Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City and Charlevoix
7 days from Montreal to Quebec City: two nights in Montreal, VIA Rail to three nights in Old Quebec with Montmorency Falls and Île d'Orléans, and a night in Charlevoix after a whale cruise at Tadoussac.
7 days · Montreal to Quebec City · up to 12 guests
The Château Frontenac above Old Quebec at dusk Photo: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chateau_Frontenac_at_dusk_in_Quebec_City.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Montreal to Quebec City
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
City walking of about 4 to 7 km a day on cobbles and steep streets, especially in Old Quebec, with stairs you can avoid by funicular or cable car; one longer road day to Tadoussac with a 3-hour cruise, and you can sit out any walk.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 820 (estimated price)
- Season
- June to early October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Mount Royal's Kondiaronk Belvedere before the tour buses, then a warm Mile End bagel and a tasting walk through Jean-Talon Market
- Notre-Dame Basilica and the lanes of Old Montreal on foot with your guide
- VIA Rail to Quebec City with your bags sent ahead by road
- Three nights in Old Quebec: the walls, Dufferin Terrace, the Breakneck Stairs and Place Royale with a local guide
- Montmorency Falls at opening, then the farms, cider and cheese of Île d'Orléans
- A whale-watching cruise from Tadoussac where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence, included in the price
- Charlevoix's river road and the artists' town of Baie-Saint-Paul on the way back
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 820 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Montreal
Montréal-Trudeau International Airport to your hotel in Montreal
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Montreal
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), about 20 km west of downtown, where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the ride to your hotel in or near Old Montreal.
Evening
Plan to land by about 3 pm so you can settle in before the evening briefing; the exact time comes with your final itinerary. If you arrive early, the Old Port and the riverside promenade are a short walk from the hotel. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: the train to Quebec City, what to wear on a whale cruise, and how the days are paced, with a free afternoon or evening in every base. Then we walk to dinner together at a bistro serving Québécois cooking, the start of a week that eats its way down the St. Lawrence: tourtière, duck, local cheeses, and maple in more places than you expect.
Included
- Pick-up at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner of Québécois cooking
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Mount Royal, the market and Old Montreal
Mount Royal to Mile End and Jean-Talon Market, then Old Montreal
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Montreal
- Drive about 1 h
We start on Mount Royal, the hill that gives the city its name. The van takes us most of the way up, and a short walk through the woods brings us to the Kondiaronk Belvedere, where the downtown towers line up below you with the St. Lawrence behind them. It is quiet at this hour, before the tour buses arrive. Down the north side of the mountain we stop in Mile End for a bagel still warm from a wood-fired oven: Montreal bagels are boiled in honey-sweetened water, smaller and denser than New York's.
Afternoon
Lunch is a tasting walk through Jean-Talon Market with your guide, stall to stall: Quebec cheeses, charcuterie, seasonal fruit and maple. In the afternoon we walk Old Montreal: Place d'Armes, the Notre-Dame Basilica with its deep blue and gold interior, Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port.
Evening
The evening is free; your guide has a list of places for smoked meat, or something smarter.
Included
- Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk Belvedere
- A Mile End bagel
- Tasting lunch walk through Jean-Talon Market
- Old Montreal on foot with your guide: Place d'Armes, Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port
- Entry to the Notre-Dame Basilica
Easier option: Ride the van to the chalet car park on Mount Royal and skip the woodland path.
More active option: Walk down Mount Royal on the trails to the Plateau instead of riding, about 45 minutes, and meet the group in Mile End.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 5 to 6 km on foot over the day, with a short climb on Mount Royal.
By train to Quebec City
Montreal Central Station to Quebec City's Gare du Palais by VIA Rail
- Breakfast
- Stay in Quebec City
- By train
Morning
After breakfast the van takes your bags to Quebec City by road while we take a VIA Rail train from Montreal's Central Station, so you travel with a day bag only. The ride is about three and a quarter hours along the south shore of the St. Lawrence, through farmland and small towns with tall church spires, with seats reserved together and light meals and drinks for sale on board.
