Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Ottawa, Mont-Tremblant and Quebec City: autumn colours
6 days from Ottawa to Quebec City in the autumn colour season: Gatineau Park and Parliament, two nights at Mont-Tremblant, a Montreal stop and Jacques-Cartier National Park.
6 days · Ottawa to Quebec City · up to 12 guests
The Chateau Frontenac above Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City 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
- 6 days, 5 nights
- Start and end
- Ottawa to Quebec City
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 4.5 h on day 5
- Activity level
Moderate
Walks of 2 to 6 km a day on paths, park trails and old-town cobbles, about 2 to 4 hours on your feet. The lookout trails at Mont-Tremblant and Jacques-Cartier climb steadily; each has a flat lakeside or riverside option, and the Tremblant summit is reached by gondola.
- Meals included
- 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 720 (estimated price)
- Season
- Autumn colour
Highlights
Why this trip
- Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park on a weekday morning, the Ottawa Valley below in its autumn colour
- A guided tour inside Parliament and an evening in the Byward Market
- Two nights at Mont-Tremblant: a lakeside walk, the national park and, on its operating days, the gondola to the 875 m summit
- A sugar-shack style dinner of pea soup, tourtiere and maple, Quebec's spring tradition served in the fall
- Mount Royal, then lunch at Atwater Market and a walk on the Lachine Canal in Montreal
- Jacques-Cartier National Park's glacial valley at 9 am, then Old Quebec on foot with your guide
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 4.5 h, on day 5.
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 720 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 4.5 h, on day 5.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Ottawa
Ottawa International Airport (YOW) to your hotel near the Byward Market
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Ottawa
- Drive about 18 min
Fly into Ottawa International Airport (YOW), about 20 minutes from the centre, where a driver meets you and takes you to your hotel within walking distance of the Byward Market.
Afternoon
Aim to land by about 3 pm so you can join the late-afternoon walk; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary. At about 4:30 your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the lobby for a short walk to get your bearings: down the stone steps beside the Rideau Canal locks, where the canal drops to the Ottawa River below Parliament Hill, and back through the market streets as the lights come on. The canal, opened in 1832, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Evening
Then we sit down together for a welcome dinner nearby, go over the week, and talk about where the colour is this year, since your guide will have been watching the reports.
Included
- Pick-up at Ottawa International Airport (YOW)
- Orientation walk with your guide past the Rideau Canal locks and through the Byward Market
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk
Activity: About 2 km of easy walking, with stairs beside the canal locks.
Gatineau Park colour and Parliament
Ottawa to Gatineau Park and back, then Parliament Hill and the Byward Market
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Ottawa
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
We cross the river into Quebec straight after breakfast and drive about half an hour up the Gatineau Parkway to Champlain Lookout, at the edge of the Eardley Escarpment. On a weekday morning it is quiet, and the view runs across the Ottawa Valley below, where the sugar maples and red oaks of the park turn from late September.
Afternoon
We walk a short loop trail on the ridge, then drive back down for a sit-down lunch in the city. In the afternoon we take a guided tour inside Parliament: the House of Commons now sits in the West Block while the Centre Block is restored, and we book whichever tour has a slot for our group. Afterwards the guide shows you the view from behind the buildings over the river.
Evening
The evening is yours in the Byward Market, which has restaurants on every corner.
Included
- Gatineau Park: Champlain Lookout and a short ridge-top loop walk
- Sit-down lunch in Ottawa
- Guided tour inside Parliament (West Block or the Senate of Canada Building, as slots allow)
- Walk behind Parliament Hill above the Ottawa River
Easier option: Stay at the lookout terrace instead of walking the loop; the view is the same.
More active option: A longer ridge walk on the escarpment trails while the rest of the group takes the short loop, with your guide's timing.
Free time: Evening free in the Byward Market
Activity: About 4 km on foot across the day. Parliament tours include a security check like an airport's; bring photo ID.
Into the Laurentians
Ottawa to Mont-Tremblant through the Outaouais and the Laurentians
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mont-Tremblant
- Drive about 2.5 h
We leave Ottawa at about 9 am and drive about two to two and a half hours east and north into the Laurentians, the old, worn-down hills north of Montreal, where the colour usually comes earlier than in the cities. The road climbs past lakes and mixed maple and birch forest, and we stop where the colour is best rather than at a fixed point.
Afternoon
Lunch is in the old village of Mont-Tremblant, a few kilometres from the ski resort. In the afternoon we walk an easy lakeside stretch of the P'tit Train du Nord, a former railway line turned into a path, with the water on one side and the hills behind it. Then we check into our hotel by the resort's pedestrian village for two nights.
Evening
The evening is free: the village is compact, and you can walk to dinner.
Included
- Drive into the Laurentians with stops for the colour
- Sit-down lunch in the village of Mont-Tremblant
- Lakeside walk on the P'tit Train du Nord path
Free time: Evening free in the pedestrian village
Activity: About 3 km of flat walking on a gravel path.
