This is our first flight post pandemic. The wife and I wanted to do a short distance flight to see how Brandon would handle flying. This kid slept both ways and handled it like a champ. Aria on the other hand, has experienced a handful of flights, however it has been a while since her last one. She was good as well, after taking my ANC headphones. She did not like the turbulent landing in QC.
Why Quebec City? This location was put on the map for us, because of the Kdrama Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God). The locations featured in the show peaked our interest. After years of delay we finally got to see some of those places IRL.
Montreal… my wife and I have been here previously during our early days of dating, many years ago. She don’t remember much of it, and all I remembered was seeing the Biodome from the top.
The trip was fun for the kids, they got to experience a different country, hear people speak a different language and got to engage in learning to speak French… albeit very limited French. Lol.
Our trip was 7 days. We spent 4 in Quebec City and 3 in Montreal. Our itinerary was very flexible, kind of have to with young children.
Day 1: Arrive in QC. Flat rate taxi to Airbnb near Old Quebec.
Day 2: Walked to Place D’Youville, Fontaine de Tourny (closed at the time), then to Parc du Bastion de la Reine along the elevated path (hold your kids, fall hazard). Down to Pierre Dugua De Mons Terrace, then Dufferin Terrace. Walk along boardwalk to Quartier Petit Champlain. Lunch at Le Cafe du Monde (reservation recommended otherwise might be long wait). Mega Parc after.
Day 3: Aquarium of Quebec. Explored the area around Airbnb for pastries. Took RTC bus to Place D’Youville, walked to St. Jean Gate and Rue Saint Jean for dinner.
Day 4: Took the kids to Benjo toy store. Kids had a blast looking at everything. Took the RTC bus to the ferry terminal at Old Quebec. Crossed the St. Lawrence river to Levis. Ate dinner at Le Corsaire. Rode ferry back as it got dark, nice scenery. Walked around Quartier Petit Champlain at night. Different vibe.
Day 5: Picked up rental car, drove to Montmorency Falls (10-15 mins drive). Took cable car up. Walked across the waterfall and follow the trail and down the stairs to the different view points. It was raining and snowing so the crowds weren’t on the stairs side of the waterfall. Drove to Montreal after. Ate at Chinatown, went back to rest.
Day 6: Biodome and Mount Royal.
Day 7: Walked to Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, there was renovation work being done so nothing much to see from the outside. Stopped at a nearby cafe and headed for the Montreal Science Centre after (I have a Liberty Science Center membership and used it to gain entry for free for up to 4 people). Walked down Rue Saint Paul along shops back to Airbnb. Then to Underground City shopping. Ramen for dinner.
Day 8: Drove to airport, flew back home.
For gear, I kept it minimal. Instead of my usual GoPro Hero 10 with the Sennheiser MKE200 shotgun mic on a PGYTECH selfie stick/tripod, I opted to just take my DJI Pocket 2. I handed it over to Aria to vlog. It is very easy to operate, she got the hang of it after a few tries. For photo, I took the Fujifilm X-T3 with only the 16-80mm lens and no tripod. All this fit in my small Peak Design camera cube that I just clipped a strap on the ends and used it as a sling throughout the trip.