Afternoon
We arrive around midday at the Gare du Palais, a château-style station at the foot of Old Quebec, and the van carries your bags to the hotel, where we stay three nights. Lunch is yours in the Lower Town or on Rue Saint-Jean. Mid-afternoon your guide walks the group up to the ramparts for a first orientation: the city gates, the walls and the view across the river to Lévis, so you know your way around before tomorrow. Quebec City kept its fortifications, one reason UNESCO listed the old town.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- VIA Rail from Montreal to Quebec City, with your bags carried by road
- Transfer from the Gare du Palais to your hotel
- Orientation walk on the ramparts of Old Quebec
Free time: Lunch and evening free in Old Quebec
Activity: Old Quebec is built on a cliff: the walk from the Lower Town to the Upper Town is steep, and the funicular is there when you want it. Your bags go by van, about 250 km by road, and the same van stays in Quebec City for days 5 to 7.
Old Quebec on foot
Upper Town to the Petit-Champlain quarter and Place Royale
- Breakfast
- Stay in Quebec City
Morning
A local Quebec City guide joins your See Sight Tours guide this morning for a walking tour of Old Quebec, the historic district UNESCO listed in 1985. We start early in the Upper Town on Dufferin Terrace, the boardwalk beneath the Château Frontenac with a long view down the river, and walk along the Citadelle's walls to the edge of the Plains of Abraham, where the battle of 1759 decided the fate of New France. Back through the Upper Town's convents and seminary buildings, we go down the Breakneck Stairs to the Petit-Champlain quarter and Place Royale, where Samuel de Champlain founded the city in 1608 and the small stone church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires still stands. On cruise-ship days the Lower Town fills by late morning, so we ride the funicular back up as the crowds come down.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free: the Musée de la civilisation, a long walk on the Plains, or a slow lunch on Rue Saint-Jean.
Included
- Old Quebec walking tour with a local guide: Dufferin Terrace, the Citadelle walls, the Plains of Abraham, the Breakneck Stairs, Petit-Champlain and Place Royale
- The Old Quebec funicular
Optional experiences
- Guided tour of La Citadelle de Québec, still an active military base, with the changing of the guard on summer mornings (paid on the day)
Easier option: Take the funicular down to the Lower Town instead of the Breakneck Stairs.
More active option: In the free afternoon, walk the full circuit of the walls, about 4.6 km, with your guide's map.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning, with steep streets and stairs.
Montmorency Falls and Île d'Orléans
Quebec City to Montmorency Falls, around Île d'Orléans, and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Quebec City
- Drive about 2 h
We drive about 15 minutes east to Montmorency Falls for around 9 am, ahead of the coaches. The falls drop 83 metres into the St. Lawrence, about 30 metres more than Niagara. Walk the suspension bridge across the top of the falls, then go down, by the 487-step staircase on the cliff face or by cable car. The bridge to Île d'Orléans is a few minutes from the foot of the falls. The island is farmland and six old villages along one road, the Chemin Royal, about 67 km around, and it supplies much of what Quebec City eats. We drive the loop and stop at producers according to season: strawberries in early summer, apples and cider in autumn, blackcurrant liqueur, cheese, and maple all year.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal on the island made from what grows on it.
Evening
We are back in Quebec City by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours; tonight is your last free evening in Old Quebec.
Included
- Montmorency Falls with the suspension bridge and the cable car
- Drive around Île d'Orléans on the Chemin Royal
- Tastings at island producers: cider, blackcurrant, cheese and maple
- Sit-down lunch on Île d'Orléans
Easier option: Ride the cable car both ways at Montmorency and stay with the van at the farm stops if you prefer.
More active option: Take the 487-step panoramic staircase down the cliff beside the falls.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: Spray from the falls reaches the lower viewpoints, so bring a rain jacket.
