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The village of Tadoussac among wooded hills at the mouth of the Saguenay on the St Lawrence, under pink evening cloud

Sample journey · 12–14 days

Eastern Canada: from Québec's streets to the Atlantic shore

Montréal, Québec City, Charlevoix, Tadoussac, Gaspé, Prince Edward Island & Cape Breton

Photo: Alex Guillaume / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Eastern Canada begins in French. Montréal has its cafés, markets and neighbourhoods of outdoor staircases; Québec City its stone walls and streets that feel more like Europe than North America. Further east the St Lawrence widens until it becomes the sea: whales feed at its mouth, and fishing villages, lighthouses and timber church spires line its shores. Then come the Atlantic provinces, where dinner often means lobster and the road winds high above the ocean.

This sample route runs west to east: Montréal, Québec City, the hills of Charlevoix and Tadoussac, then the Gaspé Peninsula with Percé Rock, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton's Cabot Trail, finishing in Halifax. Distances here are large, so we leave at least two nights in each place, and the longest drive can be broken up. It suits couples and families with children who like cities, sea and wildlife in one journey; the pace and the stays would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Montréal
  2. Québec City
  3. Charlevoix
  4. Tadoussac
  5. Gaspé & Percé
  6. Prince Edward Island
  7. Cape Breton
  8. Halifax
  1. Brick row houses with outdoor staircases and turning trees in the Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal

    01Days 1–2 · Montréal

    A city of outdoor staircases

    After the long flight, Montréal, a bilingual city on an island in the St Lawrence. The morning is best begun in the Plateau Mont-Royal, where outdoor staircases curl up to the first floors of brick row houses, then the Jean-Talon market with Québec cheeses, maple syrup and summer berries. In the afternoon, Old Montréal by the port and a walk up Mount Royal for a view over the whole city. Dinner at a bistro, and for children, Montréal's famous wood-fired bagels.

  2. People walking along Rue Saint-Louis past old red-roofed houses in Old Québec

    02Days 3–4 · Québec City

    Europe on a cliff

    About three hours by train along the river, and you reach Québec City, the only city in North America north of Mexico to have kept its fortified walls. The upper town with the turrets of the Château Frontenac on its cliff, the lower town with the narrow lanes of Petit-Champlain, and between them a funicular and flights of steps. On the second day, the Île d'Orléans, where farms grow strawberries and make cider and cheese, or the Montmorency Falls, higher than Niagara.

  3. A whale's tail above calm water off a forested shore

    03Days 5–7 · Charlevoix & Tadoussac

    Where the river becomes the sea

    Along the north shore of the St Lawrence to Charlevoix: rolling hills, the artists' town of Baie-Saint-Paul and the farm produce the region is known for. Then a short ferry across the mouth of the Saguenay fjord to Tadoussac, where cold, deep water meets the river and whales come to feed in summer. Two nights leave time to go out on a licensed boat or zodiac when the sea is calm; roughly from June to October minke and humpback whales are often seen, and belugas live in the river all year round. Children love the dunes above the river and the whale centre in the village just as much.

  4. Percé Rock, a huge limestone block in the sea off Percé on the Gaspé Peninsula, under a clear sky

    04Days 8–9 · The Gaspé Peninsula & Percé

    A pierced rock and an island of birds

    By ferry across the wide river to the south shore, and a long, beautiful day along the Gaspé coast: fishing villages, lighthouses and mountains running down to the sea, to Forillon National Park at the very tip of the peninsula. Percé has its famous pierced rock in the sea, and on Bonaventure Island, reached by boat, tens of thousands of northern gannets nest in summer; a path leads right to the edge of the colony. Dinner is fresh-caught fish and lobster.

  5. Red sandstone cliffs and a rocky red beach below conifers at Panmure Island, Prince Edward Island

    05Days 10–11 · Prince Edward Island

    Red earth, green hills

    The longest drive of the journey, through New Brunswick and over the almost thirteen-kilometre Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island; in the fourteen-day version we'd break it with a night on the way. The island is small and gentle: red sandstone shores, dunes along the north coast, potato fields and wooden lighthouses. For children, beaches with warmer water than elsewhere in the region and the house that inspired Anne of Green Gables; for adults, oysters and lobster suppers at long tables.

  6. A road winding along forested mountainsides above a blue ocean on Cape Breton Island

    06Days 12–14 · Cape Breton & Halifax

    A road above the Atlantic

    By ferry across the Northumberland Strait to Nova Scotia and on to Cape Breton Island. The Cabot Trail loops round Cape Breton Highlands National Park, climbing and dropping along cliffs above the ocean, and the Skyline Trail ends on a boardwalk high over the sea, where whales are often seen in summer. In the evenings, Scottish fiddle music at a ceilidh. The last day is in Halifax: the harbourfront, the maritime museum and the flight home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Two French-speaking cities

    Montréal's markets and neighbourhoods, Québec City's walls and lanes: Europe on the far side of the Atlantic.

  2. 02

    Whales off Tadoussac

    A licensed boat into the mouth of the St Lawrence, where whales feed in summer; sightings always depend on nature.

  3. 03

    Bonaventure's gannets

    One of the world's largest northern gannet colonies, in summer, just a few steps from the path.

  4. 04

    The Cabot Trail

    One of Canada's finest coastal roads, especially in autumn when the forests turn red and gold.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • With children

    More time on Prince Edward Island's beaches, shorter days on the road and whale watching from a larger, steadier boat.

  • In autumn

    In late September and October the maples turn and the Cabot Trail blazes with colour, though the timing varies a little each year.

  • In less time

    With ten days, we'd suggest Québec province alone: Montréal, Québec City, Charlevoix, Tadoussac and the Gaspé.

  • With the Rockies

    On a longer journey, a domestic flight west and a few days in Banff and Jasper, a completely different landscape.

Practical considerations

  • The best time is roughly June to early October, when the ferries run, whales are most often in the river mouth and the gannets are nesting on Bonaventure. The timing of the autumn colours varies from year to year.
  • Distances are large: several travel days take five to eight hours, so we leave at least two nights in each place and, where needed, an extra night on the way.
  • Ferries across the St Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait depend on the season and the weather; like summer stays, they're worth planning ahead.
  • Whale watching is done with licensed boats that keep to distance rules; sightings are never guaranteed.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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