Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal for three generations

Arrive and drive to Niagara Falls

Toronto Pearson to Niagara Falls

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Niagara Falls
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

We meet you at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at set group pick-up times, the last of them in the early afternoon, and drive about 125 km around the end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, Ontario. The drive takes about an hour and a half on the Queen Elizabeth Way, longer in Friday traffic, and we stop once for a washroom and a snack if anyone needs it.

Soir

Starting at the falls rather than in Toronto means the first night is in a quieter town, two nights in the same room, and a hotel pool, if the hotel has one, for children who have been sitting on a plane all day. After check-in there is time to swim or rest. The welcome dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm, close to the hotel, so younger children are not up late. Afterwards we walk a few minutes to the railing above the Horseshoe Falls, which are lit in colour every night from dusk, and anyone who is tired can go straight back to bed.

Compris

• Pick-up at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at set group times
• Drive to Niagara Falls with your guide
• Welcome dinner at about 5:30 pm
• Short evening walk to see the falls lit up

Niagara Falls by boat and the butterflies

Niagara Falls, the Niagara Parkway and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Niagara Falls
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

We are at the dock for one of the first Niagara City Cruises boats of the morning, before the queues build, and everyone is handed a poncho for the mist. The boat sails from the Canadian shore past the American Falls into the spray at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls; there is no walking beyond the ramp, and grandparents can sit on the lower deck. Next is Journey Behind the Falls, where a lift takes you down about 40 m through the rock to tunnels and an outdoor deck beside the falling water.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal near Table Rock. After lunch we drive about 10 km north along the Niagara Parkway to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, a warm glasshouse where thousands of tropical butterflies fly free and often land on sleeves. We pass the Floral Clock on the way back and are at the hotel by about 3 pm. The rest of the day is free: a swim if the hotel has a pool, a nap, or an hour on Clifton Hill for the children.

Soir

Dinner is on your own, as early as you like; your guide suggests family places near the hotel.

Compris

• Niagara City Cruises boat ride to the Horseshoe Falls, on an early sailing
• Journey Behind the Falls
• Sit-down lunch near Table Rock
• Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory
• The Floral Clock

Activités en option

• Skylon Tower observation deck
• The arcades and rides of Clifton Hill (paid on the spot)
• Niagara fireworks over the falls on scheduled summer nights, usually at 10 pm

Toronto: the aquarium and the CN Tower

Niagara Falls to Toronto

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Toronto
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive about 130 km back around the lake to Toronto, about an hour and a half, and are downtown by late morning. Ripley's Aquarium of Canada sits at the foot of the CN Tower; we go in on a timed entry so the group walks straight in. The moving walkway through the shark tunnel, the jellyfish gallery and the touch pools with rays and horseshoe crabs are the parts children remember, and there are benches through every gallery.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal nearby. In the afternoon we ride the glass-fronted lifts up the CN Tower on a timed slot, the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere, and stand on the glass floor above the city, or watch from a step back.

Soir

Tonight's hotel is near Union Station, so tomorrow's train is a short walk or a two-minute drive away. The late afternoon is free; the Harbourfront is a few minutes' walk, and dinner is on your own, as early as you like.

Compris

• Drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto with your guide
• Ripley's Aquarium of Canada on a timed entry
• Sit-down lunch near the waterfront
• CN Tower on a timed slot, with the glass floor

Activités en option

• The ferry to Centre Island and the Centreville amusement park, open daily in summer (rides paid on the spot)
• EdgeWalk on the CN Tower roof edge, minimum age 13

VIA Rail to Ottawa

Toronto Union Station to Ottawa by train

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Ottawa
• Environ 15 min de route

Matin

We board a morning train at Union Station; the trip takes about four and a half hours along the shore of Lake Ontario past Cobourg and Kingston, then north to the capital.

Après-midi

A packed lunch is included, and cards, books and window seats fill the time. We meet the train in Ottawa in the early afternoon and drive you to your hotel. Later, a short guided walk takes us past the Parliament buildings and down to the flight of eight locks where the Rideau Canal steps down to the Ottawa River, and on to the ByWard Market for a BeaverTail pastry.

Soir

Dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm.

Compris

• VIA Rail train from Toronto to Ottawa
• Packed lunch for the train
• Transfers to Union Station and from Ottawa station to your hotel
• Guided walk past Parliament Hill to the Rideau Canal locks and the ByWard Market
• A BeaverTail pastry in the ByWard Market
• Dinner at about 5:30 pm

Activités en option

• Free guided tours of the House of Commons or the Senate at their temporary locations (Centre Block is closed for rehabilitation), booked online in advance where places are available

Ottawa, then the road to Montréal

Ottawa to Gatineau, then Montréal

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Montréal
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

The full parade runs only on set days of the week in summer, with a band-only ceremony on the others; we confirm the days with each departure and set the dates so this morning falls on a parade day, or start at the museum if it does not. We then cross the Ottawa River to Gatineau, in Quebec, for the Canadian Museum of History, where the Grand Hall's row of totem poles faces Parliament Hill across the water and the Canadian Children's Museum inside lets children dress up, board a bus and run a market stall while grandparents sit nearby.

Après-midi

Lunch is in the museum. At about 2 pm we drive about 200 km east to Montréal, a little over two hours with a stop on the way, and arrive by mid-afternoon, with time to rest or swim if the hotel has a pool.

Soir

The farewell dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm, close to the hotel, on the last evening together.

Compris

• Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill (summer, on parade days confirmed with your departure)
• Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian Children's Museum, Gatineau
• Lunch at the museum
• Drive from Ottawa to Montréal with your guide
• Farewell dinner at about 5:30 pm

Montréal, then the airport

Old Montréal and Mount Royal to Montréal-Trudeau airport

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

We start in Old Montréal at Notre-Dame Basilica, arriving with the first visitors of the morning to see the deep blue vaulted ceiling scattered with gold stars. A short, level walk follows through the cobbled streets of the old town to the Old Port on the St. Lawrence River, where children can watch the boats and there is room to run. Then the van climbs Mount Royal, the hill that gave the city its name, and parks a short, flat walk from the Kondiaronk lookout, the wide terrace in front of the chalet, with the whole of downtown below. We take the three-generation photo here.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal before we drive about 20 km to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), arriving at about 2:30 pm.

Soir

Please book flights leaving after 5:30 pm; for an evening flight to Europe, the timing works well. Guests who stay on in Montréal can be dropped at a downtown hotel instead.

Compris

• Notre-Dame Basilica, Old Montréal, on an early entry
• Walk through Old Montréal to the Old Port
• Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk lookout
• Sit-down lunch
• Drop-off at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) at about 2:30 pm