Find out how Montreal, Mont Tremblant, and Quebec City entertained a grandmother and her grandson on their summer trip.
Traveling with our 8-year-old grandson is an exciting experience and adds more fun and interest to any activity or place that we might visit. We like to plan a summer trip when he's out of school and can join us. Because he's far away in New York and we're in Texas, we try to choose a place we'd like to visit and do things together. For our Canada trip last summer, we chose Montréal, Mont Tremblant, and Québec City.
Montréal was the first destination of last summer's Canada trip. A stop at the Botanical Garden included the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, which held his interest. Much exploring was done. Included on this tour was a visit to the Montréal Insectarium which was very intriguing. It has a collection of butterflies and insects from over 100 countries. Our grandson was captivated by this display.
In the same area we visited the Biodome, a museum which explores four ecosystems in the natural environment. All types of animals including beaver, alligators and other animals were shown in their natural habitat.
From Montréal, we went to the Laurentian Mountains to the famous ski resort at Mont Tremblant. In summer, all types of activities were available which were very engaging for an 8-year-old: miniature golf, roaming the village (no cars allowed), watching different types of free performances on the street, riding the ski slope gondola and climbing on an inflatable 'mountain.' The whole atmosphere, sitting on deck chairs in the cool mountain air and having coffee, made us feel like we were at a European resort. The most thrilling experience of all was whitewater rafting nearby.
Onwards to Québec City by train, and a new experience of watching the change of the Ceremonial Guard at the British-built Citadel. It houses a very interesting museum for the Royal 22nd Regiment. We all enjoyed a very interesting tour of the museums and the grounds with all the original cannons in place. There were many things of interest to an 8-year or older child.
We all had a good time in the dress-up room in the Musée de la Civilisation. The city's historic architecture held our interest as well, particularly in Artillery Park and the Petit-Champlain Quarter.
After a relaxing river cruise to view the development along the harbor, we went from the Old City to the New City by way of the Funicular. The Funicular was great fun.
The Old City, called Vieux Québec, has been made a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its historic architecture and perfect restoration. This part of town offers many souvenir stores, ice cream shops and street entertainment of various types crowding the cobblestone paths.
The New City has many historical sites to visit, parks with outdoor entertainment at various times of day, French restaurants and all the activity of a busy tourist attraction. The only thing none of us thought was very good was the 3-D sound and light show called "The Québec Experience."
Overall, we found Québec City to be a very charming place with a fascinating history. We highly recommend the charming Hotel Le Priori at 15, rue Sault au Matelot, Québec City, G1K 3Y7, where we stayed and enjoyed a hearty breakfast.
What made this trip a most memorable one was sharing it with our grandson. We're looking forward to more trips in the future, and to seeing how his interests change as he gets older.
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