NFRC - cruise New England to Montreal, Quebec

A

anna_x

Well-known member
Hello, all,

Has anyone been on this trip and have recommendations for the limited time ashore? We'd prefer not to pay for a lot of the cruise lines's shore excursion, but walk around or try public transportation instead. Any must do's?

Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, Charlotte, Quebec?

Thanks so much!

 
Anna, I didn't cruise it, but I've been to Halifax, Charlotte, Quebec & PEI

I'll just jump right in.
Halifax is lovely, but it's HILLY! I mean "streets of san francisco" hilly. I mean walking at a 45-degree angle, "killing your Achilles tendon if you continuously walk uphill"-hilly.

Lots of things are at the TOP of the hill (fort, for example, with events at certain hours), while interesting shops & restaurants are at the BOTTOM of the hill at the harbor. So read about the town, make a decision where you want to go and route appropriately, so you're not walking up and down and up and down and up and down.

Quebec is beautiful....but again, it's built on two layers. A funicular can take you up and down the hill and most of the historical aspects are within the walled city if you want to limit the time you spend. We walked up the hill from the train station (took that from Montreal) and while it was steep, it didn't take all that long to get to the walled portion (~20 minutes). We didn't find out about the funicular until we were at the top. Then we rode it down and took a harbor cruise...not sure how much time you'll have in the city.

Charlotte...very pretty---everyone there must have the gardening gene. It's flatter and easily walked. We did a walking historical home/garden tour with tea. PEI is gently rolling hills and ocean views, but we saw all this from our rental car. We went to the theater during the evening, unfortunately, I'm not sure how much of the town you can see on public transport.

 
If you're going to visit Bar Harbor and want to have a good lunch,

we enjoyed West Street Cafe on West St or Testa's on Main St, all very close to the harbor. Very good food (& we loved the wild blueberry pie at both places smileys/smile.gif

It's been too long since we visited Quebec City, but I do remember the old town being so appealing. We had very good meals in the bistros. We stayed at an old inn just inside the wall and loved it and our hosts, Guy & Giselle (very French Canadian!). Ann

 
I appreciate the warning about hills!

We'll definitely look throught the materials before setting out.

 
Do you think we need reservations in the summer season?

Our time in Bar Harbor ends at 3:00, so our only chance to eat will be lunch. We'll keep an eye out for these restaurants. Thanks for the good suggetions!

 
Anna, I wish I could help you. It's been 14 years since I lived in Quebec City...

and no longer know good restaurants, etc. But simply strolling around the Old City is a wonderful experience, any time of year. If you have all day and want to get out of the city, try the Ile d'Orleans (see this link and the one below). It's an island and quite charming. 15 minutes drive from the Old City. On your way there you can see the Chutes de Montmorency, a beautiful waterfall, and take an aerial cable car up to the top of the falls.

http://www.iledorleans.com/eng/tourisme-ile-dorleans.asp

 
I guess it depends what time you arrive at Bar Harbor (e.g. if you

arrive at 11:30 AM you'd probably beat the lunch crowd). There are other restaurants down by the harbor-those two I mentioned only because we'd been to them several times and liked the restaurants as well as the food. I'm sure the crew would have suggestions for good places for lunch. Hope you get to see some of those big old summer houses - they're beautiful!

 
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