5 Summer Days in Montréal & Quebec

Birthday season means one thing: let’s get out of NYC. This year, both of our ankle injuries (how romantic) stopped me from being comfortable with committing to a place involving hiking. And yet, we still walked roughly 20K steps a day, many at an incline. We spent two full days in Montreal, half a day driving between Montreal and Quebec, making a stop at Trois Rivieras, and then 2.5 more days in Quebec. 5 Summer Days in Montreal & Quebec were a great way to feel European on my birthday without actually going there.

Quips

• FEQ: once a year is Quebec’s most popular music festival. In 2025, this festival lasts 11 days, and some of the featured artists when we were there included Rod Stewart, Simple Plan and Avril Lavigne – we listened to a little Avril over the wall. Also, the amount of stalls lining the streets giving away free items was really fun to partake in. 
• The mascot of the 22nd regiment in Quebec is a goat that splits his time between the Citadelle and a stable with its offspring.
• Microbreweries/beers: the vast number of breweries and beers that Evan (my favorite beer snob) found appealing was something to ride home about.
• Renting a car/driving: the easiest pickup, dropoff, lack of scrutiny of a car we’ve ever had in all our years traveling when doing a roundtrip pickup from Budget in Montreal.
• Politeness: Whenever I was in a bathroom line, I found that women didn’t want to check stalls in case it was impolite to knock/open a door. I wasn’t AS as polite and found many stalls were open on many occasions 🙂
• Montreal checks at restaurants: by default, waiters ask if a check will be split- they don’t assume one person will pay or the other.
• Bikers in Quebec: honestly the rudest bikers of any city I’ve encountered; if you stopped to look at your phone for one minute to understand where on the map you were, one biker or another were yelling at you; I totally understand being careful, not causing havoc, but you don’t own every sidewalk. 

5 July Days in Montreal & Quebec Itinerary:

Day 0: fly from NYC to Montreal at 8p – super quick and easy flight
Day 1: Montreal: Botanical Gardens & Bota Bota Spa experience
Day 2: Montreal: Bike Ride Lachine Canal & Formula 1 Montreal Racetrack
Day 3: Rent/Drive Car to Trois Rivieras -> Old Quebec 
Day 4: Quebec: Art Galleries -> Tour of the Citadel -> Plains of Abraham & FEQ Festival
Day 5: Quebec Day Trip: Montmorency Falls -> Ile d’Orleans

Montreal Activity Highlights (purple markers on map)

Botanical Gardens – some of you may know we like botanical gardens and flowers. Though these weren’t the most fantastic gardens we’ve visited, the varied colors of the lakes, the Chinese/Japanese gardens, and the arboretum we saw was a relaxing way to take in my birthday with my favorite person. 

Bota Bota – even more relaxing was the spa experience. Though we couldn’t get in at the time we walked in and had to reserve spots a few hours later (noted), the boat-turned-spa Nordic experience eased up any small tensions I had. It was similar to Sojo spa that all my friends go to in New Jersey, but less crowded, and on a boat. Also, the ice baths were far larger than any I’d seen at any spa (some were pool-sized). Interestingly, they cap you here at a two alcoholic drink maximum. Though the “vibe” is stronger during the day, the relaxing part for us was when more people left. The steam rooms, saunas, and jacuzzi’s were certainly sufficiently hot, and I really enjoyed that the boat was the “no talking zone” but that other parts of the spa were the social areas. 

Lachine Canal Bike Ride – we did this 20 mile ride on the 2nd day. It my 2nd time doing this bike ride: the first time I was a better-shaped 23 year old who made jests at my companions for not keeping up- and this time karma made a return- it was rough, especially in the heat. When I was 23, we did the bike ride round trip alongside the canal. This time we came back on the river side and were exposed to different suburban neighborhoods, a beach, and even saw some people surfing.

Formula 1 Racetrack – from there we biked another 10 miles to and through the Formula 1 Montreal racetrack. There was a bike lane on one side and a car lane on the other (though cars can’t go more than 18mph or 30km). Riding the corners, feeling the kerbs, seeing the grandstands and paddocks was a great memory for the books, and I hope to come back to see the race live here sometime, just like Austin. Before we dropped the bikes off at the rental place, we also stopped to marvel at the architecture of Habitat 67. 

Montreal Food Highlights (blue markers on map)

• Montreal bagels at Le Trou Fabrique de Bagels – Griffintown (on the bike path): outstanding ilana-sized salmon chocolate and cranberry bagel
• Lunch at Jardin Nelson: a really lovely restaurant with a live jazz band in a beautiful, multi-floor setting – with delicious ceviche, duck confit, and chocolate mousse desert.
• Birthday breakfast at Creperie Maison Bagatell – the crepes were great, albeit a bit too sweet and the back was closed (which is the most picturesque area of the cafe – I still grabbed a photo though)
• Birthday dinner at Modavie: I honestly wanted everything on the entire French  menu. Fantastic escargot, amazing fillet, and delicious other “embellishments” you can add. Service was slow, but really nice. 

