Eastern Canada: Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Montréal and Quebec City

1. Day 1: Arrive in Toronto

   Toronto Pearson International Airport to your downtown hotel

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Toronto
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive of about 27 km into downtown, usually 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. Your hotel is central, within walking distance of the waterfront and Union Station, and it is your base for two nights. Plan to land by about 3 pm so you can settle in before the evening; the exact time comes with your final itinerary. If you arrive early, walk down to Harbourfront for the view across to the Toronto Islands, or take the subway up to Casa Loma, the castle built in the 1910s for the financier Sir Henry Pellatt. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: the early start for Niagara tomorrow, how the trains work, and the free time built into every city. Then we walk together to a welcome dinner at a downtown restaurant.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Casa Loma, if you arrive early

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

2. Day 2: Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake

   Toronto to Niagara Falls, then Niagara-on-the-Lake and back to Toronto

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Toronto
   Day 2 details

   We leave Toronto at 8 am in our own vehicle and drive about 130 km around the western end of Lake Ontario, an hour and a half to two hours depending on traffic, so we reach the falls before the midday crowds. First the Niagara City Cruises boat, which sails from the Canadian shore past the American and Bridal Veil Falls and into the spray at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls; ponchos are handed out at the dock. Then Journey Behind the Falls, where a lift drops about 38 m through the rock to tunnels and an observation deck beside the falling water. Lunch is a sit-down meal near the falls, followed by the Skylon Tower for the view over both countries. In the afternoon we follow the Niagara Parkway north along the gorge to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a 19th-century town where the river meets Lake Ontario, for an hour on Queen Street before the drive back. The evening is free in Toronto.

   Included

   • Drive to Niagara Falls and back in our own vehicle with your guide
   • Niagara City Cruises boat to the foot of the Horseshoe Falls
   • Journey Behind the Falls
   • Sit-down lunch near the falls
   • Skylon Tower
   • The Niagara Parkway and an hour in Niagara-on-the-Lake

   Free time: Evening free in Toronto

   Activity: About 3.5 hours in the vehicle across the day, broken by the falls; you will get some spray on the boat.

   

3. Day 3: The CN Tower, then the train to Ottawa

   CN Tower and St. Lawrence Market, then VIA Rail from Union Station to Ottawa

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Ottawa
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast it is a short walk to the CN Tower for its opening time, before the queues build. The lifts climb to the LookOut level at about 346 m in under a minute; the tower itself is 553 m, and on a clear day you can see across Lake Ontario towards the Niagara Escarpment. Your guide then walks you east through the Financial District to St. Lawrence Market, where lunch is on us: pick from the stalls, and try a peameal bacon sandwich, the market's best-known dish. From there we collect the bags and go to Union Station, the Beaux-Arts hall that opened in 1927, for an early-afternoon VIA Rail train to Ottawa. The ride is about four and a half hours along the shore of Lake Ontario through Cobourg and Kingston, then north from Brockville, with seats reserved together and snacks and drinks sold on board. We meet you at Ottawa station and take you to your hotel. The ByWard Market is a few minutes on foot for dinner.

   Included

   • CN Tower at opening
   • Lunch at St. Lawrence Market
   • VIA Rail from Toronto to Ottawa
   • Transfers to Union Station and from Ottawa station to your hotel

   Free time: Evening free in Ottawa

   Activity: St. Lawrence Market's main hall is closed on Sundays and Mondays; on those days lunch is a sit-down meal near Union Station.

   

4. Day 4: Ottawa, then on to Montréal

   Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal and the Mint, then VIA Rail to Montréal

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Montréal
   Day 4 details

   A morning on foot in the capital with your guide. We start on Parliament Hill as the city wakes up. Centre Block and its Peace Tower are closed for a long renovation, so we walk the lawns, the Centennial Flame and the cliff-top path behind the Library of Parliament, and from late June to late August we stay for the Changing of the Guard at 10 am. Below the hill, the eight locks of the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007, step down to the Ottawa River beside the Château Laurier. Across Major's Hill Park is Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, with its silver spires and blue starred ceiling, and then the Royal Canadian Mint on Sussex Drive for a guided tour of how Canada's collector coins and gold bullion are made. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the ByWard Market. In mid-afternoon we take the VIA Rail train to Montréal, about two hours, then a short transfer from Central Station to your hotel in or near Old Montréal.

   Included

   • Parliament Hill with your guide
   • The Rideau Canal locks
   • Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
   • Guided tour of the Royal Canadian Mint
   • Sit-down lunch in the ByWard Market
   • VIA Rail from Ottawa to Montréal, with station transfers

   Free time: Evening free in Montréal

   Activity: About 3 km on foot in the morning, with a slope up to Parliament Hill.

   

5. Day 5: Mount Royal and Old Montréal

   Mount Royal, then Old Montréal on foot

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Montréal
   Day 5 details

   We start on Mount Royal, the hill that gave the city its name, in a park laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York's Central Park. The van takes us most of the way up, and a short walk through the trees leads to the Kondiaronk Belvedere, with the downtown towers below and the St. Lawrence beyond. Early in the morning the terrace is quiet. Back down the hill, your guide walks you through Old Montréal: Place d'Armes, then the Notre-Dame Basilica, whose deep blue vaulted ceiling, gold stars and carved wooden interior were finished in the 1870s, then the narrow streets of the old merchant quarter down to Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the old town. The afternoon and evening are free: the Pointe-à-Callière archaeology museum, a river cruise from the Old Port, or smoked meat and bagels on the Plateau, with a list of places from your guide.

