Quebec City & Montreal

[mdcamping]

Hello everyone, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a possible 2 week trip next Aug. Part of this trip would be a stop at Quebec City and then to Montreal. How many days should I allow for each city? What are the highlights or recommendations to see for both city's?

Any Info would be appreciated
Thanks,
Mike

[pyoung47]

When we visited QC, we stayed at a campground called 'Camping Transit" in Levis. If you are early, they accept Passport America, but we were later in the season. It is a few miles outside of town, but we found it quite convenient. We drove in one afternoon and took the bike trail along the River opposite QC. The next day we came in early and found a parking space in the ferry parking lot. We took the ferry across the river and spent the bulk of the day exploring the city using one of the on/off bus tours. I would not drive into QC -- it is above crazy.

[temccarthy1]

vjstangelo wrote:
We love both Quebec and Montreal. Both are very walkable cities with great food. We always stay in the respective KOA's. Employees are fluent in English at each campground. Two suggestions. In Quebec, park in Levis and take the Quebec Levis ferry. Also, drive east of town to the Isle de Orleans. I can imagine this is what the bucolic French countryside is like. Finally, Tim Hortons, gotta go for the coffee and pastries. In Quebec, we like to eat at Paillard Pastry Shop on Rue Saint Jean, and Cochon Dingue on Boulevard Champlain.

On Isle de Orleans, go to Resto de la Plage on Chemin Royal, get an outdoor seat overlooking the St. Lawrence.

Have fun.

Great suggestions! We will put them on our Quebec City list! THANKS!

[Little_Kopit]

Eating in Montreal. My experience back in the 70s.

Sunday is a day for many to go to church and then dine out right after that. & that means there are lots of good restaurants all prepared to serve lots of food right about noon.

So, go for a cruise down a many restauranted street. Stop at your choice and enter between 11:50 and 11:59. A very empty tummy is a good idea.

I can't imagine the culture changing so that Sunday custom would disappear.

:B

[vjstangelo]

We love both Quebec and Montreal. Both are very walkable cities with great food. We always stay in the respective KOA's. Employees are fluent in English at each campground. Two suggestions. In Quebec, park in Levis and take the Quebec Levis ferry. Also, drive east of town to the Isle de Orleans. I can imagine this is what the bucolic French countryside is like. Finally, Tim Hortons, gotta go for the coffee and pastries. In Quebec, we like to eat at Paillard Pastry Shop on Rue Saint Jean, and Cochon Dingue on Boulevard Champlain.

On Isle de Orleans, go to Resto de la Plage on Chemin Royal, get an outdoor seat overlooking the St. Lawrence.

Have fun.

[temccarthy1]

We are also looking for a nice CG to stay at for 4 nights while visiting Quebec City next Sept. Has anyone on here stayed at "Camping de la Joie" campground? It is pretty close to the city but looks very wooded. It has high customer ratings. Would love to hear directly from someone who may have stayed there. Thanks

[obgraham]

We do not speak any french, I'm going to guess that the campgrounds in QC speak both languages?? I think we can make do but was wondering if anything we should be made aware of.

Lived in Montreal for a few years in the 70's. It is a wonderful city. My highlights:
Downtown central city
St Laurence Blvd
St Joseph Oratory
Old Montreal
Did I say, Restaurants?!!!!
Botanical Gardens
Parc Mont Royale

You will have little or no problem with language in Montreal. Or any cg for that matter.

Quebec City is a lot more French, and a lot more Euro in atmosphere, but there is a lot to see there too. You'll manage fine without French there -- mine is virtually zero, but even out in the small towns I never had a problem with people even if they spoke no English. They will go out of their way to help tourists.

[temccarthy1]

mdcamping wrote:
Thanks everyone for responding.

We do not speak any french, I'm going to guess that the campgrounds in QC speak both languages?? I think we can make do but was wondering if anything we should be made aware of.

Any campgrounds with the best access to the Metro in Montreal and the Red Busses in Quebec City?

