Montreal and Quebec 7 night itinerary in July 2026

Time of year will be important when recommending outdoor activities. Both are large cities, so it would help to know what "nature" experiences you want. From QC,both Montmorency Falls park and the Jacques Cartier National Park offer possibilities. Montreal has the exquisite Botanical Gardens to walk around, Mount Royal Park for walking or hiking, or the Lachine Rapids jet boats if you want something more adventurous.

The drive between these cities can be over 3 hours. Avoid arriving or departing either in rush hour if possible. Given the issue of parking in the center of either city, you might consider taking the train. Then rent a car for day trips outside the city. Just a thought.

Thank you, CJean. We had been to the Canadian Rockies and was thinking of similar nature and scenery, hikes...Looking at doing excursions outside of the city for quaint little towns. We are going in July - sorry forgot to mention that in my original post.

I'm thinking of a trip to the region and have found this Fodor's guidebook has been useful. There's a section on side trips from the two cities. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1640976868?tag=fodorstrave0d-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

Hi there,
We had a WONDERUL time in Quebec City with lots of nature. The AirBnB we stayed in was a great spot for being close to nature, but easy to drive in to Old Quebec for dinner and/or day trips there. It didn't look so great from the outside (and staying up the hill behind the street we were on would have looked nicer), but the house itself was lovely. 3 bedrooms, laundry , 1 1/2 baths...I don't see it on AirBnB but it is here on Booking . com:
https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/confo28-chute-montmorency-parking.html?ssne=Quebec+City&ssne_untouched=Quebec+City&highlighted_hotels=11087370&ss=Quebec+City&dest_id=-571851&dest_type=city&hp_avform=1&origin=hp&do_availability_check=1&label=bin859jc-10CAsoJ0IhY29uZm8yOC1jaHV0ZS1tb250bW9yZW5jeS1wYXJraW5nSDNYA2iLAogBAZgBM7gBF8gBDNgBA-gBAfgBAYgCAagCAbgCyqzHyQbAAgHSAiRlZjQ4ZWE4Ny1hODViLTQ5ZTUtYTk0Mi0zMzk4ODIzNTIzZTDYAgHgAgE&sid=302a2202c339a8bc3ec92044fff0cf74&aid=357028&lang=en-us&sb=1&src_elem=sb&src=hotel&checkin=2026-05-11&checkout=2026-05-15&group_adults=2&no_rooms=1&group_children=0#availability_target

Here are my notes from my trip-----we LOVED spending time on a small island right outside Quebec City and also some lovely walks around waterfalls and gorges....LMK if you have any questions.
Joanne

I just added my notes as a "trip report" and am attaching it to you here We did Old Montreal years ago and loved the evening light show at the Cathedral right in Old Montreal. It was summer and all the flower boxes were bursting and people out enjoying the summer weather. I felt like I was in France. I do remember doing the Duck Tour there (kids were younger) and we all enjoyed great overview of the city.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/quebec-city-canada-trip-report-part-1

I think in your shoes I would start for 2 nights in Montreal, without a car, see the city, old Montreal etc. Then train to Quebec city for 3 nights. Pick up a car there when you want it. We enjoyed exploring Ile d'Orleans, for a day. Then I would drive back and stay in Saint Sauveur for the last two nights. It is about a 45 minute drive to the airport, and that early you would not experience traffic I would hope. Saint Sauveur is at the start of the Laurentians and you could explore that lovely area for your last day.