Nate had been asking to visit another country for some time. Having two young children, I didn't want to travel far, but wanted to give them a little taste of what it's like visiting beautiful architecture, eating different foods and a hearing a language different from their own. Since I took French class for 6 years and had still never visited French speaking Canada, I thought this would be the perfect trip to test their readiness for a longer foreign trip. To Montreal and Quebec City we went!
Tuesday, June 20 (2023)
We flew into Montreal and took a bus to our hotel. Montreal has a very convenient bus and subway system. From the airport, we bought two 3-day passes for the bus and subway (kids ride free - just make sure that when you are in the subway they are in front of you to swipe, then go through the lanes that are not turn styles. We learned this the hard way.)
From the get go, it was evident that French speaking Canada is truly French speaking. While I can speak basic French and can read French fairly well, I have a hard time understanding spoken French, especially slang and dialects. So, it took me a few days to get used to it. I found that a few basic French phrases were appreciated and then, either I would ask "Parlez vous Anglais?" (Do you speak English?) Or they would ask (after seeing our blank looks) if we spoke English. After that, we found most everyone to be very willing to speak English to us and were very friendly.
We arrived just before dinner time, so we got to our hotel, and went for a quick walk and then dinner. The restaurant we went to the first night was called Modavie and we liked it so much, we went back there for our last night. Modavie is a very cozy French bistro. It is kid friendly, has a great menu and live music.
After dinner, we walked around Old Town, which is an area of tourist shops, restaurants and beautiful old buildings. We found a sweet little shop called Le Petit Dep, which looks like it was pulled straight out of a movie or the streets of Paris. We had delicious ice cream and bought a few treats back to the hotel.
Wednesday, June 21
Joe and Zac woke up early and brought delicious croissants and coffees back to the hotel for breakfast. The almond croissant from Olive & Gourmand was a dream! We got ready and hit the subway to make our way to the Mount Royal area.
Our first stop was to get the famous bagels at St. Viateur bagel shop. These bagels are a little different from typical New York style bagels, but they are just as delicious. This place is pretty famous, so you may have to wait in a line to get in. But it's totally worth it.
Next we stopped at a park for the kids to play at for a while. It was in a garden area with pretty fountains and bench areas. It was a very hot day, upper 80s, so a shady spot to rest was essential. We spent the day in this area, which had lots of parks, and shops and beautiful houses. It was a great day to wander a quaint neighborhood.
We stopped for lunch at a brewery, Siboire Saint-Laurent and I had a picture perfect plate of poutine. I still am dreaming of it. Poutine is the national dish of Canada. It is a plate of french fries and cheese curds, topped with gravy. Not exactly diet food, but droolworthy. After that we did some more walking, stopped for ice cream (good thing we did a lot of walking on this trip) and headed back to the hotel.
Our hotel, Le Westin, had a really awesome pool. All the boys wanted to do was swim in this pool. The bottom of the pool is made of glass and overhangs the drive up to the hotel, so when you pull up to the front doors of the hotel and look up, you can see people swimming. We spent some time at the pool and then it was off to dinner and exploring.
We explored the Old Town section of the city, got dinner and admired all of the beautiful historic churches, buildings and architecture. We walked to the port area and rode the giant ferris wheel. It is similar to the big wheels on Navy Pier or in London. I am not at all a fan of heights and I tried my best to brave this wheel, but I was still terrified. But if you aren't irrationally terrified like me, you will enjoy stunning views of the city and the St. Lawrence river. It was the summer solstice so we stayed out until after the sun set, did some shopping and headed back to the hotel.
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Thursday, June 22
Again, Joe and Zac went to get some breakfast while us non-morning people stayed and got ready for the day. They went to Crew for some pastries, coffees and milks. You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful place to have breakfast. It is an old bank building turned bakery. It was so beautiful, they vowed to bring us back the next day so we could see it for ourselves.
We took the subway to the north part of the city. Our first stop was the botanical gardens. It is definitely a worth while stop. Full disclosure: I had seen pictures of an enormous botanical statue that looked like a giant growing out of the ground that was featured at this garden. I talked about this to death because I knew the boys would be amazed by it, but when we got there, we soon learned that it was a temporary exhibit that had closed many years before. But the gardens were still a worthwhile stop and we spent a lovely morning wandering through beautiful flowers and had lunch in the cafe.
Next to Olympic stadium was the Biosphere. From the outside it looks like Epcot, but inside it is a giant indoor zoo. (My sweaty hands didn't take any pictures!) One side is a polar environment, the other side is desert or tropical. This was probably one of the boys favorite parts of the trip. The polar side has walls made of ice and featured penguins and puffins. The desert side had capybaras, parrots, boa constrictors, allegators, otters, an aquarium with jellyfish and much more.
We took the subway to another section of the city to go to a famous deli that Joe really wanted to visit. Schwartz deli had one of the best pastrami sandwiches (and pickle) we have ever had (sorry New York.) It is an old school place with few tables, lots of customers and you sit wherever you can find a seat. The staff is blunt, but super hospitable and fun. Definitely a must visit for a foodie.
Friday, June 23
This was the last full day of Montreal. We all made it to breakfast at Crew. Joe and Zac did not exaggerate how beautiful this building was. And the pastries and coffee were just as good too.
