This 3rd trip to Quebec (in September/October 2018) was something very special and important to me. In fact, the idea for this adventure was born from my desire to travel with my dad. I wanted to share a special moment with him, create memories, and since time passes quickly (too quickly), I didn’t want to regret not taking the opportunity to do it now (there, that was my emotional minute).
Choosing Quebec was easy, as it is an accessible destination for us French people, I adore Quebec (proof is I’ve already been twice), and my dad has always been drawn to Canada.
And then, obviously, since my favorite photographer had never been there, he joined our travel idea very quickly, also drawn by the thought of taking beautiful photos (which you will get to enjoy) of the Belle Province.
Just like 5 years ago, I decided to go back during the Indian summer, the magnificent season of colors (autumn), because I really love this period, and I find it ideal for enjoying Quebec without it being too hot (and having the drawbacks of mosquitoes and other black flies) or too cold (that might be for next time, winter… I’m thinking about it seriously). And besides, what a sublime spectacle to see the leaves on the trees change color and take on warm, flamboyant hues (red, orange, yellow…).
But for my part, having already visited Montreal, Quebec City, Rimouski, and the Gaspe Peninsula, I wanted to explore new territories in Quebec that I hadn’t yet known…
So, when I heard about the Explorers’ Route, I was immediately hooked. Of course, during this trip, we passed through Montreal on the way there and back, especially since neither the favorite photographer nor my father knew the city, so I wrote a small separate paragraph, further down in this article, about the metropolis of Quebec.
A quick tip for car rental in Quebec: don’t forget that almost all passenger vehicles are equipped with automatic transmissions, which we aren’t very used to in France, and the French driver’s license allows you to drive in Canada without any issues, from age 21 for the driver.
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Table of Contents
Our video on the Explorers’ Route in Quebec
Here is a short video made by the favorite photographer, which presents our trip as a whole.
To properly describe our entire trip (the stages of which you can see on the map below), I will soon write an article for each Quebec region that we discovered throughout this Explorers’ Route. In fact, we ended up covering 2000 km over these 10 days of road-tripping by car (which we rented in Montreal), and we saw parts of Quebec that are often poorly known, which is a real shame:
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Practical Info for Quebec
Attention, to visit Quebec and Canada in general, you must now absolutely fill out an eTA Canada application online before your trip, an Electronic Travel Authorization (it’s very quick and costs about 7 Canadian dollars), which wasn’t the case when I went last time, 5 years ago. This formality is equivalent to a kind of customs declaration and it allows you to save time when entering the country (but it’s not an option, it’s mandatory!). You obviously also need to have an active passport, but well, that detail seems obvious to me.
Currency: the Canadian dollar
Right now it’s quite interesting for us French people because the euro is quite strong (1 € = 1.52 Canadian dollars). You can exchange money before leaving, on site, or even withdraw cash from a local bank, which isn’t necessarily more expensive.
My advice: if you wish to use your bank card during your trip, don’t forget to notify your bank about your trip (a simple email is enough) so they don’t find your withdrawals or purchases on the other side of the planet suspicious.
Finally, don’t forget to bring adapters in your suitcase because the electrical outlets are the same as those in England, meaning they are incompatible with ours.
Tipping: remember that in restaurants and bars, it is customary (actually almost mandatory) to leave a tip representing about 15% of the bill amount before taxes (for convenience, you just need to add the amounts of the 2 taxes shown on the bill to get roughly the right amount to leave for your server).
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How to get to Quebec? With Air Transat
On each of my trips to Quebec, I have flown with Air Transat because, in my opinion, it is one of the companies with the best quality/price ratio to get to Montreal. Even though this time we paid a little more than usual because I admit we took a bit of time to decide on the dates, and as a result, we booked the tickets barely more than 2 months in advance.
Plus, we had the chance on the outbound flight to be upgraded to Club Class (the company’s first class), and I must say it completely changes the flight experience. The cabin with the Club class seats (12 in total) is located at the very front of the aircraft.
The advantages of Club Class:
- a special bistro menu designed by Quebec chef Daniel Vézina, which is actually quite good
- little goodies to make the flight more pleasant (blanket, inflatable pillow, slippers, wooden headphones, wellness kit with toothbrush and toothpaste, Melvita samples, sleep mask, compression socks…)
- impeccable service, obviously (yes, one gets used to these kinds of little privileges quickly, unfortunately…)
- the Club class seats are at the very front of the aircraft, and they are obviously more spacious (we didn’t even have sore legs after the 7-hour flight)
Option Plus:
This option can be selected in economy class and allows you to benefit from certain advantages. We tested it on the return flight of our trip, as it happens.