I do plan on starting my research on this after the holidays.

Thanks again for everyone's help
Mike

We stayed at a KOA south of Montreal and drove the 12 miles into the city each day .KOA very clean, typical KOA, nice and private out in the country! Was no problem driving in. We waited until after rush hour--about 10 AM. Plenty of parking on any of the 3 big piers in Montreal. Everyone speaks both French and English. Amazing cathedrals and Basilicas. Don't miss Botanical gardens at night. Great little restaurants, amazing museum in downtown Montreal. Very pleasant experience with no hassles even though a big city. No experience yet in Quebec City, going there in Fall 2018!

[mdcamping]

Thanks everyone for responding.

We do not speak any french, I'm going to guess that the campgrounds in QC speak both languages?? I think we can make do but was wondering if anything we should be made aware of.

Any campgrounds with the best access to the Metro in Montreal and the Red Busses in Quebec City?

I do plan on starting my research on this after the holidays.

Thanks again for everyone's help
Mike

[avan]

I stayed at the South KOA last summer and used their shuttle to downtown. Very easy. Before doing any walking, I wanted to have some idea of where I wanted to explore so I did the double decker bus tour. Headphones provided properly sequenced location info in the language of choice. You can get off at any stop and explore at your leisure and get back on the same or a later bus. Enjoyed OQ very much as it was one of the highlights of my NB, Nova Scotia (Lunenburg another highlight), PEI (lowlight), Gaspe Peninsula and Ontario part of my trip.

[answerswillvary]

Moved from Campgrounds to RVing in Canada

[loggenrock]

We spent 4 nights at the QC KOA about 5 years ago. They have a shuttle bus that drops you off in the Old City. Really enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage ride around the city! Driver was well-versed in the sites and history of the city. At times he was hard to understand (we are not fluent in French...!), but delightful to listen to!!! ST

[Allworth]

Consider using the Metro in Montreal and the Red Busses in Quebec City. No way would I take my 3500 Long Bed, Crew Cab into either one.

We stayed in Campgrounds on the South side of the river in both cases. Ferry across the river at Quebec and easy (but not short) drive into the Metro hub in Montreal.

If you go to the new casino in Montreal (Beautiful facility) do NOT get the truck caught in the underground parking. RV area is available.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Montreal and Q' City are wonderful places to visit. We only did a couple of days in each which met our needs of solid 8am to 10pm days walking+++. To each their own but research heavily on what you want to see and do in each location, and decide on how long YOU need based on your personality and way of travelling/touring/what interests you.

PS: As newbies at the time we made the mistake of driving our 36ft RV right down into town (think cobbled areas), and even entering into a carpark down there to finally get back out. Takes a lot to phase hubby driving this beast, but sure explained the odd looks folks were giving us within 30 secs of where we realized we shouldn't be in such a beast LOL. We don't toad so only bike/walk at our interest spots and thus far has worked well for us over many years.

[Rover_Bill]

DW and I planned a two week stay in Montreal last fall 2016 followed by a one week stay in Quebec. We planned our stay at the Camping Alouette RV Resort (really nice place) near Montreal and to drive into the city daily to see the sights. Driving was a BIG MISTAKE!!!

We had to fight very heavy daily commuter traffic into and out of the city as well as near gridlock traffic in the city each day. In the city it was impossible to find parking anywhere near the interesting sites and most parking meters only allowed for 1 hr (or less) parking. We ended up spending more time sitting in the pickup looking for parking than actually seeing the sights. Most Montreal drivers have compact or sub-compact cars so maneuvering my MID-SIZED Canyon (like your Tacoma) was like driving a Sherman tank down a narrow alleyway. Did I mention the pothole canyon roads? As a result, we cancelled our Quebec stay.

If you really want to see Quebec and Montreal, PARK your RV in a STORAGE site at a nearby RV park, take a taxi into the city, and rent a room at one of the many tourist motels. You can then take a tour bus to the more popular sites or just walk around near the motel.