Hello fellow travelers,
We have a 12 night cruise out of Montreal in late September. Never been to Montreal, Quebec, Saguenay, Baie-Comeau, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or Halifax.
Spending a few days in Montreal prior to cruise. We are 3 retired couples late 60's.
Please share the must see sights and great places to eat.
Thank you so very much for sharing.
Since you are on a cruise how much time do you have at each port?
I can only comment about Montreal and Quebec City.
Montreal: Old Montreal, Mont Royal park; Botanical Gardens though I haven't been there in decades to really recall what it was like.
Quebec City: just walk around the upper town and lower town- so much to see! Lots of museums-I really like the Musuem of Civilization, the Citadel- home of the "Van Doos" 22nd regiment - I ditched my tour because of a late spring snowstorm-it's mainly outdoors and requires a ticket- they can be purchased starting 30 days prior.
Montmorency Falls, it's a short trip to the outskirts of the city - only 13 km, a trip to Ile d'Orlean if you have more time.
It's been years since I was in Halifax and my time there was brief- it looks like a lovely small city. Peggy's Cove is about 1 hour or so, by car, south of Halifax-.
Halifax- The port area and waterfront is entirely walkable. The Maritime Museum is quite well done and has and extremely interesting section on the Halifax Explosion. You can take a short ferry ride for a great scenic view. The Halifax Citadel National Historic Site has excellent views. It is a very steep climb up the hill to it. I would suggest maybe an Uber up and walk down. These activities could fill up several hours and not require a shore excursion.
Peggy's Cove is interesting, however, there will be many busloads of people there in a small town that is primarily set up for the large number of tourists that are coming. On a shore excursion you get dropped off at one viewpoint and basically walk back through town to the bus. Takes 30 minutes max. in Peggy's Cove.
Prince Edward Island- For many Prince Edward Island is all about Anne of Green Gables. People will take tours that go to Anne of Green Gables house, jam factory/garden, and oyster farms typically when they visit. The scenery is interesting.
Montreal restaurant recommendations:
Olive et Gourmando for lunch while visiting Old Town/Notre Dame.
L'Express for lunch or dinner (they give you mini pickles on the table instead of bread).
Schwartz's Deli is as close as you'll get to an old school NYC deli.
Gibeau Orange Julep is like the original Orange Julius.
Jean Talon Market
St. Viateur Bagels
Saguenay is lovely and you'll be there during whale watching season! I'd highly recommend a whale watching cruise or a walk around Point de l'Islet in Tadoussac.
Did a great NCL cruise from Boston to Quebec City and loved it.
Enjoyed Bar Harbor, Maine, but it is not on your list.
Loved Nova Scotia, Halifax and Prince Edward Island. Saguenay was good.
Quebec City was wonderful, we spend three more days there after the cruise.
I have been to Montreal, but not on that cruise. It deserves 3-4 days.
Also, if you can visit Ottawa, it is great.
If not into Anne and Green Gables, take the horse drawn wagon tour in Charlottetown - www.emeraldislecarriagetours.com. Book directly, not thru the cruiseline
As a proud Haligonian it makes me so happy to see so much love and interest for my hometown!
The waterfront is a beautiful area, and there's already been los of ideas for your day here, so I'll touch on restaurants.
There are oodles of fantastic restaurants in the downtown area, but a couple favorite spots right on the waterfront are The Bicycle Thief and Ristorante a Mano. I've never had a bad meal or poor service at either. These are energetic, bustling spots, so that's not for everyone, but my family loves both.
Enjoy your trip!
PQ
For PEI, we really enjoyed walking on the Greenwich Dunes Trail at PEI National Park. The scenery is gorgeous! The trail consists of a boardwalk over the sand dunes and a floating boardwalk over the pond.
Some favorite meals were at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers, lunch at the Dunes Gallery, Gardens, and Cafe, and the best lobster rolls at Richards Seafood Shack at Cove Head Harbor.