Here is the list of benefits in question:
- online seat selection before the flight
- 1 additional checked bag and priority check-in counter to save time at the airport
- priority boarding
- benefits during the flight: a comfort kit (with an inflatable pillow, a blanket, a sleep mask) and wooden headphones; an additional snack and a glass of wine with the meal
Air Transat Price of our round trip Paris - Montreal in economy class: €437.50 / person Price of Option Plus: €63 / person
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Visiting the city of Montreal
5 years ago, I had already spent 2 weeks in Montreal, and I had even written a few articles on the subject. So, I will just write a short paragraph for you with a few photos and activities that we did during those few days.
We were staying at my dad’s aunt’s place, who has lived in Montreal for many years. This part of the trip (a few days when we arrived and before returning to France) was quite calm, and it allowed us to rest a little during this particularly dense journey, as you will see in the articles to come.
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Some ideas of things to do in Montreal
My first piece of advice is obviously the same as for most cities: you have to walk around to discover all the richness and atmosphere of a city. This is also the case for Montreal, even if the distances are very large, like in American cities, so don’t let yourself be fooled!
Admire the view from the top of Mount Royal
Go all the way to the top of Mount Royal for one of the most beautiful views of the city from the Belvédère esplanade. You can take a bus to save some energy, then walk the hiking trails of Mount Royal Park (named as such by Jacques Cartier in 1535). A very nice little walk to do, which I recommend to you.
Have brunch on the weekend
Weekend brunch in Montreal is somewhat of an institution. It’s done with family or friends, but you absolutely must try this activity if you are passing through Montreal on a Saturday or Sunday. Anyway, I already gave you some addresses in my article from 5 years ago, but this time we went for brunch at Arts Café, which is in the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Mile End neighborhood, following the recommendations of our Petit Futé Montreal guidebook (see at the end of this article), and it was very nice.
Visit one of the city’s museums
The city of Montreal has several very beautiful museums and a few historical sites that testify to the history and past of the city.
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What to put in your suitcase for Quebec?
Here is a short list of essentials to put in your luggage for the Season of Colors (between September and October), especially regarding clothing, because temperature variations can be quite significant at this time of year. For example, during our trip, we had temperatures ranging from 0 degrees to more than 20 degrees…
My little list of recommendations:
- I therefore recommend that you bring a range of clothing from warm to lighter, as it is difficult to predict the temperature and the weather
- waterproof clothing, as it can still rain quite a bit during this period
- a coat that is warm enough, preferably with a hood (more practical than an umbrella)
- good hiking shoes or walking shoes
- adapters (the electrical outlets are not the same as in France)
- travel guides: for our trip, we had the Petit Futé Montreal city guide and the GéoGuide Quebec for the rest of our journey
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Thanks to Air Transat for the benefits during our flights, to Quebec Original for this opportunity, and to the three regions of Quebec that welcomed us: the Laurentides, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and the Outaouais!
I hope that with all this, I have made you want to discover or rediscover Quebec, and if you also have your own tips for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
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GEOGUIDE QUEBEC CONTEST:
Gallimard offered me the chance to let you win a total of 5 Geoguide Coups de coeur Quebec published by Gallimard (value of one guide €14.90), just like the one I took during this trip, so there will be 5 winners in total!
So I will distribute the prizes as follows:
- 2 guides to be won right here on the blog
- 1 guide to be won on twitter
- 1 guide to be won on facebook
- 1 guide to be won on instagram
The prize on the blog: 2 Geoguide Coups de coeur Quebec (so 2 winners)
To participate, simply leave a comment below this article answering this question (answer in the video at the beginning of the article): what is the Spa we visited during this trip?
A random draw will choose the 2 winners of the 2 guides on the blog from among the people who answered this question. Good luck to everyone!
Rules:
– Contest limited to Metropolitan France
– + 1 chance if you are a fan of the blog’s facebook page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s twitter page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s hellocoton page + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Instagram page + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s You Tube channel + 1 chance each time you share the article (don’t forget to leave your usernames in your comment if you want to benefit from extra chance(s))
– 1 entry per IP address
– contest start date Thursday, January 10, 2019 – deadline for participation Wednesday, January 16, 2019 and results the next day on the blog in an edit to this article
Edit of January 23, 2019:
Following the random draw, I am announcing that the winners of the two guides are Carole SERRES and Christophe LOTELLIER. Congratulations, I will contact you shortly by email. Thank you all for your many entries and have a great day!
Find below all my articles on Quebec
(3 trips in 2010, 2013, and 2018):
⇒ All my articles on Quebec
GENERAL INFORMATION ON QUEBEC
⇒ Quebec: practical info, how to get there, general info on Montreal
MY STOPS IN QUEBEC
⇒ The Gaspe Peninsula
⇒ Montreal
⇒ Quebec City
⇒ The Laurentides
⇒ Abitibi-Temiscamingue
⇒ Outaouais
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos not royalty-free, authorization from the photographer mandatory before any use
