Tag: Canada

A quick trip to Montreal

After a few days on a concert break to Toronto, we were catching a VIA Rail train to our next Canadian destination, Montreal. It was a long train journey but the scenery along the way was at least pretty. We arrived at Montreal’s main station mid-afternoon and walked the short distance to our Marriott Hotel, another 4-star hotel bargain from Priceline’s Name Your Own Price site.

After checking in, we ventured straight out into the city.

Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, and above, the view from our hotel room

Our hotel was close to the pretty Mary Queen of the World Cathedral and there were plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes nearby so we spent a bit of time exploring before choosing a small Mexican restaurant for dinner.

The next day was our one full day for exploring the city. We’d seen the City Sightseeing hop on/off buses go past the day before so decided to buy tickets for it as the quickest way to see as much of Montreal as possible.

  • In Montreal Old Town
  • Notre Dame Cathedral
Below, continuing our walk through Montreal’s Old Town and Centre d’histoire de Montreal

The bus took us to Montreal’s old town where we hopped off the bus at Notre Dame Cathedral.

After visiting the Cathedral, we sat out at a local cafe before walking to Place de la Grande-Paix-de-Montreal. Exploring the pretty square, we then decided to visit the Centre d’histoire de Montreal, an interesting museum tracing the history of Montreal and significant events from its past which is housed in a building that was once a fire station.

Then we walked down to the waterfront enjoying the sunshine as we passed through the many pretty parks along the promenade and enjoyed the views across St Lawrence River.

Strolling along the waterfront

Hopping back on the bus, we continued our tour of the city through Montreal’s financial district and looping round to Mont-Royale, Montreal’s highest point. Passing St Joseph’s Oratory, we then pulled up at a viewpoint over the city.

  • View of St Joseph’s Oratory
  • At Joseph’s Oratory
  • View from Mont-Royale
  • A cross on Mont-Royale marks the highest point of Montreal
The Museum of Fine Arts

We hopped off again at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum was definitely worth a visit and we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring its extensive collections.

Back by Mary Queen of the World Cathedral

Then it was back on the bus to complete our loop of the city and return to where we started, the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral just across the road from our hotel.

Back at our hotel room after the concert

That evening, we attended the concert at the Bell Centre arena. The next day, we’d be checking out of our hotel and returning home to the UK but we had a little time in the morning for some last minute shopping first. Then it was off to the airport ready to wave Canada goodbye – for now!

3 days in Vancouver

Meeting a cuddly moose!

Flying to Alaska from the UK involved a stop to change planes somewhere along the west coast of North America so we decided to use this as an excuse to extend our trip a bit more starting with flying to the West coast of Canada for 3 days in Vancouver.

Arriving in the evening, we navigated our way from the airport to the city on public transport. With the train dropping us at a central station while it was still daylight, it was a short walk to our budget hotel accommodation just a short walk from all the main attractions.

We were up bright and early on our first day in the city and headed straight out to explore. Following our noses, we found our way down to the waterfront with its harbour and Canada Place Convention Center and then into Gastown, the city’s oldest neighbourhood with its steam clock, Victorian-style buildings and statue of it’s founder ‘Gassy’ Jack.

Gastown

Looping back round to our hotel, we decided to spend the afternoon in Stanley Park hiring bikes and following the sea wall around the park. There were plenty of bike hire shops near the park all offering rentals at similar, competitive prices. We used vouchers we had found on hotel leaflets to get a slight discount.

Riding along the sea wall in Stanley Park we came across the famous park Totems, Brockton Point Lighthouse and Lions Gate Bridge on the first half of our bike ride. The second half took us past various beaches including one covered in an array of precariously balanced stacked rocks. Eventually, we had completed a full circle of the park and returned our bikes before heading off to find somewhere to have dinner.

On the suspension bridge

Day 2 in Vancouver, we headed slightly out of the city centre to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. A free shuttle bus runs regularly each day from near Vancouver waterfront to the park. Once there we bravely crossed the 140m long bridge as it wobbled 70m above the Capilano River. Once across, we followed the arrows to the Treetops walk, making our way across footbridges in the trees, up to 110m above the forest floor. It was then another deep breath as we walked back across the suspension bridge and tried out the gravity defying Cliffwalk. Not a place to visit if you’re scared of heights!!

We finished off our visit with lunch at the cafe while a live country band played.

  • About the cross the bridge
  • Capilano River below
  • At the other side
  • Walkway in the treetops
  • The cliff walk
On the Skyride up Grouse Mountain

Next up was a trip to Grouse Mountain. We caught a bus here from Capilano Suspension Bridge Park then took the Skyride – an aerial tramway up to the top of the mountain.

Views from Grouse Mountain

Once at the top, we took the included trip on the chairlift up to the peak of the mountain for more views over Vancouver, watched a Lumberjack show, saw some Grizzly Bears in the bear habitat and tried a ‘Beaver Tail’ pastry before catching the skyride back down and hopping back on the bus to Vancouver.

Grouse Mountain fun

That evening, we walked back to Stanley Park. We had booked tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at the annual Theatre Under the Stars’ summer show there and luckily the weather stayed dry for it!

Storybrooke sign in the town of Steveston

We were leaving the city late the next day so still had plenty of time for sightseeing. Today we were again heading out of the city, this time catching a local bus to the town of Steveston. Steveston was the town used as ‘Storybrooke’ in the TV show Once Upon a Time and as a big fan of the show, I was excited to visit some of the locations used there. Our first stop was at the information office where we were provided with a map pointing out some of the locations used.

Whle sculpture by the Convention Centre

We then spent a bit of time wandering around and taking photos before catching a bus back to Vancouver and spending a few hours walking along the waterfront before it was time to say goodbye.

  • Convention Centre
  • Olympic Torch sculpture from the 2010 Winter Olympics

There were a few things we didn’t get chance to do on our trip to Vancouver such as taking a trip to Granville Island or visiting some of the many museums and galleries. Guess I’ll just have to plan another visit to the city some day!

You can watch my trip to Vancouver here: