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Canada

Posted by @karencosta @sportsmom, Mar 1, 2019

Planning a road trip to Canada this summer (I live in NY). Going to Montreal for a day or so and then Toronto for about 2 days. We are planning a Blue Jay's game and the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and Niagara Falls. The trip will be me and my husband with our 2 boys who will be 17 and 13. Any other suggestions? Haven't found too much in Montreal other than to walk around Old Montreal which is fine. Suggestions for tours in Niagara Falls (kind of shocked at the cost of Maid of the Mist!), Has anyone stayed on the Canada or NY side of the falls with suggestion for a hotel?

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Joyce White | @jaw55 | Mar 1, 2019

Maid of the Mist is worth it, especially for the boys. My mom loved it at 70! Eating the rotating restaurant (top floor) was memorable, too. Make sure you see the falls at night. The tour under the falls wasn't impressive (drippy with slick rock floors), but the hike downriver was peaceful as was the butterfly garden. We stayed on the Canadian side of Niagara in a hotel just blocks from the falls - wasn't impressed for it's cost. Be prepared to speak a little French in Montreal!

REPLY
Johnny | @bludgett | Mar 5, 2019

@sportsmom Montréal is beautiful in the summer and very hard to do it within 1 day. Depending on when you are going in the summer there is so much to do/see, Formula 1 racing, Jazz Festival, Just for Laughs, International Film Festival, etc. In no particular order this is what I suggest. Stay in the WEST side of St-Laurent street of Montreal, where it is mostly English. Based on my experience if you go East then you are in French dominant territory and in some cases they are not friendly to English speaking (even if they are tourist).
- Have a smoke meat sandwich with a black cherry cola at Schwartz's Deli
- Eat some Poutine
- Visit Old Montreal (Saint- Paul street)
- Visit Notre-Dame Basilica (Basilique Notre-Dame)
- Go up the Mont-Royal and have a panorama view of half of Montreal
- Get some bagels from St-Viateur Bagel
- Go to the top on the 2nd tallest building in the city "Au Sommet" (meaning: at the top) for views
- Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal
- Gibeau Orange Julep on Decarie Blvd (go on Wednesday night to see for free a meeting of classic cars)
- Grounds of McGill university
- Dinner cruise around the city
- Casino Montreal
- Biodome
- Botanic Gardens (maybe not with the boys, they might be bored)
- La Ronde (your boys will not want to leave). It is six flags Canadian style.
- Shopping on Saint-Catherine street (WEST side, such as Peel Street which is near McGill University), there isn't much on the east
- Montreal is known for their restaurants, plenty of amazing food ! Try to stay away from big american franchises, go for local eatery.
On your way towards Toronto (on highway 40) stop by Fairview Pointe Claire for more shopping and grabbing a bite before a long car ride.

Hope that helped!

REPLY
1 reply
@karencosta | @sportsmom | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @bludgett "@sportsmom Montréal is beautiful in the summer and very hard to do it within 1 day...." + (show)
@bludgett

@sportsmom Montréal is beautiful in the summer and very hard to do it within 1 day. Depending on when you are going in the summer there is so much to do/see, Formula 1 racing, Jazz Festival, Just for Laughs, International Film Festival, etc. In no particular order this is what I suggest. Stay in the WEST side of St-Laurent street of Montreal, where it is mostly English. Based on my experience if you go East then you are in French dominant territory and in some cases they are not friendly to English speaking (even if they are tourist).
- Have a smoke meat sandwich with a black cherry cola at Schwartz's Deli
- Eat some Poutine
- Visit Old Montreal (Saint- Paul street)
- Visit Notre-Dame Basilica (Basilique Notre-Dame)
- Go up the Mont-Royal and have a panorama view of half of Montreal
- Get some bagels from St-Viateur Bagel
- Go to the top on the 2nd tallest building in the city "Au Sommet" (meaning: at the top) for views
- Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal
- Gibeau Orange Julep on Decarie Blvd (go on Wednesday night to see for free a meeting of classic cars)
- Grounds of McGill university
- Dinner cruise around the city
- Casino Montreal
- Biodome
- Botanic Gardens (maybe not with the boys, they might be bored)
- La Ronde (your boys will not want to leave). It is six flags Canadian style.
- Shopping on Saint-Catherine street (WEST side, such as Peel Street which is near McGill University), there isn't much on the east
- Montreal is known for their restaurants, plenty of amazing food ! Try to stay away from big american franchises, go for local eatery.
On your way towards Toronto (on highway 40) stop by Fairview Pointe Claire for more shopping and grabbing a bite before a long car ride.

Hope that helped!

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Wow, thanks @bludgett! This is some great info - appreciate all the details! I'm sure I'll have some more questions as I get further into my planning.

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