5 Days in Eastern Canada in Fall: Montreal, Quebec City & Nature Escapes

From vibrant cities to colorful trails and dramatic waterfalls, Eastern Canada delivers a perfect balance of culture and nature. This 5-day itinerary takes you from the cosmopolitan streets of Montreal to the French charm of Quebec City, with stops in Mont-Tremblant, Baie-Saint-Paul, and some of the region’s most beautiful natural wonders. Explore with me this 5 Days in Eastern Canada in Fall guide to get some ideas for your next trip!

Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival to Montreal

We started our trip arriving to the airport in Montreal, Quebec’s buzzing metropolis. Montreal is a pleasant city, so we walked through the historic streets of Old Montreal, visited the beautiful Notre-Dame Basilica (CA $16), and explored the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood for cafés, colorful murals, and creative boutiques.

Montreal has a fantastic selection of restaurants with typical cuisine. There’s many places recommended by the Michelin guide, so if you’re a foodie, this is paradise. We had brunch at Brasserie 701, where I got some delicious eggs benedict (my favourite thing for breakfast that I rather don’t cook at home), and for dinner we went to Restaurant Bonaparte, where I tried the roasted duck. Fantastic experience! We were lucky to get a table at the bar without the reservation, so if you want to go there, I recommend booking in advance.

Day 2 – Mont-Tremblant — Nature Meets Charm

Because of last minute work meetings, we couldn’t start the drive until rather late in the afternoon, which let us to have a shorter time in the city than we had wished for. We then drove to the north to Mont-Tremblant, a ride that took a bit longer than 2 h due to rush hour. Mont-Tremblant is a picturesque village surrounded by forested hills. There was not much time left before sunset, so we rushed to see the reflection of the hills into the lake – it was beautiful!

We still had some time to explore the outdoors, so we walked around the European-style pedestrian village with shops and restaurants, before driving back to Montreal.

Day 3 – Quebec City and Montmorency Falls – Europe in Canada

Montmorency Falls

We started our day driving from Montreal to the Montmorency Falls, an approximately 3 h drive, really close to Québec City. The Montmorency falls are taller than Niagara, with 83 m, while the Niagara falls are only 53 m. The entry fee for the park costs CA $12,60. We parked on the top part of the park, going down to the waterfall area and then crossing a bridge towards the cable car that brought us up the cliff. The cable car is not included in the park price and costs an extra of CA $15. The route is quite easy and is made to go around the park. You can also cross the suspension bridge above the waterwalls for views from the top.

We continued our journey to Quebec City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the heart of French Canada. Quebec City had plenty of places to visit. We walked around the old town and visited the Château Frontenac, and later strolled around Petit-Champlain. In the evening, we went to the Citadelle, which gives fine views of the city but not outstanding (it’s better to be in the old town for that), and then strolled to the Parliament building to see the Km 0. Overall, Quebec City is a beautiful place with a lot of personality.

Day 4 – Fall Foliage in Canada: La Faille Trail & Baie-Saint-Paul

La Faille Trail

Since we were visiting in October, we were enthusiastic about hiking to see the beautiful autumn foliage colors. The risk of traveling in fall is the rain, and we got plenty of that too, but we tried to squeeze in what we could while the sun was shining. We drove along the St. Lawrence River to hike the La Faille Trail. We followed the AllTrail instructions and parked our car in Sentier des Caps. From there, we followed the La Faille route. There are a couple more routes starting at the same place, so make sure you select the proper one. We ended up walking a bit more because the official trail had a partial closure and we had to walked around it, but at the end the hike was similar to what was expected, with 10,4 km and 311 m of elevation gain. The highlight was the viewpoint at the top, from were you could see all the trees and the river.

There was also a path that lead towards three waterfalls, the Migmatite fall, the Pins rouges fall, and the Friponne fall. They all had a staircase indicating the number of steps to reach each (from 18 to 246) and were all nice in different way.

Baie-Saint-Paul

We then drove approx. 30 min towards Baie-Saint-Paul, a charming riverside town. We walked around the beach area Boisé du Quai Park and went up an observation platform to see the sunset from there.

Then, we drove back to the city center, were we found out that only a few restaurants were opened, as October is out of season. We ended up going to Caffè Piada, which offer authentic Italian cuisine.

Day 5 – Scenic Drive Back to Montreal

It is a 4 h drive from Baie-Saint-Paul to Montreal, where we were taking the flight back. The landscapes on the road, with the colorful trees, are a joy to see. If you have extra time, consider stopping along the way for panoramic coastal views.

Personal highlights

Everyone has different tastes, intersts, and previous experiences, so if you like traveling, visiting as much as you can is good. I like nature, art, and interesting architecture, so I’m generally more drawn to these places. From this trip, I would personally highly recommend:

• Quebec City. I loved this city! Especially after living several years in the US, I was missing the “European city” feeling, i.e., walkable streets with historical buildings.
• La Faille Trail: I really wanted to see the fall colors, and I got what I came for. The hike was pleasant and not very intense, and at the end I got nice views from the top. There were also beautiful waterfalls, so all in one!

Is it expensive to travel to the French-speaking Canada?

Canada is not cheap, but it’s seemed to be less expensive than the US, at least for tourism. Coming from California, the prices were 10-20% less, which may vary depending on the strength of the Canadian dollar.

How safe it is?

I didn’t face any issues at all in my time there. As always, keep your eyes open for possible pickpockets and other petty crime.

Practical tips

Connectivity

I usually pay for the cheapest rate for my actual SIM card, so it obviously is not including anything international. My usual choice to get data internationally is maya.net for an eSIM, which works wonderfully and has good prices.

Cash or card?

The currency in Canada is the Canadian dollar (CAD), and everywhere I went cards were accepted, so I didn’t have to change any cash.

To avoid exchange fees from my bank, I use the wise.com card. It works as a standard debit card in which you add the budget of your trip and you can just use with your currency of choice.

Language

I expected that everyone in Canada would speak English, at least as their second language. Well, big mistake. The French-speaking part of Canada is indeed French-speaking, and many people I interacted with had pretty basic English skills. So refresh your French before coming and learn a few polite phrases!