Next time in Montreal: while I did it in my 20’s, should we return yet again, I’d want to see Mount Royal Park (again). And my brother told me the Olympic Stadium and planetarium are worth a stop too. 

Trois Rivieras Pitstop (green marker on map)

We drove from Montral to Quebec and wanted to stop at the next largest city in Quebec, where Mumford & Sons have previously performed. While Trois Riviers is by no means a necessary, a stop at quaint town and at a brewery (Le Temps D’Une Pinte) gave us a feel for some local life. We also happened to be exploring the town on the day when Simple Plan (who’s Canadian) was performing, so we got to hear them practice as we walked around town and relived our childhood.

Quebec Activity Highlights (red markers on map)

The last time I was in Quebec, I was 16 competing in a Virtual Enterprise Trade Fair competition with my high school business class. I remember the city being beautiful, and freezing (it was December). Conversely, after our very hot drive from Montreal, we wanted to settle into our hotel in Old Quebec, walk around, and re-familiarize ourselves with the city, including the following:

• Chateau Frontenac (a famous hotel, Quebec’s most iconic building that used to host crucial political meetings and has been featured in movies)
• Dufferin Terrace (boardwalk and gazebos alongside the hotel)
• Petit-Champlain District (- busy, touristy but still adorable area with art galleries, boutiques, bistros and cobblestone streets)
• The Funicular (we saw it, but took the stairs instead)
• The Notre-Dame-des-Victories 17th century stone church (from the outside at least)
• Place Royale, a lively public square
• Scouted for small, business suited figures throughout Old Quebec (there are 45, perched on ledges or embedded into building facades, part of an art installation by Isaac Cordal) offering a critique of contemporary society. 
• Art gallery hopping

Tour of the Citadel: since this is still an active military base, the only way to see the fortress is to get a guided one hour tour of it. We were lucky enough to get on as the last one of the day was departing. We learned about the defensive historical need behind this build (to protect from the U.S.), learned about the military past and the 22nd regiment, saw the gun powder building, all the canyons, where the mess hall was, the residence of the governor general and commandant (who still lives there), as well as sweeping views of the city. 

Plains of Abahram & FEQ – The Plains of Abraham is Quebec’s largest park, full of beautiful, rather empty fields where I imagine playing a game of frisbee would go a long way. The park did lack walking paths, making it slightly more annoying to walk through the wet grass after a rainy day. We then walked past FEQ (Festival d’été de Québec – Quebec’s summer festival). It felt like the entire city flocked there the days we were there, making some parts of the city feel abandoned, and others more alive than ever.

Day trip to Montmorency Falls: we’ve been to Niagara Falls, and we’ve been to Iguazu Falls, and I’ve seen a ton of waterfalls in Iceland, but a stop at Montmorency Falls was still worth a quick stop. While we didn’t zipline across it (and you could, over it!), seeing it from below and above was still fun, even with the crowds. On an extended trip, we certainly would have also walked some of the trails!

Ile d’Orleans Island: after the waterfall we drove across the bridge and spent the rest of the day on the island of Il d’Orleans. There, we went strawberry picking at Ferme Alain Plante and discovered the varieties and flavors of all the berries on the farms that day. We also sampled maple syrup on the farm where I discovered I either like my syrup really light or dark, but not in between. Then we drove to a famous cheese making house called Fromagerie De L’Ile and sampled their cheeses while being educated on them by one of the owners. After we ate these snacks, we went to a few cideries (Bilodeau & Sainte Famille) as well as a winery (Le Vignoble de Sainte-Petronille) and sampled a lot of their drinks and preserves — this is the point where we finally slowed down for the day. A lot of activities closed between 5:30-6pm that day, otherwise we would have stayed on the island all day, but we decided to go back to Quebec to get dinner. 

Quebec Food/Drinks Highlights (orange markers on map)

• Les Cafes du Soilels- great lattes in Old Quebec
• Ribs and Brisket at Faite a L’Os – a smokehouse with some of the best ribs I’ve ever had in my life, comparing them to some I’ve had in Austin with massive lines.
• Indian Food at Kundah Hotel – truly one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve ever been to, Michelin rated but deserves a star! 
• Bagels at Bugel – with the volume of people they had coming in, I was honestly very impressed by the operation three women behind the counter were running. The bagels were fantastique. 
• Don Vegan – the worst vegan restaurant we’ve tried, just don’t go 🙂

Next time in Quebec: Mosaiculture, Storm Spa, Musee de Civilisation

Did we miss anything we had to do in these cities? I loved Toronto even in the winter, but still prefer Quebec. Hopefully the next time we go to Canada it will be for Banff 🙂

This entry was posted in Canada, Quebec Province, The Americas