Montreal in 2 Days: Budget + Day Trips

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2 days: a condensed city core, then Montérégie’s apple country

Only 2 days means the city gets one condensed day, and the second goes to the one day trip that actually fits inside 24 hours without an overnight, Montérégie’s apple and cider country, 40-45 minutes away by car. Budget $80-115 a person per day shoestring or $155-260 mid-range, plus Quebec’s 14.975% sales tax at the register. Want more city and less day trip? The classic Montreal guide covers a full 9-item free-and-cheap list. Have a third day to add Quebec City instead? See the 3-day itinerary .

Book these before you go

  • A rental car or a Montérégie orchard tour for Day 2, this route isn’t on the VIA Rail line
  • A timed slot for Notre-Dame’s evening AURA show if you want to stay in the city that evening instead, about $33.50
  • A room ahead if your dates hit the F1 Grand Prix (May 22-24, 2026) or Jazz Fest (Jun 25-Jul 4)

Day 1: Montreal, condensed

Morning, walk Old Montreal, free, cobblestones, Place Jacques-Cartier, Bonsecours Market’s silver dome. Visit Notre-Dame Basilica, about $16 for the blue-and-gold interior by day. Afternoon, get up to the Kondiaronk Belvedere on Mont-Royal for a free skyline panorama over Frederick Law Olmsted’s park. Dinner at Schwartz’s Deli, smoked meat since 1928, about $9.75 a sandwich, or grab a bagel from Fairmount (1919) or St-Viateur (1957) in Mile End on your way. Keep bags zipped in Place Jacques-Cartier’s crowds, the city’s most pickpocket-reported spot, not a violent one.

Day 1 real costs: Notre-Dame ~$16, transit ~$7.50, Schwartz’s ~$9.75.

Day 2: Montérégie’s apple and cider country

Rent a car or book a tour, this trip isn’t reachable by VIA Rail. Mont-Saint-Hilaire and the wider Montérégie region, about 40-45 minutes from the city, are the closest true day trip on the map, apple orchards and cider producers best visited in early fall. Head back into the city by evening.

Day 2 real costs: rental car or tour cost, orchard admission/cider tastings vary by producer.

Book the rental car or tour ahead for Day 2, same-day availability during peak fall foliage weekends can run thin. Everything on Day 1 is walk-up.