We stayed mainly in the old section of Montreal. Our first stop was Notre Dame. It's not the one in Paris of course, but I have to say it's just as stunning on the inside, if not more! This is a major tourist attraction and for good reason, it's beauty cannot be easily described. Although there were a lot of people walking around and taking pictures, it still felt very peaceful and serene. I have more pictures on my phone of this place than I can count, but here are just a few. And let me tell you, the pictures do not do it justice.
We had lunch at one of our favorite spots that we actually went to a few different times in Canada, Trois Brasseurs. It had a great kids menu so it was a win for us. We spent the rest of the day strolling through shops (trying to get those souvenirs!), looking at the buildings and saying goodbye to a city we were not ready to leave! Montreal truly felt like a little slice of Europe and we had just perfect (well, maybe a bit too hot) weather.
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Saturday, June 24
To make our way to Quebec, we took a train. It was such a cool experience for the boys, and for us! It was a smooth ride that took us on a 3 hour tour through the Canada countryside. I highly recommend taking the train between the cities.
One thing I forgot to mention is we were there during the Canada wildfires. I do remember it being a bit hazy, but it definitely did not affect our trip at all. On this 3 hour ride through the country, we did not see any fires, nor smoke. On the way back home when we landed in Chicago and even when we got back to Grand Rapids, the air quality was much worse. We could even smell the smoke much stronger back home than when we were in Canada.
We arrived to a cloudy and hilly Quebec. There are some big differences between the cities. Montreal is much more big city feeling and Quebec is much older and historic feeling. This was evident right off of the train. We had to haul our suitcases up very steep, cobblestoned hills to our hotel. I haven't been to Mackinaw Island in ages, but I kind of got that impression when we first arrived in Quebec.
View of the Parliament building from our hotel room
We got there in the late afternoon and there was rain in the forecast so we just went to dinner nearby, at Le Cochon Dingue, then strolled the main street. When it started raining, we called it an early night.
Sunday, June 25
Quebec is known for it's historic military monuments, and the boys really wanted to see Plains de Abraham, the site of a famous battle between the French and the British. I think the boys were expecting a bit more, as this was just an open field with a few old cannons and some fortresses that they could not go in. It was still a great place to stroll and for them to run around and get out some energy.
Next we went to the Citadel of Quebec, a military museum that was pretty cool. It gave you some history of the Canadian military and a tour of a military base.
We did a lot of walking this day. We stayed mostly in Old Quebec. There are so many charming side streets to get lost in. It feels kind of like a walk back in time. Lots of restaurants and shops. We had lunch at a popular poutine place. It was good, but the first poutine I had in Montreal I think was my favorite.
From there we went to the port area which has the famous landmark, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. We toured the very beautiful lobby, had a pitstop at the Starbucks there and rested on the boardwalk that sits on the St. Lawrence River. You can take a ferry ride on the St. Lawrence River, which we meant to do, but never got to because of the rainy weather.
We did more walking after that to the Petit Champlain Quartier. This was probably my favorite place to stroll. There were so many sweet boutiques and restaurants. The atmosphere is very old world Europe. The boys favorite part were the street installations. The most instagramable spot is the Rue du Cul de Sac where there are dozens of umbrellas that seem to float in the air all down the street. There are also sculptures of cars, jet skis and cannons that the boys loved to play on.
At the Rue du Petit Champlain, we ran into a marching band that felt very reminiscent of New Orleans that was playing down the street. It was very festive. On the hill at the end of the street is a Funicular that brings you up the hill. It was a definite welcome treat for our feet after all of the walking!
We ended the day heading back to the hotel. We got some souvenirs and desserts and enjoyed them outside in a nearby common area. It was a beautiful night but it was a busy day of walking!
Monday, June 26
Unfortunately, this day called for rain. We got breakfast and walked to a park where the boys played for a while. Once it started raining, we took an uber to a nearby neighborhood called St. Roche. This has more of a regular city feel to it, not as European/Old World. There are a lot of breweries, so you know Joe had us stop at a couple. We made a stop at a large toy store that was a hit with the boys. We also made a stop at Croquembouche, a bakery that rivals Paris for mouthwatering pastries and desserts. Because it was raining on and off, I unfortunately don't have many pictures for this day.
After most of the rain had passed, we made our way back to the Old Town section. The entire area is surrounded by an old brick fortress that you can still climb and walk on most of. The boys loved to pretend they were soldiers walking on this fortress.
For dinner, we walked through another neighborhood, Rue St. Jean, to Le Projet Microbrasserie in one of the most beautiful buildings I've eaten in. Its a rare instance where I don't exactly remember what I had (although I remember it being good) but I definitely remember the beautiful old building sitting atop a hill overlooking the city.
Tuesday, June 27
We had the morning to do some last minute exploring before heading to the airport. We toured the grounds of the Parliament building which was across from our hotel. It is a beautiful place for a morning walk!
We took our last few moments of the trip in my favorite section, the Petit Champlain and got some last minute souvenirs to bring home. The boys walked along the fortress one last time and we made our way to the airport.
French speaking Canada is such a lovely slice of Europe, but so much closer! I highly recommend taking a trip and I hope to visit again sometime very soon! Au revior!
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