   Included

   • Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk Belvedere
   • Old Montréal on foot with your guide: Place d'Armes, Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port
   • Entry to the Notre-Dame Basilica
   • Sit-down lunch in Old Montréal

   Optional experiences

   • St. Lawrence River cruise from the Old Port
   • Pointe-à-Callière museum

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3 to 4 km on foot, partly on cobbles.

   

6. Day 6: By train to Quebec City

   Montréal to Quebec City on VIA Rail

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Quebec City
   Day 6 details

   The morning is free in Montréal. Sleep in, walk the Lachine Canal, or take the metro to Jean-Talon Market, the city's big open-air market, for a coffee and a look at what Quebec farms grow; your guide goes along for anyone who wants company. Around midday we transfer to Central Station for the VIA Rail train to Quebec City, about three and a quarter hours along the south shore of the St. Lawrence, through farmland and villages with tall church spires. We arrive in the late afternoon at the Gare du Palais, a château-style station at the foot of Old Quebec, and drive the short way to the hotel, where we stay three nights. Before dinner your guide walks the group up to Dufferin Terrace, the boardwalk beneath the Château Frontenac, as the light goes and the river turns silver below. Dinner is yours, inside the walls or down in the Lower Town.

   Included

   • VIA Rail from Montréal to Quebec City, with station transfers
   • Evening orientation walk to Dufferin Terrace

   Free time: Morning free in Montréal; dinner free in Quebec City

7. Day 7: Old Quebec and the Citadelle

   The Plains of Abraham, the Citadelle and the Upper Town, then the funicular to the Lower Town

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Quebec City
   Day 7 details

   A local Quebec City guide joins your See Sight Tours guide this morning for a walking tour of Old Quebec, the fortified old town that UNESCO listed in 1985. We begin on the Plains of Abraham, where the battle of 1759 decided the fate of New France, and walk into La Citadelle, the star-shaped fort on Cap Diamant that is still home to the Royal 22nd Regiment, for a guided visit. From there we follow the ramparts into the Upper Town, past convents, the seminary and the Château Frontenac, opened in 1893 as a railway hotel. The funicular takes us down the cliff 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 has stood since 1688. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the Lower Town. The afternoon is free: the Musée de la civilisation, the short ferry across to Lévis for the view back at the city, or a café terrace on Rue Saint-Jean.

   Included

   • Old Quebec walking tour with a local guide: the Plains of Abraham, the ramparts, the Upper Town, Petit-Champlain and Place Royale
   • Guided visit to La Citadelle de Québec
   • The Old Quebec funicular
   • Sit-down lunch in the Lower Town

   Optional experiences

   • Lévis ferry
   • Musée de la civilisation

   Easier option: Skip the ramparts and take the funicular both ways; meet the group in the Lower Town for lunch.

   More active option: After lunch, walk the full circuit of the city walls, about 4.6 km, with your guide.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: The longest walking day: about 5 km on cobbles, stairs and steep streets, with the funicular for the steepest stretch.

8. Day 8: Montmorency Falls and Île d'Orléans

   Quebec City to Montmorency Falls, around Île d'Orléans and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Quebec City
   Day 8 details

   Our vehicle takes us about 15 minutes east to Montmorency Falls, where we arrive around 9 am, ahead of the coaches. Here the Montmorency River drops 83 metres into the St. Lawrence, about 30 metres further than Niagara. Cross the suspension bridge over the brink, then descend to the foot of the falls by cable car, or on the 487-step staircase down the cliff if you want the exercise. The bridge onto Île d'Orléans is a few minutes away. The island is farmland and six old parishes strung along a single road, the Chemin Royal, about 67 km around, and its fields feed much of Quebec City. We drive the loop with stops that follow the season: strawberries in early summer, apples and cider in autumn, and blackcurrant, cheese and maple all year. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the island. We are back in Quebec City by mid-afternoon for some free hours, and tonight the group meets for a farewell dinner 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
   • Farewell dinner in Old Quebec

   Easier option: Ride the cable car both ways and watch the falls from the lower viewing area.

   More active option: Walk down the 487-step staircase on the cliff face beside the falls and back up the same way.

   Free time: Late afternoon free

9. Day 9: Quebec City and home

   Quebec City to Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB)

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   The last morning is free until it is time for the airport. Walk the walls once more before breakfast, when the Upper Town is quiet and the river is still, or browse the shops of Rue du Petit-Champlain as they open. Your driver takes you to Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), about 16 km and 25 minutes from Old Quebec, at a time that fits your flight; book a flight leaving after about 12 noon so the morning is not rushed. Many flights home connect through Montréal or Toronto. If you would rather fly home from Montréal-Trudeau (YUL), ask when you book: we can put you on a morning VIA Rail train back to Montréal with a transfer to the airport, which needs a flight after about 5 pm. Your guide says goodbye at the hotel and makes sure every transfer is in place before the group splits up.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB)

   Optional experiences

   • VIA Rail to Montréal with a transfer to Montréal-Trudeau (YUL), on request

   Free time: Morning free

   Activity: Book a flight from YQB after about 12 noon, or from YUL after about 5 pm.

Wildlife and weather: Summer days are warm and often humid in Toronto and Montréal, 25 to 30°C, with cooler evenings in Quebec City. May and October are cool and quieter. The maples turn from late September to mid-October, the best time for colour on Île d'Orléans and along the train line.

• Toronto2 nights
• Ottawa1 night
• Montréal2 nights
• Quebec City3 nights