Montreal Tours and Trips

We throughly enjoyed our trip to the Christmas Markets of Montreal and Quebec. It was cold and windy a few of the days, but that is to be expected in Canada in December. We chose to drive from southern Mass, and it was an easy drive, even though it snowed most of the way. Our tour took us around the cities of each place, and pointed out the highlights of each. We then visited the Christmas Markets in each city. Quebec City was our favorite. The markets there were the best, as were the stores. Chateau Frontenac was beautiful and a must in Quebec City. Bernadette was a great tour manager finding great bus stops and keeping us entertained on the bus. We enjoy the restaurants chosen for dinner, as well as the two excursion; the 'Yule log' making and the breakfast in the sugar shack. Very enjoyable!

All the activities were very enjoyable - the visit to the Albert Giles Copper Studio making a Christmas ornament, decorating a Yule log at Madame Germain’s, and a visit to the Sugar Shack where we got a taste of winter weather with quite a bit of snow. Hotel accommodations were top notch. Shopping in Old Quebec City was a fun experience with many unique local shops. The Christmas markets were very crowded but still interesting.

The whole tour was magical! The snow set the scene for strolling through the markets with gluhwein and delicious food. Walking through the towns all lit up with beautiful Christmas lights and displays was equally festive. I thoroughly enjoyed creating our own tasty Yule log and the icing on the cake for me was the maple syrup farm. There we had a traditional breakfast and made maple candy on a board of snow. Thankful for the variety of maple products in their gift shop. The chunky maple sugar cubes are the best. A new found favorite for coffee, tea or just eating by themselves. What a treat!! Oh, and maple cream cookies….THE BEST!

Niagara Falls were great. We also greatly enjoyed the Sugar shack. The only negative was the final dinner at the French Restaurant. The service was not good. If I had been by myself I would have sent my incredibly tough steak back to the kitchen. Our fellow diners at our table had to ask multiple times for simple things such as additional drinks, which they were completely fine with paying for themselves. Definitely not up to Collette standards.

Tour guide and bus driver were excellent. Most tours were informative and enjoyable. Didn’t care for the trip to the indigenous farm - lots of talking in a room with poor acoustics. Enjoyed Niagara Falls but walk was more vigorous than we expected. Really liked the maple syrup farm and our group dinners.

The tour itself was wonderful, but the markets were a disappointment. They were mostly just typical food and crafts that you find anywhere. The craft fairs we have at home are totally better. Rename it as historic Montreal and Quebec City tour.