Montreal and Quebec City, Canada

Montreal is a great weekend trip from the US. We felt like we were in Europe without crossing any oceans, and the flight from Washington, DC was only a little over an hour! What makes Montreal unique is that the city is in the Canadian province of Quebec, which is uniquely French and has sought autonomy from the rest of Canada because of their distinct language, culture, and history. Visiting Montreal is a different cultural experience than visiting any other major city in Canada.

We found the old cities of Montreal and Quebec City to have the most history, sites worth visiting, the cutest areas for walking and photos. That said, lodging is comparably more expensive in the old cities. In Montreal, we opted to stay in downtown, which was about a 30-minute walk to the old city, but we were able to get a nice hotel for a bit less than if we were staying directly in the old city.

Both Montreal and Quebec City are best explored by foot. Ubers are easy to call, and there are clearly marked taxis. We used Ubers sometimes at the end of long walking days or to get to Marche Jean-Talon that was a few miles away (though we walked back). There are several pedestrian walking streets as well, and you might miss them if you aren’t exploring by foot.