• West Coast Explorer
• Pacific Country Inns
• Peaks to Pacific
• Heart of the Rockies
• Eastern Canada Express
• Exploring La Belle Province
• Québec's Country Roads
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Québec's Country Roads
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- Discover Montréal, Québec, the Eastern Townships and Charlevoix
- Features 2 night stays in 4 heritage inns, breakfasts included
- Operates: Summer only
- Rate per Person: CAD $4030.00 based on 2 people, peak season departure
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The Province of Québec's charm is not only limited to historic Old Québec City or to Montréal's lively streets. To be convinced, hop in a car and embark on a 9-day tour of la Belle Province that will take you up to Charlevoix County and to the Eastern Townships, home of some of the best inns in Eastern Canada. On this journey, you will have time to savour both the landscapes and the province's fine cuisine.
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Day 1 - Welcome to Montréal
Learn more about this destination
Today’s inclusions:
8-day full size car rental including unlimited kilometres, LDW, taxes and fees
Overnight at Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel (Old Montreal) in a Deluxe Suite
(read more about this hotel / see alternate properties in Montréal)
Upon arrival at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, pick up your car rental and drive to your downtown hotel.
For the next two nights, you will stay at the luxurious Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel. Behind the famed Notre-Dame Basilica and one block from the Old Port, the Hotel is located in the most historic area of Montreal. Your Deluxe Suite features French windows, which fully open onto the secluded courtyard, or the historical streets of Old Montreal, and include bar-type kitchen. Luxurious bathrooms including plush bathrobes and the aromatic power of the Eco Spa line from Fruits et Passion.
Tonight, wander the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal to visit the many interesting stores, galleries and restaurants within steps of your hotel.
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Day 2 - Montréal Exploring
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel including gratuity
Old Montreal Walking Tour including guide gratuity
Overnight at Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel (Old Montreal) in a Deluxe Suite
History buffs will appreciate this private 3-hour walking tour of Old Montreal, focusing on more than 360 years of history. With your private guide, you will discover how Montreal was settled by the French, conquered by the English and achieved the status of a great and fun metropolis in the 20th and 21th centuries – while exploring Old Montréal on foot.
Montréal was founded as Ville-Marie by Sieur de Maisonneuve in 1642. You may wish to see the remaining fortifications of the walls that once encircled the city in the Pointe-A-Callière Museum, where you may also see a multimedia show and visit the archeological crypt, the exact site where French settlers first set foot on the island.
Walk on the cobblestone St Paul Street, Montréal’s first paved street, to the picturesque Place Jacques Cartier and take a look at the Chateau Ramezay, a governor’s residence built in the 18th century. Continue to Notre Dame Basilica, a splendid example of English Gothic Revival architecture, with a richly decorated interior, built on the site of the first church in Montréal.
Your guide will point out the importance and influence of religion in the colonization of New France and how it helped preserve a unique French culture after France lost New France to England in 1759. Old Montréal became, after the conquest, an important financial center. A number of these buildings, banks and insurance companies have been converted to boutiques, hotels and art galleries, which you will have time to explore on your own during the remainder of your stay in Montreal.
After your tour, have your guide recommend a place to enjoy a leisurely lunch either at one of quaint restaurants of Place Jacques Cartier or by the Old Port. After lunch you can choose to spend the afternoon exploring the modern side of Montréal, with a driving tour of the Mount Royal, Olympic Stadium, the various sites of Expo 67, the Islands, home to the Casino and the F1 circuit and all of Montréal’s ethnic neighbourhoods. Also make a stop to see Montréal Underground, downtown’s network of boutiques, restaurants and cinemas.
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Day 3 - Montréal / Ayer’s Cliff in the Eastern Townships (156 km = 97 miles)
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Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel including gratuity
Dinner at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa including gratuity
Overnight at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa in a Deluxe Room
(read more about this property)
You will spend most of the day relaxing in Montréal, visiting museums or shopping at leisure, before you head out to the Eastern Townships on a leisurely and scenic drive through the lower Laurentian mountains.
For the next two nights you will stay at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa which is furnished with a selection of fine antiques and modern conveniences, Ripplecove's 26 guest rooms promise visitors a stay of unparalleled charm. Accommodations range from luxurious designer-decorated rooms overlooking Lake Massawippi to spectacular suites complete with fireplaces, whirlpools, marble-tiled bathrooms and private balconies.
