East Coast Canada Road Trip – Best Stops from Toronto to Halifax

Canada’s East Coast – from Ontario to the Maritimes – is best explored by car. Winding roads, pristine nature, thriving cities, and plenty of towns and rural spaces in between, all demand a week or two’s attention with a slow cruise through the best of the region.

Here’s a brief list of top attractions to help you plan your East Coast Road Trip.

Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, and (arguably) it’s business, culture, and capitalism hub, Toronto is full of historic sights, cultural happenings, and really great dining, shopping, and nightlife.

Montreal is widely regarded as one of the most fun cities in Canada, Montreal has an Old Town that will appeal to history and architecture buffs, botanical gardens loved by nature lovers, and a great pub and club scene for night owls.

Take the North Shore route passing through scenic towns and village to Quebec City, a historic city definitely worth a night or two. This is the best place to soak up authentic French Canadian culture.

Deschambault is a 19th century village just west of Quebec, with a pretty setting on the St Lawrence river.

Trois-Rivières is the second-oldest French city in the province featuring a lot of great architecture. You can also take a short drive to the community of Cap-de-la-Madeleine and Our Lady of the Cape, Canada’s national shrine to the Virgin Mary. The stone chapel shrine was built in 1714 and has been considered ‘miraculous’ since 1888. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hello from Montreal – A Driving Tour as a Great Introduction to a Fascinating City

Shortly after my arrival in Montreal, right around 1 pm, I met Carole, a licensed professional tour guide from Guidatour in the lobby of the Holiday Inn and she was going to be my local expert on a driving tour through the centre of Montreal. I had only been in Montreal once before 10 years ago, so I really needed a quick overview of the city to familiarize myself with its layout. And although Montreal’s downtown area is very compact and walkable, a driving tour would give me a great introduction to this metropolis.

From my hotel we drove south on St. Urbain Street and our first big sight was one of Montreal’s key tourist destinations: the Place d’Armes and the exquisite Basicilica of Notre Dame, Montreal’s largest and most beautiful cathedral. From there we passed by Montreal City Hall and then made our way up the Boulevard St. Laurent, also referred to as “The Main”, for generations the traditional path of successive waves of immigrants as they made their way north from the port area to settle permanently in other neighbhourhoods of the city. We passed by the Hotel Godin, a former garment factory that has recently been converted into a boutique hotel, one of many revitalized historic buildings that has been turned into a modern hotel.

Prince Arthur Street further north is a pedestrian street featuring a variety of reasonably priced restaurants with outdoor patios. This area was a hotbed of hippie culture in the 1960s and today provides a great selection of family restaurants. A little further west we decided to have lunch at Chez Gautier, one of Montreal’s most well-known bistros, established in 1978. Chez Gautier’s Parisian-style décor features beautiful woodwork and a magnificent handcrafted glass dome ceiling in the bar area. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nova Scotia, Canada: The Next New England

If you’re on a budget, tired of crowded beaches and packed hotels, love seafood, and have a 19th-century mindset, then Nova Scotia is for you. It’s being called “The Next New England.”

Think New England, and vivid images come to mind: of lighthouses and fishing boats, charming coastal towns, lobster and crab, Victorian homes and rich history. It has always been an intriguing region, steeped in truth and in fiction by the novels of Stephen King. If you like New England, you’ll love Nova Scotia, Canada’s second smallest province.

Find Nova Scotia on a map — in the North Atlantic, east of the state of Maine — and “vacation hotspot” won’t be the first thing that comes to mind. But don’t let Nova Scotia’s northern location fool you. Summertime temperatures are comfortable and winters are milder and less snowy than in many northern states. Situated just two hours from New York City or Boston, Nova Scotia feels a world away…as if you’ve stepped back in time. Largely underdeveloped and rich in natural beauty, history and culture, this hidden escape has a lot to offer: pristine beaches, resort, spas, B&Bs and country inns, rustic lodges, world-class golf and whale watching. Read the rest of this entry »

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