Quebec Itinerary for Indian Summer

Hi everyone! 🙂 My partner would love to discover Quebec, while I’ve already been there over 15 years ago (Quebec City, Tadoussac, the Fjords, Lac Saint-Jean). This time, of course, we’d want to do something different. Quebec City would still be a must for my partner in this plan. With the tight budget we have right now🤪, we’re thinking of spending several days in Quebec City, then maybe renting bikes to explore the surrounding areas—aside from Montmorency Falls, what other nice spots are worth visiting? I remember there being tons of bike paths. After that, we’d rent a car (for a few days to visit the parks) and use trains or buses for the rest of the trip. From what I recall, cars aren’t super fuel-efficient there. Since we’ve never seen Niagara Falls, I’d like to include it in this itinerary. For a roughly 15-day trip in September, I was thinking of a multi-destination flight: France-Quebec / Toronto-France, so it’d look something like this: Quebec City: 5 days (including arrival day) Pick up the car La Mauricie National Park (or others?) 1 day Mont-Tremblant 1 day Montreal 4 days Drop off the car in Montreal By train/bus Toronto 2 days By train/bus Buffalo-Niagara Falls 1 day Toronto 1 day (return to France) I was planning one night at Niagara Falls—is that enough, or is a single day sufficient? If our finances don’t stretch that far, we’d shorten the trip from Montreal (so long, Niagara🙁), adding extra nights between Quebec City and Montreal. Anyway, thanks in advance for all your great tips!

Hi there, Just out of curiosity, do you have an arrival date in mind? That could influence the itinerary and costs. For example, Quebec’s Construction Holiday is an extremely busy tourist period, making rentals harder to find and driving up prices a bit. Best regards,

Hello Bauhaus🙂 Oh right, I forgot about your holidays. But since we were hoping to enjoy the beautiful autumn colors, around mid-September, I hope we’ll dodge them. We’re keeping our dates flexible just in case...

hi, Regarding the timing of your trip, if you're ''flexible'' I'd recommend coming at the beginning of October. Why? Simply because in October you'll have a better chance of seeing the fall colors. One thing's for sure—whether it's September or October, your flight ticket will cost less than in the middle of summer!! 😛 For Quebec City, I'd say 5 days is a lot, but you can take advantage of the surrounding areas (Montmorency Falls is accessible by public transit). For Île d'Orléans, it's doable by bike from Quebec City, but you'd need to be more than just ''Sunday cyclists'' (in my opinion, there's a solid 100 KM starting from Quebec City and including the island loop!). From Quebec City, you could head to Parc du Bic (with a rental car) and make your way back to Montreal at a relaxed pace, stopping in Trois-Rivières, Parc de la Mauricie, and the Tremblant area (the park, not the village...). Next, head to Toronto by bus (Toronto | Orléans Express)—they just opened the route! Along the way, this bus stops in Kingston, which could be a good detour for a little cruise in the Thousand Islands! From Toronto, you should be able to find buses to Niagara Falls. About Niagara Falls, I *highly* recommend booking a hotel room with a view of the falls (obviously, it's a budget thing, but it's totally worth it!). As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words: Going to bed, this is what you get:



And waking up the next morning, this is what you get:



If you're interested, I can try to find the name of the hotel!! ;-)

Happy trip planning!

Hi Corinne, I agree with Lescaribous’ reply. They always give great advice! 👍 For the colors, it’s always a bit of math to see them at their best, plus a little luck. Personally, I thought the show was just exceptional this season. For dates, last week I hiked Mont-Royal and the colors were still gorgeous with lots of leaves, while in my area, the Lower Laurentians, they were almost done. I humbly think you’ve got to be flexible—meaning be ready to move around to catch them. 🍁🍂 Once you’ve nailed down your dates and route, I might be able to add some extra tips if possible 😊 Let us know about any artistic or sports preferences you have. Montreal and its murals are worth seeing. Maybe a hockey game? Canadian football (we call soccer your ‘football’ here). A good meal or restaurant? Etc. Happy planning! 😊👋

Hi Jean Yves🙂 Thanks for all the details—I’d *love* to know the name of the hotel! Your photos gave me chills😛—it must be an incredible sight. That said, October might be tricky with work dates, but I’ll definitely think about it.🤪

Hi Jean Brien🙂 It’d be great if we could actually catch a hockey game—we’ll see depending on our dates. Otherwise, we’re "Sunday hikers" (not sure if the expression is the same in Quebec). We take it easy, and I forgot to mention we’re hoping to rent e-bikes😎. I remember that in Quebec City, the hills can be pretty steep...😛 That endless staircase at Cap-Blanc comes to mind... ugh, and I was younger back then. I’ll talk to my partner and look into all this. I’ll be back soon if I have any questions. Thanks anyway

Hey, I’ll be honest with you—I’d been to the Falls several times before, but this was my first time sleeping with a view of them, and it’s *so* worth it!! Yeah, sure, a room with a Falls view is a bit pricier than a motel, but the memories of that view… how can I even put it… Anyway, the hotel was the Embassy Suite Niagara Embassy Suites Niagara Falls Hotel - Official Site.

As for the timing of your stay, we don’t always get to choose based on work… just so you know, the colors rarely start before September 20th!! I don’t know if you were planning to come at the beginning or end of September!! But even without the foliage, fall is lovely in Quebec!

Hi everyone! 🙂

I’m back with our road-trip plans. This year won’t work out, so we’re pushing it to 2027. I checked with work: I can take time off in early October, but only up to 15 days max 🙁. We’ll skip Quebec City right away and just do a loop starting from Montreal.

First question about car rentals: which are the best rental companies in Quebec? I saw a report where private individuals rent out their own vehicles—is that really worth it (aside from the price)? About trains, I have two questions: - On the Montreal/Toronto route, can you travel with a large suitcase? - On that same route, do the trains stop at the station near the airport?

Are Ottawa and Toronto worth stopping in, and for how long (keeping in mind we still hope to see Niagara Falls 😛)?

Thanks again for your help—based on your answers, we’ll share a rough itinerary with you.

Hey, if you only have 15 days, it's still better to fly from Montreal to Toronto with WestJet or another airline. Trains in Canada aren't very fast, so taking the train for this route will take a lot of time.

Hi! You’ll be able to enjoy the colors in early October for sure 😛 Since you want (and understandably so) to see Niagara Falls, I’d recommend getting a multi-destination ticket: Paris – Toronto / Montreal – Paris (just so you know, Air Transat has direct flights to Toronto 😏) Spend a few days in the Toronto/Niagara Falls area, then head to Quebec. To answer your train questions, I suggest checking out the VIA Rail website (VIA Rail Canada: Train Travel in Canada). But keep in mind that in Canada, trains aren’t much faster than buses, so see if the bus might be a better deal price-wise!! For car rentals, I discovered Turo a few years ago, and I haven’t rented from the big-name companies since... Happy planning!

Thanks for the feedback! But back to transportation—given the distances to cover, wouldn’t the train be more comfortable?! I’m also jotting down the Turo references and will check them out carefully. 🙂

Hi, Since I’ve never taken the train in Canada, I can’t really say how comfortable it is compared to the bus, but one thing’s for sure—I think on the train you can "stretch your legs" by taking "a few steps," which you won’t be able to do on the bus!! As for the duration, it’s pretty much the same for both modes of transport! (The TGV won’t be coming to Canada before 2030—if it ever does!)

Happy planning