In keeping with the overall theme of the Inn, each room is designed and decorated with an eye on elegance and comfort. Plush furnishings, hand-picked artwork and select wall coverings and fabrics are just some of the small, but important details that bring each suite warmly to life.
At Ripplecove, with its AAA Four Diamond Award, no comfort is deemed too great for our clientele. Whether it be having breakfast served to them in their queen-sized bed or coming back to their room after dinner to find their blankets turned down and fire glowing in the fireplace, guests at the Inn are treated to service of the most attentive kind. Your Deluxe room is a luxurious room with either a queen or king size bed. Most of these rooms offer private lake view balconies, fireplaces and spacious bathrooms with double whirlpool baths.
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Day 4 - Eastern Townships Exploring
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa including gratuity
Dinner at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa including gratuity
Overnight at the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa in a Deluxe Room
You have a full day to relax at the Inn today or explore the region.
With its round barns and covered bridges, the Eastern Townships are famous for their rural charm. Known as the Gardens of Québec, the Townships have many of the province’s best dairy and livestock farms. In summer and early autumn roadside stands offer farm produce, maple-sugar products, homemade preserves and apples. Be sure to stop at the Benedictine Abbey at Saint Benoit du Lac, which makes two distinctive cheeses, l’Ermite and le St. Benoit.
The area’s scenic lakes (such as Lake Memphrémagog), rivers and mountains make it a year-round resort area – you can go boating, swimming, hiking and mountain biking throughout the area.
Strolling down village streets or going treasure-hunting in some of the antique shops is also a favourite pastime, particularly in North Hatley (home to numerous painters, sculptors, potters and writers) Ayer’s Cliff, Cowansville and Knowlton, which retains the spirit of its Loyalist and Victorian past. Many striking Victorian houses grace their streets.
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Day 5 – Ayer’s Cliff / Cap-à-L'Aigle, Charlevoix (505 km = 314 miles) including Ferr
Learn more about this destination
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at Auberge Ripplecove & Spa including gratuity
Dinner at La Pinsonnière including gratuity
Overnight at La Pinsonnière in a Deluxe Room
(read more about this property)
Today is your longest driving day. You leave the Eastern Townships to travel through the south shore in direction of Québec City, only to continue through the Chaudière-Appalaches and Bas St Laurent region to Rivière du Loup, where you will take a 1-hour and 5-minute ferry ride across the St. Lawrence River to St-Siméon in Charlevoix. Ask the Auberge Ripplecove & Spa for a picnic lunch; there will be ample opportunities to stop along the way – especially in the second half of your drive, when you go through maple forests and along the St. Lawrence River.
Upon arrival in St-Siméon, you will have a short drive to get to La Pinsonnière, a Relais & Châteaux, located atop a cliff overlooking the St-Lawrence River, close to the village of Cap à L’Aigle. From quaint and cosy to grand and luxurious, each of the Inn’s 26 rooms is decorated in its own unique style. Your Deluxe Room features a queen or king size bed, a double whirlpool bath and a fireplace, with either a view on the St Lawrence River or a view on the village with a small living room or your own sauna.
La Salle des Peintres, La Pinsonnière’s dining Room features acclaimed French gourmet cuisine in a magnificent setting, with a concert grand piano, works by famous painters and the St. Lawrence as a stunning background.
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Day 6 - Charlevoix & Baie-Ste-Catherine / Tadoussac Exploring
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at La Pinsonnière including gratuity
Whale Watching Cruise in Baie-Ste-Catherine
Dinner at La Pinsonnière including gratuity
Overnight at La Pinsonnière in a Deluxe Room
You have a full day today to explore the beautiful Charlevoix area. Charlevoix’s rugged hills and coast, fertile river valleys and picturesque fishing and farming communities such as Baie St Paul, Ile aux Coudres, Ste Irénée and St Joseph have also long inspired painters, poets, writers and musicians.
Part of Charlevoix has been named a United Nations World Biosphere Reserve, thanks to a unique boreal forest unusual at this latitude. This protected area is a slim band of flowery rural beauty on the southern edge of tundra that stretches northward. Just 32 km (20 miles) north of Baie St Paul lays the Parc des Grands Jardins, a vast expanse of lakes and black spruce evergreen taiga forest home to a herd of caribou, that offers spectacular walking and hiking opportunities.