Mont-Tremblant: national park, gondola and a sugar-shack dinner
Mont-Tremblant National Park (Lac-Monroe sector), then the Tremblant gondola
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Mont-Tremblant
- Drive about 1.5 h
Mont-Tremblant National Park is Quebec's oldest park, created in 1895, and its Lac-Monroe sector is a short drive north of the resort.
Morning
We go in the morning while the light is low across the lake. The group splits for an hour or two: the active walkers climb a lookout trail above the lake with the guide, while others take the flat shoreline path with the driver and meet at the water.
Afternoon
Lunch is back in the village. After lunch, when the morning queue has gone, we ride the panoramic gondola up to the summit of Mont Tremblant, at 875 m the highest of the Laurentians, and walk the paths at the top. The gondola runs on set autumn days only; if it is closed on our date, we walk a trail at the base of the mountain or by Lac Tremblant instead.
Evening
In the evening we sit down to a sugar-shack style dinner: pea soup, tourtiere, beans, maple-glazed ham, and pancakes with syrup.
Included
- Mont-Tremblant National Park entry and a guided walk in the Lac-Monroe sector
- Sit-down lunch in the village
- Panoramic gondola to the summit of Mont Tremblant, on its autumn operating days (otherwise a guided walk at the base or by Lac Tremblant)
- Sugar-shack style dinner
Easier option: The flat shoreline path at Lac Monroe in place of the lookout climb, and the gondola both ways at the summit when it runs.
More active option: The lookout trail above Lac Monroe in the morning, and walking down part of the mountain from the summit on a marked trail.
Free time: Late afternoon free before dinner
Activity: The lookout climb is the steepest walk of the trip; trail length and climb are confirmed with the park before departure.
Montreal on the way to Quebec City
Mont-Tremblant to Montreal (Mount Royal, Atwater Market, Lachine Canal), then on to Quebec City
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Quebec City
- Drive about 4.5 h
This is the longest driving day, about four and a quarter hours in all, so we break it in the middle with about four and a half hours in Montreal. We leave Tremblant at 8:30 and are on Mount Royal by about 10, at the Kondiaronk Belvedere, where the city's towers stand above the St Lawrence and the slopes around you are in their autumn colour. From there it is a short drive to Atwater Market, where October brings pumpkins, apples and squash out onto the stalls.
Afternoon
We have lunch in or beside the market, then walk a stretch of the Lachine Canal path, the 19th-century canal that once carried ships past the rapids, to the green steel swing bridge on Rue Charlevoix.
Evening
We leave Montreal by about 2:30, before the evening traffic, and reach Quebec City at about 5:30. The evening is free inside the old walls.
Included
- Kondiaronk Belvedere on Mount Royal
- Atwater Market and lunch in Montreal
- Walk on the Lachine Canal path
- Drive to Quebec City with your guide
Easier option: Stay at the market and skip the canal walk; the vehicle picks you up at the door.
Free time: Evening free in Old Quebec
Activity: About 3 km of easy walking in Montreal. The drive is about 1 h 30 to Montreal and 2 h 45 on to Quebec City.
Jacques-Cartier National Park and Old Quebec
Quebec City to Jacques-Cartier National Park and back, then Old Quebec, then Quebec City airport (YQB)
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 2 h
We drive about 45 minutes north of the city to Jacques-Cartier National Park and are in the valley by 9 am, before the day visitors from the city. The Jacques-Cartier River runs along the floor of a deep glacial valley with steep forested sides, and in early October the hardwoods on those slopes turn red and yellow above the dark spruce. Walkers who want height climb a lookout trail with the guide; the others walk the riverside path along the valley floor.
Afternoon
We are back in Quebec City for lunch in the old town, then spend the afternoon on foot with a local guide through the only city north of Mexico that still has its fortified walls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the walls, Dufferin Terrace under the Chateau Frontenac, the stairs down to Place Royale and Petit-Champlain. If the morning has been a long one, the walk can be shortened to the walls and Dufferin Terrace, with the funicular in place of the stairs. We finish at about 4 pm and drive you to Quebec City airport, about 20 minutes away.
Included
- Jacques-Cartier National Park entry and a guided walk in the valley
- Lunch in Old Quebec
- Walking tour of Old Quebec with a local guide: the walls, Dufferin Terrace, Place Royale and Petit-Champlain
- Drop-off at Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) or a hotel in Old Quebec
Easier option: The riverside path on the valley floor instead of the lookout trail; a shorter Old Quebec walk on the walls and Dufferin Terrace, with the funicular instead of the stairs down to Lower Town.
More active option: The lookout trail above the valley; length and climb are confirmed with the park before departure.
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 6 pm, or stay on in Quebec City; we can drop you at a hotel in the old town instead of the airport.