Whales at Tadoussac, then Charlevoix
Quebec City to Baie-Sainte-Catherine, ferry to Tadoussac, then back to La Malbaie
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in La Malbaie
- Drive about 4 h
Evening
Today is the longest on the road, about 290 km and four hours of driving, split into a morning drive and a short evening leg with lunch and a three-hour cruise between them. We leave Quebec City at 8 am with bags in the van and follow Route 138 along the Côte-de-Beaupré and over the hills of Charlevoix to Baie-Sainte-Catherine, where a free ferry crosses the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord to Tadoussac in about ten minutes; in high summer the queue can pass an hour, so we aim for the early crossings and set the cruise time around them. After lunch in the village we board a whale-watching cruise in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, where cold, deep water from the fjord meets the river and brings up food. Belugas live here year round; minke, fin and humpback whales feed here through the summer and into autumn, and blue whales on some days. The whales are wild, so no sighting is certain, and the naturalist on board explains what you are seeing. We cross back on the ferry and drive about an hour to La Malbaie for a dinner of Charlevoix produce.
Included
- Ferry across the Saguenay between Baie-Sainte-Catherine and Tadoussac
- Lunch in Tadoussac
- Whale-watching cruise of about 3 hours in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, with a naturalist
- Dinner of Charlevoix produce in La Malbaie
Easier option: The larger cruise boat has indoor seating and a heated cabin; stay inside and step out on deck when whales surface.
More active option: Take a seat on a Zodiac, a smaller open boat that sits low on the water, instead of the larger boat, when there is space; we confirm the price at booking.
Activity: It is cold on the water even in summer: bring a warm layer, a hat and gloves. The ferry is crossed twice today; in mid-July to August we use the early crossings and adjust the cruise time to the queue.
The Charlevoix river road and Baie-Saint-Paul
La Malbaie to Les Éboulements and Baie-Saint-Paul, then Quebec City
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
A slower morning in La Malbaie, where the river is wide enough to smell of salt and the hills of Charlevoix run down to the water; the region is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, its valley shaped by an ancient meteorite impact. Mid-morning we take Route 362, the river road, west through Les Éboulements, where it dips and climbs high above the St. Lawrence with Isle-aux-Coudres offshore, and we stop at the lookouts on the way. Baie-Saint-Paul sits where the Gouffre river reaches the St. Lawrence, an artists' town of galleries, workshops and cafes on Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
Afternoon
You have time to browse before a last lunch together. Then it is about an hour and a half to Quebec City: we drop you at Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) around 3:30 pm, or at the Gare du Palais or an Old Quebec hotel if you are staying on. Your guide checks your flight or train before saying goodbye.
Included
- Route 362, the Charlevoix river road, with stops at the lookouts
- Time in Baie-Saint-Paul and a farewell lunch
- Drop-off at Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), the Gare du Palais or an Old Quebec hotel
Free time: Free time in Baie-Saint-Paul before lunch
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 6 pm: we reach YQB around 3:30 pm, and check-in for most flights closes about 1 hour before departure, so this leaves room for a slow road. Or take an evening VIA Rail train to Montreal.