Further north, where the St. Lawrence River meets the entrance of the Saguenay Fjord at Baie-Ste-Catherine and Tadoussac, where the mountains meet the sea you will enjoy a 3-hour guided cruise of this region. See Tadoussac, one of the most beautiful bays in the world, home of the first fur trading post in Canada and backed by rocky cliffs and sand dunes. Tadoussac’s pretty village is dominated by the red roof of its famous Grand Hotel. Cruise to the northern gateway of Maritime Quebec, at the junction of two of Quebec's most picturesque tourist regions: Charlevoix and Manicouagan.
The thriving natural conditions in the estuary support abundant marine life and a permanent colony of Beluga whales. See nature in its most awe-inspiring beauty. Let an experienced guide show you how to recognize the whales found in the St. Lawrence River which in the summer also includes Minke, Fin and Blue whales. While the wide-angle and underwater cameras onboard reveal the rich environment below the surface.
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Day 7 - Cap-à-L'Aigle / Québec City (144 km = 89 miles)
Learn more about this destination
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at La Pinsonnière including gratuity
Overnight at the Auberge Saint Antoine in a Luxe Room
(read more about this hotel / see alternate properties in Quebec City)
You leave beautiful Charlevoix today to head down to Québec City – La Belle Province’s capital. Just before you arrive in Québec City, make a stop at Ste Anne de Beaupré to see the Canyon, Montmorency Falls and tour the picturesque Ile d’Orléans, with its tri-century old homes, fruit stands and pretty fields.
For the next two nights, you will stay at the historic and intimate Auberge Saint-Antoine facing the majestic St. Lawrence River and steps away from the ramparts & museums and the bustling streets of Le Petit Champlain. Your Luxe room is spacious with one queen or king sized bed with luxurious linens, large bathroom and river or city view.
Tonight, walk to the nearby Place Royale and Quartier du Petit Champlain to explore the quaint cobblestone streets, boutiques and restaurants. Québec City is home to more restaurants per capita than anywhere in North America – we will be happy to make recommendations!
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Day 8 - Québec Exploring
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at Auberge Saint-Antoine including gratuity
Old Quebec City Walking Tour including guide gratuity
Overnight at the Auberge Saint-Antoine in a Luxe Room
This morning you will be met in your hotel lobby by your private guide, who will lead you on a 2.5-hour walking tour of Old Quebec.
Québec City is distinctively European; a place of mellowed stone buildings, horse-drawn carriages and narrow winding streets. The best way to discover the Old City’s labyrinth of narrow, winding streets is on foot with an expert guide. Through a lively and informative private walking tour you will discover Place d'Armes, Latin Quarter, the Basilica, City Hall, Parliament, Plains of Abraham, the Citadel (home to the Royal Regiment), Quartier Petit Champlain and Place Royale. Hear about the lives of those who created and defended Québec City over four tumultuous centuries.
After your tour, enjoy a picnic on the Plains of Abraham, or choose one of the little cafés or fine restaurants on nearby Grande Allée, next to the Hôtel du Parlement where the provincial parliament of Québec sits. You will have the remainder of the afternoon to further explore Old Québec City, the only walled city in North America and a United Nations World Heritage Site since 1985. Walk the cobblestone streets of Lower town, site of the city founded in 1608 by explorer Samuel de Champlain near the St Lawrence River at the foot of Cap Diamant – and discover the rich history of the town in Place de Paris and Quartier du Petit Champlain. Stroll the Terrasse Dufferin and enjoy views of the imposing Chateau Frontenac, a steep, green copper roofed hotel built in 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and designed as a French-style chateau with dozens of turrets and towers dominating the skyline of Old Québec.
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Day 9 - Québec City / Montréal International Airport / Departure (269 km = 167 miles)
Today’s inclusions:
Breakfast at Auberge Saint-Antoine including gratuity
Today you will travel back to Montréal. Account for at least 5-hours to have time to drive to the airport from Québec City and to go through check in formalities. Have a safe trip home!
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To customize this trip, you might:
Add pre nights in Montréal or post nights in Québec City
Add extra nights during the trip
Add meals and/or activities
Change car categories
Change hotels or room categories
Depart from Québec City instead of Montréal
Please contact one of our travel planners.
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