Montreal + Beyond: 7 Day Quebec Trip
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Seven days keeps our 6-day itinerary (city core, Quebec City, Ottawa, Eastern Townships, Mont-Tremblant) and closes with Trois-Rivières, a true day trip on the same rail corridor as Quebec City. If wildlife is more your thing than another Quebec town, Montebello and Parc Omega, about two hours west, swap in just as well. And if your trip lands in late February through April, consider swapping any of these final days for a sugar-shack feast instead, it’s strictly seasonal and worth building a day around.
Day-by-day at a glance
| Day | Focus | Est. spend (excl. hotel/travel) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Montreal, Notre-Dame Basilica, downtown | ~$55-85 |
| 2 | Mount Royal, food crawl, RÉSO | ~$45-75 |
| 3 | Quebec City day trip | ~$60-100 |
| 4 | Ottawa day trip | ~$55-90 |
| 5 | Eastern Townships wine route | ~$65-100 |
| 6 | Mont-Tremblant / Laurentians | ~$70-120 |
| 7 | Trois-Rivières (or Montebello/Parc Omega) | ~$55-90 |
Book these before you go
- VIA Rail to Quebec City, Ottawa, and Trois-Rivières , all from Gare Centrale.
- A rental car for the Eastern Townships, Mont-Tremblant, and Montebello if you swap it in, none are on the rail network.
Day 1: The Montreal core, fast
Morning: Old Montreal, then Notre-Dame Basilica (about $16 daytime).
Afternoon: Downtown, the RÉSO underground city.
Evening: Dinner, budget the 14.975% sales tax and 18-20% tip.
Day 2: Mount Royal and a food crawl
Morning: Mount Royal, Kondiaronk Belvedere.
Afternoon: The Museum of Fine Arts (about $31, free for 25 and under).
Evening: Fairmount Bagel, St-Viateur Bagel, La Banquise.
Day 3: Quebec City
Morning: VIA Rail or a drive, about three hours, to Old Québec, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Montreal itself is not.
Afternoon: The Château Frontenac and the walled city.
Evening: The return trip, about three hours.
Day 4: Ottawa
Morning: VIA Rail, about two hours, to Parliament Hill.
Afternoon: Canada’s capital museums.
Evening: Return to Montreal by rail.
Day 5: The Eastern Townships
Morning: Drive southeast, one to two hours, into wine country.
Afternoon: Magog, Bromont, or Sutton.
Evening: The Balnea spa or the drive back.
Day 6: Mont-Tremblant and the Laurentians
Morning: Drive north, about ninety minutes.
Afternoon: Mont-Tremblant’s village and mountain, skiing or hiking depending on the season.
Evening: Back to Montreal, or an overnight in the village if the pace has been heavy so far.
Day 7: Trois-Rivières
Morning: Drive or take VIA Rail northeast, about ninety minutes, on the same corridor that runs to Quebec City. A genuine day trip on its own, not just a stopover.
Afternoon: Spend it at a relaxed pace, this is the lightest travel day of the week after six days that have mostly been transit-heavy.
Evening: The drive or ride back to Montreal for a final dinner, and a last stop at whichever bagel shop won your personal rivalry between Fairmount and St-Viateur.
Is 7 days enough for the whole Montreal, Quebec, and Ottawa route?
Seven days covers the full spread, the city, both capitals in a sense (Ottawa and the historic French one), wine country, the mountains, and a final Quebec town, but it’s a genuinely packed week with several long travel days. If a full week of day trips sounds like too much and you’d rather spend all seven days in Montreal itself, our Montreal 7-day itinerary covers that city-only version instead.