- Ottawa2 nights
- Mont-Tremblant2 nights
- Quebec City1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Autumn colour peaks over a few weeks and moves by a week or more between years; cold nights bring it on, and heavy wind or rain can take leaves early. Crisp mornings are common, and frost is possible at Tremblant.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the autumn colour of Ontario and Quebec without long coach days
- Walkers who like a lookout trail but want an easy option alongside
- A first look at Ottawa, the Laurentians and Quebec City in under a week
- Solo travellers who want a small group to share meals with
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who needs guaranteed peak colour on a fixed date
- Travellers wanting a full day in Old Montreal (see our Montreal, Quebec City and Charlevoix trip)
- Step-free access: park trails, stairs and cobbles are part of most days
- A ski or summer-lake holiday at Tremblant
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
5 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Ottawa2 nights
- Mont-Tremblant2 nights
- Quebec City1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 5 nights: 2 in Ottawa near the Byward Market, 2 at Mont-Tremblant by the pedestrian village, 1 in or beside Old Quebec
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Ottawa International Airport (YOW) and drop-off at Quebec City airport (YQB) or a hotel in Old Quebec
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group throughout
- The Tremblant panoramic gondola on its autumn operating days
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with a local guide for the Old Quebec walking tour and Parliament's own guides inside Parliament
Activities
- Ottawa: Rideau Canal locks and Byward Market walk, guided tour inside Parliament
- Gatineau Park: Champlain Lookout and a ridge walk, with park access
- Mont-Tremblant: P'tit Train du Nord lakeside walk, Mont-Tremblant National Park entry and guided walk, gondola to the summit (on its operating days)
- Montreal: Kondiaronk Belvedere on Mount Royal, Atwater Market, Lachine Canal walk
- Jacques-Cartier National Park entry and guided walk
- Quebec City: walking tour of Old Quebec with a local guide
Meals
- 5 breakfasts
- 5 sit-down lunches (days 2 to 6)
- 2 dinners: a welcome dinner in Ottawa and a sugar-shack style dinner at Mont-Tremblant
Not included
- International flights to Ottawa and from Quebec City
- Canadian eTA or visitor visa
- Travel insurance
- Dinners on days 2, 3 and 5
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities
- Personal expenses
- Extra nights before or after the trip
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 720 (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?
Five nights in central hotels, 5 breakfasts, 5 sit-down lunches and 2 dinners including a sugar-shack style dinner, airport transfers at both ends, our own vehicle and driver, a See Sight Tours guide throughout, the Tremblant gondola on its operating days, park entries at Gatineau, Mont-Tremblant and Jacques-Cartier, the Parliament tour and a guided walk in Old Quebec.
When are the autumn colours at their best?
Usually from the last days of September to about mid October, but it shifts by a week or more each year. The Laurentians and Jacques-Cartier tend to turn first, Ottawa and Quebec City a little later. We run departures across that window and route the colour stops on the day, but no date can promise peak.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one vehicle, so everyone fits at one lookout, one table at lunch and one gondola cabin or two. That is one van, not a full coach.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the Ottawa airport to the end in Quebec City. Parliament's own guides lead the tour inside, and a local guide leads the Old Quebec walk. Our own vehicle and driver stay with the group throughout.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderate. You walk 2 to 6 km a day on paths, park trails and cobbles. The lookout trails at Mont-Tremblant and Jacques-Cartier climb steadily, and each has a flat lakeside or riverside option. The summit of Mont Tremblant is reached by gondola.
I am travelling solo. What will it cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 720 more than the shared price, shown up front at booking with no surprise later. Solo guests sit at the same tables and get the same seats as everyone else, and the group size keeps meals sociable.
Do we visit Montreal properly?
Montreal is a stop of about four and a half hours on day 5: Mount Royal's lookout, lunch at Atwater Market and a walk on the Lachine Canal. Old Montreal is not on this trip. For more time in the city, add nights before you fly home, or see our Montreal, Quebec City and Charlevoix trip.
Why only one night in Quebec City?
Because the six days go to two nights each in Ottawa and Mont-Tremblant, and Montreal is a long stop on the way rather than a night. You arrive in Quebec City by about 5:30 for a free evening, and the last day holds Jacques-Cartier and Old Quebec. To stay longer, add hotel nights in the old town at the end.
What is a sugar-shack dinner in the fall?
Sugar shacks are where Quebec boils maple sap in spring, and their feast is part of the province's food culture: pea soup, tourtiere, beans, maple ham and pancakes in syrup. Some shacks and restaurants serve it to groups outside the spring season; we name the venue when we confirm your dates.
Do I need a visa for Canada?
Most visitors flying in need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or a visitor visa, depending on nationality; US citizens need a passport. Apply before you book flights, and check the Government of Canada site for your passport's rules.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose. If you would rather travel independently, ask us from the dates section: we can quote the same hotels, park visits and guided walks on your own dates.
How does booking work?
Choose a departure and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until we do. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes; the small group starts from CAD 3,995.
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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