- Montreal2 nights
- Quebec City3 nights
- La Malbaie1 night
- Quebec Cityend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: June to August is warm (often mid to high 20s C) with long evenings; September and early October bring cooler days and autumn colour in Charlevoix from late September. Belugas live in the St. Lawrence estuary year round, and minke, fin and humpback whales feed off Tadoussac from about June into October; sightings are likely but never guaranteed.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First-time visitors to French Canada who want Montreal, Old Quebec and the countryside in one week
- Travellers who choose a trip for its food: markets, producers and regional cooking
- Anyone who wants whales without booking a separate tour
- Travellers who prefer a train and short drives to long coach days
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: Old Quebec is steep, with stairs and cobbles
- Travellers after hiking or wilderness; the walking here is in towns and at viewpoints
- A winter or Christmas market trip; this one runs June to early October
- Anyone who needs to end the trip in Montreal on day 7
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Montreal2 nights
- Quebec City3 nights
- La Malbaie1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 6 nights: 2 in Montreal near the old town, 3 in Quebec City in or just outside the walls of Old Quebec, 1 in La Malbaie in Charlevoix
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) on day 1 and drop-off at Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), the Gare du Palais or an Old Quebec hotel on day 7
- VIA Rail from Montreal to Quebec City, with your bags carried by road
- A private vehicle and driver for the group
- The Baie-Sainte-Catherine to Tadoussac ferry, both ways
- The Old Quebec funicular
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with a local Quebec City guide for the Old Quebec walking tour and a naturalist on the whale cruise
Activities
- Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk Belvedere, Montreal
- Jean-Talon Market tasting walk, Montreal
- Old Montreal on foot, with entry to the Notre-Dame Basilica
- Orientation walk on the ramparts of Old Quebec
- Old Quebec walking tour with a local guide
- Montmorency Falls, with the suspension bridge and cable car
- Île d'Orléans producer stops and tastings
- Whale-watching cruise in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, Tadoussac
- The Charlevoix river road and Baie-Saint-Paul
Meals
- Breakfast daily (6)
- 4 lunches: a Jean-Talon Market tasting walk, Île d'Orléans, Tadoussac and Baie-Saint-Paul
- 2 dinners: a welcome dinner in Montreal and a Charlevoix dinner in La Malbaie
- A Mile End bagel
Not included
- International flights to Montreal and home from Quebec City
- Canadian entry documents (eTA or visa)
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed, including lunch on days 3 and 4
- Drinks, including alcohol with included meals
- Tips for your guide and driver
- Optional activities such as the guided tour of La Citadelle de Québec
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 820 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Six nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, four lunches and two dinners, VIA Rail from Montreal to Quebec City with your bags sent by road, airport transfers at both ends, a private vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every visit in the day plan, including the Tadoussac whale cruise, the Notre-Dame Basilica and Montmorency Falls.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough to fit around one bistro table, move through Old Quebec's narrow streets without a flag, and board the train and the cruise boat without waiting for a coach load.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with you from the Montreal airport to the drop-off in Quebec City. A local Quebec City guide joins for the Old Quebec walking tour, and the whale cruise has its own naturalist on board. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. Expect 4 to 7 km of walking on most days, on cobbles and steep streets in Old Quebec. Every long staircase has an alternative: the funicular instead of the Breakneck Stairs, the cable car instead of the 487 steps at Montmorency, and you can sit out any walk.
I am travelling solo. What will I pay?
A room of your own is from CAD 820 more, shown before you book, with no other extra for travelling alone. If you would rather share, tell us when you request to book and we will try to pair you with another solo guest; if we can, you pay the twin-share price.
Will we definitely see whales?
Very likely, but they are wild animals, so it is never certain. Belugas live in the St. Lawrence estuary all year, and minke, fin and humpback whales feed off Tadoussac from about June into October, which is why the trip runs in those months. The naturalist on board knows where they have been feeding.
When is the best time to go?
Departures run June to early October. July and August are warm with the most whales and the busiest streets. September and early October are cooler and quieter, with autumn colour in Charlevoix from late September. June has long evenings and fewer visitors, and the whale season is just getting going.
Do I need to speak French?
No. Quebec is French-speaking, but English is widely spoken in Montreal and in the hotels, shops and restaurants of Old Quebec. It is less common in Charlevoix villages, where your guide helps. Locals appreciate a 'bonjour' and a 'merci', and menus are often in both languages.
Do I need a visa or an eTA for Canada?
It depends on your passport. Most visa-exempt travellers flying to Canada need an eTA, applied for online before you fly. US citizens need only a valid passport. Some nationalities need a visitor visa. Check the Government of Canada rules for your nationality when you book.
How does booking work?
Choose a start date and send a request to book. We check the hotels, the train and the whale cruise and confirm your trip within 24 hours. No payment is taken when you request; we tell you the next steps when we confirm.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, with your own guide and vehicle, on a date you choose, from CAD 8,525 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the hotels, train and cruise.
Can I combine this with Toronto and Niagara Falls?
Yes. Our Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa and Montreal trip and our Toronto, Tobermory and Algonquin trip both end in Montreal, so you can join this one there and finish in Quebec City. Tell us when you request to book and we will help with the hotel nights in between.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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