During our trip back to Ottawa during the holidays, P and I made a quick weekend trip to Quebec to visit both Montreal and Quebec City. Growing up in Ottawa, I’ve always loved visiting Montreal and was used to traveling there at least once every couple of months. Given that Montreal is only about a 2 hour drive from Ottawa, and Quebec City is an additional 2.5 hours, the trek isn’t that bad. But coming directly from Toronto means a nice and long 7 hour drive. To be very honest, I’d much rather drive down to NYC for the same amount of time than to drive all the way to Montreal. And to make matters worse, every time that we’ve gone back to Ottawa, it has been for a very short period of time and not worth spending the additional hours driving back and forth to Montreal for a day trip. It only made sense to finally plan a trip when we were back in town for 2 weeks. If you’re planning on making the drive and don’t have a car, you could always rent one from Globe Car & Truck Rental.

While in Quebec, we split our time up between Montreal and Quebec City. I can never decide which city I love more as both have their own charm, so I’ll be splitting up this travel diary evenly between the two to share my top 5 favourite things to do in each city!

Montreal

On our recent trip to Montreal, we stayed at Le Place d’Armes Hôtel & Suites which is extremely central to the old Montreal area, and makes getting around by foot very easily. The streets of Montreal are fairly narrow, so I like to walk around whenever I can to alleviate any parking nightmares that could arise. Street parking can also get quite expensive if you drive everywhere, so why not kill off two birds with one stone by walking and cutting back on your parking costs?

The hotel was in extreme close proximity to a lot of my favourite Montreal haunts, making it one of my favourite hotels that I’ve ever stayed at in Montreal by far. Accessibility is a huge priority for me, and if it ranks high for you as well, I would very much recommend it. Want to know a cool fact? The hotel just recently expanded and purchased the building next door (which used to be an ancient bank) and has remodeled their new acquisition while maintaining the vault door as a piece of decor! The decor is completely different from their regular building and is an interesting combination of modern and old into an eclectic mix. I personally love it, and it completely embodies how I would like my future home to be designed!

Crew Collective & Cafe

If you can’t tell by now, I love the charm of old things being repurposed to new. Crew Collective & Cafe is one of my favourite coffee spots in Montreal besides Tommy Cafe. Seriously, how can you resist the beautiful architecture and the intellectual environment. It kind of feels like you’re enjoying a coffee inside of a library, quaint but grand! If you’re looking for places that are also great photo opps, the front entrance (pictured in the first photo of this post) has some beautiful doors that act as a fantastic backdrop to shoot in front of!

Notre-Dame Basilica

Directly across the square from the hotel is the beautiful Notre-Dame Basilica. Not only is it beautiful for photo opps, but it’s such an experience to go inside and to take it all in as well. If you do plan on attending a mass while there, I would recommend that you dress warm (if traveling in the winter) because the lines to get in can get quite long. During the weekdays, the church isn’t as busy and you won’t have to worry about lengthy line-ups.

Foiegwa

This is hands down one of my favourite brunch places in Montreal. I would highly recommend that you show up as early as possible though to avoid any lines. Especially if you’re traveling with a party of more than 2. After waiting in line for almost over an hour and a half, our patience paid off when we got seated in the corner table that we had our eyes on. Most of the other patrons in line with us didn’t have to wait as long since they were open to taking whichever tables were available, so they didn’t have to wait in line for longer than thirty minutes. But be warned that you’ll have to wait regardless since the restaurant itself is quite small while the demand is massive!

Tri Express

I was recommended this sushi joint by a fellow blogger friend, Cristina, and I was extremely content with our experience. Tucked into a little neighborhood, this is the epitome of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Walking by, you could easily pass by the place without giving it a second thought, so I felt like I had been inducted into some underground Montreal foodie group and was privy to a secret sushi restaurant. Dine where the locals go y’know? The decor is a little eclectic and interesting, but don’t let the non-Japanese aesthetic fool you. Tri knows how to make their sushi, and they know how to make it good. P and I heavily debated going back for our second dinner if that means anything to you!

La Grande Roue de Montréal

Our trip to Montreal was in the dead of winter and everyday was almost -40 degrees Celsius, so I didn’t get the chance to ride the new ferris wheel. But! I knew that I had to get a picture no matter what so this was the consolation prize! I’m hoping to get the chance to go back to Montreal sometime this summer so that I can ride the ferris wheel when the weather is a little bit nicer out, since I heard that the view is pretty nice!

Old Quebec City

While in Montreal, we figured it wouldn’t hurt to do a day trip out to Old Quebec City as well. The drive is about another 2.5 hours away both ways, which is quite reasonable and manageable when you’re already that close, and we got the opportunity to revisit some old favourites of mine! I actually managed to get quite a bit of work done in the Buick with their built in Wi-Fi, so it was a nice little office getaway while driving to the beautiful Old Quebec City!

Hôtel de Glace

The Hôtel de Glace wasn’t included in our day trip but I did recently get the pleasure of visiting it while on a press trip with Cerave and I wanted to include it in this post. Who knows when I’ll do be doing a complete 10 Things To Do post just for Quebec City again considering the fact that it’s so far away! If you ever have plans to visit Quebec City, this hotel is definitely not one to pass up! As the name depicts, it’s a hotel made out of ice that you can stay in overnight, but you can also stay in the regular one on the resort if sleeping in a room made out of ice isn’t up your alley. You can still take a tour of the space to admire its amazing architecture without having to book a stay overnight, and there are lots of other fun amenities that you can partake in as well such as tubing, shopping, and skating!

Château Frontenac

The iconic landmark of Quebec City! Every time I visit QBC, I make a point of visiting the Château Frontenac. Regardless of the season, this regal building is always stunning to take in. Did you know that it was never actually a castle? The building was just commissioned to look like one! I also love to take in the calming river front view—it’s especially neat to observe in the winter when you can watch the ice sheets flow—as well as the fun tubing slides that are installed nearby in the winter! There’s also always a fun installation going in the main lobby, so if you need somewhere to warm up in between your strolls, don’t forget to pay the hotel a visit!

Montmorency Falls

Although we also didn’t have the chance to pop by the Montmorency Falls while on our day-trip to Quebec City, I couldn’t resist including this beautiful site in my list. I’ve been many times in my childhood for school trips and it never ceases to amaze me. You can definitely admire the falls from the bottom, but I would definitely recommend that you make the short hike to the top and cross the foot bridge for the best experience! For those who are afraid of heights, fear not! The bridge is extremely stable and you’re not going to have to worry about any excessive shaking.

Petit Champlain

For one-of-a-kind souvenirs, I love shopping around the Petit Champlain. I’ve found the neighborhood to feel particularly romantic, with an old-town feel and love strolling down the street with P while peering into the numerous boutiques. Those who love France will particularly love exploring this area and taking in all of the beautiful murals painted upon the walls.

Place Royale

Place Royale is a quaint little square within Old Quebec City that not only has one of the best cafes, but is also chalk full of history. The little cobblestone plaza is the birth place of French America and you can literally feel the history just walking through it. You can get guided tours to learn more about its abundant stories, but my favourite thing to do is to visit it at Christmas time to enjoy the installation of a ginormous, twinkling Christmas tree!