We started our second morning in Quebec, with packing up our bags to leave the Four Points by Sheraton Lévis Hotel. Our plan for the day was to see the Plains of Abraham, and whatever else we could before heading off to Montreal.
We spent the later part of the morning at the Plains of Abraham. We parked a little distance away, because we wanted to hike around the area.
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| At the entrance of Plains of Abraham |
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| Québec City from the Plains |
After all our walking, we got some nice views of the scenery. We ate a picnic lunch before setting off again to our next point of interest.
The Chutes de la Chaudiere is a waterfall in Lévis and is quite unique because of the rock formations which direct the water as it flows over. I would recommend making this one of your stops if you are planning to go to Quebec City, since it is very close by. We drove to entrance B after studying the park map and decided this would be the better route in for us (since we didn't plan to hike all the way around). There is no cost for parking or park entrance. From entrance B, it was very quiet, and we seemed to be the only tourists greeted by a few locals on the trail. We walked to the first lookout which is at the crest of the falls and also got a good view of the hydro electric project which has been installed there. We kept walking down the trail (which is not a difficult one) and were impressed by the views of these falls.
When we felt we were done, we ate some snacks before leaving for our next long drive. It was 3 hours to Montreal, and we were also in the middle of the Friday afternoon rush.
We drove straight to our next hotel, the Aloft Montreal Airport, where we would be staying for the next 2 nights.
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| Our room at the Aloft |
In the morning of Day #3, we hurried off to Namur Metro Station to ride the metro, and further explore. We bought day passes for $8, then proceeded down to the track. We found the metro system of Montreal fairly easy to navigate, and it seems faster than what we are accustomed to in the GTA.
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| Waiting for the Metro at Namur Station |
We got off at Place D'Armes Station and walked up to see Notre Dame Basilica. We sat in the courtyard for a while, taking in our surroundings. I have an appreciation for historic architecture, and I was impressed by the beauty of Notre Dame Basilica, along with other nearby structures.
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| Notre Dame |
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| Notre Dame, built in the 1820's -1830 |
We were among other tourists taking pictures there, and we went inside for a look as well. It cost $5 per adult to enter. We were instantly amazed with the inside of the old church, resplendent with gold and brilliant hues.
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| inside the Notre Dame Basilica |
We continued our walk outside, and down the strip. We stopped at a small restaurant called Faste Fou for late lunch, and ordered some Montreal smoked meat sandwiches with fries. It was yummy.
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| Smoked meat sandwich- yummy! |
After our meal, we had more energy to continue exploring. There is a lot to see in Old Montreal.
While we were walking, there was a troop of people costumed in historical military clothing. We thought it was pretty neat.
We kept walking around, and found our way to the cruise port. Holland America's Maasdam cruise ship was at port, so we took a walk to see it a bit closer. In the same boardwalk area, there was a group of artistically formed concrete slabs. Up close, a sign said Silophone, enter and play. The point of it was to stand in the middle of the 5 pillars, and speak into the microphone built in to one side to hear your voice reverberate. I brought my 3-year old in, and he enjoyed it.
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| Holland America's Maasdam |
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| more fun than it looks! |
Further on our walk back into Old Montreal, we discovered the 18th Century Market. The stalls for the vendors were fashioned out of wood and cloth, as close to what you'd expect to see in the 1700's. The vendors were dressed in the same period costume. There were people dressed as pirates, noblemen and noblewomen whom you could pose with for photos; musicians playing historic looking instruments, and areas designated for children's games, which added to the quaint atmosphere.
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| 18th Century market |
After our visit to the market, we moved on again. We found the metro station to return to our car, then we decided to drive to the next spot, which would be about half an hour. We visited St.Joseph's Oratory in the late afternoon, and enjoyed taking pictures of its exterior and interior.
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| inside St. Joseph's Oratory |
We then drove a little farther to the Mont Royal summit for sunset - the only thing is, the sun sets on the other side of where the summit lookout is, so it's completely obstructed (but the other tourists didn't mind). The view of Montreal is still breathtaking from this point and there is some good hiking to do in the park. You may also get a view of the resident raccoon family while you're there.
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| view from Mont Royal |
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| Resident raccoon family! |
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| Aloft at night |
After a long day of sightseeing, we headed back to our hotel for our last night in Quebec.
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| Leaving the hotel |
We checked out of the Aloft Montreal Airport Hotel at 11 am, and headed for home in the GTA. We spent about 8 hours on the road, making stops for our children, and arrived home sweet home around 6:30pm.
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