Montreal in 6 Days: Budget + Day Trips
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6 days: the city, then 4 day trips, 2 by rail and 2 by car
Two days in Montreal, then four day trips: Quebec City and Ottawa by VIA Rail, no car needed, followed by the Eastern Townships wine route and Mont-Tremblant, both of which need a rental car. Budget $80-115 a person per day shoestring in the city or $155-260 mid-range, plus Quebec’s 14.975% sales tax. There’s no 5-day version of this itinerary, only 4 and 6; see the 4-day itinerary if you want just Quebec City and Ottawa, or the 7-day itinerary to add Trois-Rivières.
Book these before you go
- VIA Rail tickets for Day 3 (Quebec City) and Day 4 (Ottawa)
- A rental car for Days 5 and 6, the Eastern Townships and Mont-Tremblant aren’t on the rail network
- A Quebec City hotel instead of the day trip, if you can flex your schedule; it’s genuinely better as an overnight
Day 1: Old Montreal and Notre-Dame
Old Montreal’s cobblestones and Place Jacques-Cartier are free to walk. Notre-Dame Basilica’s blue-and-gold interior runs about $16 by day. Keep bags zipped in the square’s crowds, the city’s most pickpocket-reported spot, not a violent one.
Day 1 real costs: Notre-Dame ~$16, transit ~$7.50.
Day 2: Mont-Royal and Mile End
The Kondiaronk Belvedere is a free skyline panorama. Wander the Plateau and Mile End free, pick a bagel side between Fairmount (1919) and St-Viateur (1957), dinner at Schwartz’s Deli (1928), about $9.75.
Day 2 real costs: Schwartz’s ~$9.75.
Day 3: Quebec City, mostly a travel day
Old Québec holds the region’s actual UNESCO World Heritage listing (1985), about 3 hours each way from Gare Centrale by VIA Rail. See the Château Frontenac and Old Québec’s streets; an overnight beats a day trip here if you can manage it.
Day 3 real costs: VIA Rail fare varies by booking window, plus sight admissions.
Day 4: Ottawa
About 2 hours each way by VIA Rail, close enough that a full day covers Parliament Hill and the capital’s sights comfortably.
Day 4 real costs: VIA Rail fare varies by booking window.
Day 5: Eastern Townships wine route
The Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l’Est), about 1-2 hours southeast by car, are a true day trip, the wine route, Magog and Lake Memphremagog, Bromont and Sutton, and the Balnea spa. Best in fall foliage season.
Day 5 real costs: rental car, winery/spa admissions vary.
Day 6: Mont-Tremblant and the Laurentians
About 1.5 hours north by car, the Laurentians and Mont-Tremblant work as a day trip or an overnight, a ski village in winter, hiking and lakes in summer.
Day 6 real costs: rental car, lift tickets or trail access vary by season.
Book both VIA Rail legs together early for Days 3 and 4, and line up the rental car before Day 5, weekends in wine and foliage season book out fastest.