Montreal/Quebec City

We stayed at the Fairmont in Montreal one night, wife was sick so didn’t get to explore Montreal much. Took train from Montreal to Quebec. Train station is underneath Fairmont in Montreal. It was a cool experience that I would definitely do again.

Quebec City is awesome, food is great everywhere. We stayed at the Fairmont Frontenac. Hotel itself is a sight to behold, the rooms were tiny. Will be staying elsewhere next go around, but it is absolutely amazing.


Le Continental, Lapin Saute were really good. Really didn’t have a bad meal there. The pastries there are unreal. I think I could set a record eating the chocolate croissants.


Notre Dame Cathedral is an architectural marvel and I would consider a must visit.


We cannot wait to go back.

Also really enjoyed Quebec City. Closest you can get to a european city without crossing the pond. Tons of good places to eat and pop in and out of. Solid town to walk around. I don't know what I would do for 10 days there but we enjoyed our stay there.

October in QC will be better than when we went in July. The old part of QC was over run with tourists and the shops all are places that cater to tourists. Making it even worse is the sidewalks are very narrow as are the streets and there is traffic gridlock on the streets and on the sidewalks. We spent a few hours checking stuff out and then went outside of the historic area which was mostly locals and much more enjoyable. I would not go back in the summer.
Montreal is awesome, maybe my favorite north American city. Everyone speaks French but as soon as they here you speak in English they switch over. We stayed in airbnbs in Mile End hood and loved it. Tons of restaurants, bars, brewpubs and beautiful houses. Walk up Mount Royal which is a big park in the middle of town. We did a tour of Habitat 67 but we are architecture nurds. We got to go inside one of the apts which was cool. There is an Environment museum/habitat in a geodesic some designed by Buckminster Fuller and there are some waterfalls outside of town but we didn't make it out there..

If you enjoy Michelin star type dining, make sure to get a reservation at Taniere in QC. We just back from Napa and had dinner at French Laundry and Single Thread and I would put Taniere comfortably ahead of those two. Also, you get to enjoy the relative strength of the USD!