Montreal & Quebec City
Montreal
Montreal is a beautiful, charming and romantic city filled with history and its European sophistication. A quick plane ride and it feels like you're in Europe walking around cobblestone streets and turning into cute alleyways. Ben and I decided on Montreal as our first stop to our mini moon vacation because we both wanted to experience a new city together and eat amazing food, which this city did not disappoint! We had 3 days to spend in Canada and we decided to squeeze in a day road trip to Quebec City on our last day.
The day after our wedding, Ben and I took a red eye late Sunday night, after practically spending our entire day recovering from our wedding hangovers, I was a bit stressed leaving town right after, however it was such a great getaway and enjoying our married bliss.
Day 1: Montreal
We arrived early morning and picked up our rental car ( highly recommended if you want to drive around and explore Montreal )
Breakfast at Restaurant L’Avenue - a trendy and artsy breakfast joint. There are multiple locations around Montreal; we went to the one closest to Mount Royal, since that was our next stop on our list. Breakfast here was delicious, a perfect mix of sweet and savory options with GF and vegetarian choices as well. You can’t go wrong with countless options of Eggs Benedict or French Toast! Also, make sure you go to the decked out bathrooms, sounds really weird but I swear its worth admiring! Ben came out and told me I had to check out the bathroom and I had to see for myself, if you're not convinced check out my photo below:
Next stop, we headed to Mount Royal, the famous view point that Montreal actually got its name from. You'll get a beautiful view of the skyline of Montreal along with numerous trails for a mini hike and scenic walk.
Gay Village - this area is super artsy with an upbeat vibe. There are multicolored balls of light hung up above the village for several blocks. Unfortunately the day we came here, it was a holiday in Quebec so everything was closed, but it was still worth walking around and checking it out! We didn’t get to experience the night life here, but I’ve heard this is the area to go out.
Lunch in Chinatown - anytime I go to Canada, I always have a craving for Dim Sum. Canadians know how to make Dim Sum! My husband had never tried it before, so I quickly browsed on Yelp and found House of Kam Fung with really good ratings. It was crowded, and extremely tasty! Filled with mostly Chinese people, so you know it’s good!
Our Airbnb was located in Saint-Henri, the southwestern area of Montreal. A very cute little area with tons of amazing restaurants within walking distance. Check out the Atwater Market in the area, the local butcher and farmers market with tons of cute shops and local vendors. We came here every morning during our trip for a fresh green smoothie.
Day 2 - Stadium Tour and Old Montreal
Our 2nd day of our mini moon trip was spent exploring Old Montreal and checking out touristy spots. When traveling with Ben, there’s always at least one sort of sporting activity involved, whether its a sports event or touring a stadium. We started off our day heading to the Olympic stadium. The Summer Olympics of 1976 were held here (the Bruce Jenner time) and Ben loved every moment of our tour!
Next we headed to Old Montreal! Cobblestone streets, lively plazas and charming little boutiques and coffee shops.
Lunch at Olive and Gourmando - I highly recommend getting lunch here, its a foodies destination with their artisanal breads, fresh baked pastries, with panina and salads in a rustic space.
Coffee at La Petite Dep - this mint green colored theme coffee shop is to die for. I’m a sucker for Instagrammable coffee shops and storefronts, I know very basic of me. There’s a few of them in Old Montreal you have to check out! It’s like a magical and mythical one of a kind coffee shop with little trinkets and candies to buy. I had the matcha latte here!
Dinner at Barroco - You can’t go to Montreal and not eat French food. The dim lights, fine dining, and stone walls offer a romantic dinner for two! It’s one of the best restaurants to experience in Old Montreal so make reservations on a busy night.
Rue St. Paul - From Old Montreal, the waterfront is within walking distance and has a phenomenal view. After our food coma at Barroco, we had to walk off our meal and took a stroll to the waterfront. You can see Habitat 67 from Rue St Paul, the interesting architectural housing complex.
Day 3 - Quebec City
We decided to drive to Quebec City for the day, quite a long 3-hour drive for a day trip but well worth it. Quebec City has its own beautiful charm, with cobblestone streets, and 17th century houses.
Chateau Frontenac Hotel - once we arrived into Quebec City, the iconic Chateau Frontenac Hotel dominates the skyline and the Citadel of Quebec. It’s one of the most photographed hotels in the World! I highly recommend staying here if you’re staying in Quebec City!
Quartier Petite-Champlain - Rue du Petit-Champlain is one of the oldest commercial streets and its also filled with people walking through. There are so many cute boutiques, and cafes to visit along this picturesque street.
Rue du Cul de Sac - another cute little street in the lower part of town and is decorated with colorful umbrellas hung up above the alley. Another iconic spot to check out in Quebec City.
Funiculaire - this is also a very lovely street just right around the corner of Quartier Petite Champlain and the umbrella street. You can take a cable car to the top of Quebec City where Chateau Frontenac Hotel is without having to walk up stairs and hills. I didn’t do this myself because my husband and I enjoy walking around the city, but its still pretty cool to check out and would be worth it in the Winter. It reminded me of the cable car you can take up Mt Floyen in Bergen, Norway.
There are so many cute nooks, cafes, and boutiques. We spent hours just walking around the city exploring. I can only imagine how beautiful this place would be during Christmas time After a full day of adventure, we made the long trek back into Montreal.
Ben and I were really wanted dessert, and we decided to look around Saint-Henri. We ended up at this really cute French restaurant called Foigegwa, and got escargot and poutine. When in Canada, you’ve got to eat poutine, and you also can’t go to a French Restaurant and not try escargot! It was the best escargot I’ve ever had doused in theiryummy garlicky butter…mhhhmmm! We ended up eating too much and not even having enough room for dessert unfortunately, but our stomachs were satisfied.
