Visiting Niagara Falls and Montreal

Yes, I know they are in very different parts of Canada, but DB and I want to take trips to visit them sometime this summer. We've both decided to not buy gifts for Valentines Day, anniversary, etc...this year and take some trips instead.

I'm just starting to do some research. It's been years since I've been to the Falls, and I've never been to Montréal. What should we do and what would be the best time of year to go? I was thinking of going in June or August.

I visited both the Falls and Montreal in Summer 2006, although I didn't spend long in either place - we visited Niagara Falls, Toronto, Algonquin National Park, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston and then Toronto again all within 8 days!

At the Falls, we did the Maid of the Mist boat trip, walked behind the Falls (not all that interesting to be honest) and spent some time exploring the shops. In Montreal, we went on a bus tour, spent some time in Vieux-Montreal and visited a couple of the churches and museums. Unfortunately, we could only spend between 24 and 36 hours in each city, so there wasn't enough time to see all the sights .

Niagara Falls is pretty touristy--a bit too much so for my taste. The park on the US side is reasonably nice, but don't plan on looking for food in Niagara Falls, NY (which is a dumpy, depressing little town). The Canadian side is a lot more built up and, yes, a lot more touristy. Once you get away from the falls, there are some lovely drives through the countryside, especially in Ontario.

Just to throw out an idea, if you can get away in late May the Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY is worth looking into. Rochester is an easy drive from Niagara and it's glorious in late spring! But June is lovely as well. Expect a bit more humidity and mosquitoes in August.

I visited both the Falls and Montreal in Summer 2006, although I didn't spend long in either place - we visited Niagara Falls, Toronto, Algonquin National Park, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston and then Toronto again all within 8 days!

At the Falls, we did the Maid of the Mist boat trip, walked behind the Falls (not all that interesting to be honest) and spent some time exploring the shops. In Montreal, we went on a bus tour, spent some time in Vieux-Montreal and visited a couple of the churches and museums. Unfortunately, we could only spend between 24 and 36 hours in each city, so there wasn't enough time to see all the sights .

I liked the cheesy touristyness of the Falls.  It was fun in a county fair, eating too much ice cream kind of way.  Went from the Falls into the U.S. up the east coast, across to Montreal, down to Kingston, and then I dropped my hubs off in Toronto to fly home.  We had done Toronto on a previous trip.

I thought Kingston was really cute.  We could have used more time in Montreal as well. 

We got that pass for the Falls and went to the whirlpool, the Butterfly Park and the Rapids.  They were all interesting, although my hubs wanted the whirlpool to be more whirly.

Canada is just lovely in May, particularly in that part of the country. 

Niagra falls is very touristy but worth the look but as Elynor pointed out, there are lots of very pretty drives in the Niagra escarpment (wine country!) 

As for Montreal, yes definitely Old Montreal and Rue Ste Catherine are definitely must sees.  Also a visit to Dunns for smoked meat sandwiches!  Also Rue St. Laurent is fun as well and there's a smoked meat place there as well.   

You also have Mont Royal that is a beautiful park with lovely homes and you can visit the St Joseph Basilica.

There are some great museums in Montreal as well; check those out.

As for language, being American, you'll have no problem and people will go out of their way to speak English to you.

Don't forget to eat Poutine from a chip truck in Montreal!  It's a national delicacy!   

I lived in Kingston for three years and yes, it's cute - very english, Naval port-style town.    There's some nice shopping and architecture but the real attraction (at least for me) is the 1000 islands.  They are amazing.  You can do a really nice drive from Kingston to Montreal along the st. Lawrence and take it all in.  You go through Gananoque.  Once you get into Quebec though, it's not that interesting because it gets industrial pretty quick. 
 

I love Montreal. Old Town/Centreville is lovely. There are a ton of boutique hotels that are cheaper than the chains and well worth staying in.

You do have to get poutine, but I prefer it from a diner-type place that specializes in it.

The summer months are really nice. It's very warm, but not miserable. Very, very, very humid, though. (Keep in mind that Montreal is an island.)

There are lots of festivals going on there during the summer, and everyone is out in the streets. (Mostly because you can't come above ground much during the winter.)

Check out the underground city. It's basically a giant mall, but it's cool to walk through.

As for Niagara, I only stopped there briefly on a cross-country drive. The dogs loved running around in the park next to the falls. Don't remember much beyond that.

You do have to get poutine, but I prefer it from a diner-type place that specializes in it.

Specialize???  That's what the chip trucks are for... 

If you really want GOOD Poutine and you're going to Kingston, stop at Bubba's on King street, by the lake.  they make the best poutine ever - I went back almost 20 years after I left and it was still as good as I remembered it. 

I just looked up poutine and it sounds really good. 

We won't be able to go in May, not unless we do this as two separate trips. My sister's birthday is Memorial Day weekend, and as a teacher I can't really take vacations other than school vacations.

I have a vacation in late April (it's always the week of the 17th) but I'm thinking that may be too early still, depending on the weather.

Thanks for the ideas! I remember liking Niagara, but remember that one day would probably be enough for that.

My boyfriend really perked up at the idea of doing this trip, so I want it to go really well. 

I might reveal myself as a total dork here, but Niagara Falls has some really interesting industrial architecture. There are two amazing, but overlooked, decommissioned hydroelectric stations on the Canadian side of the Falls that are worth a walk-by if you're interested in history.

Avoid the US side of the Falls for places to stay and eat. I wasted an entire tank of gas driving around, only to end up at a Denny's.

I might reveal myself as a total dork here, but Niagara Falls has some really interesting industrial architecture. There are two amazing, but overlooked, decommissioned hydroelectric stations on the Canadian side of the Falls that are worth a walk-by if you're interested in history.

Avoid the US side of the Falls for places to stay and eat. I wasted an entire tank of gas driving around, only to end up at a Denny's.

I agree with both those ideas. 

I was married in Niagra Falls New York.

One thing that you need to know is that if you fly into the USA side then you will not have to pay the 6 dollar fee that they are going to charge you to enter from Canada to the USA.

There is an airport at the Niagra Falls New York side otherwise you can route to airport code BUF for buffalo.

However the USA side of Niagra falls is not nearly as nice as the Canada side, but the hotels are cheaper (I found some for thirty five dollars if you feel like getting out of your car and looking several times).

The American side is well worth the look even though the view is not as nice. They do have a nice view and a very large park.

You will need your passports if you intend to go across the bridge on foot, and they do charge a fee if you walk across.

If you intend to drive across there is immigration you have to satisfy but they are not as gruelling as the airport ones.

If you intend to fly into Canada and stay on the Canadian side, it is nicer, however you will not get good prices on the hotel.

As for the rest of it,
The drive is fairly easy.
USA maps are fairly easy to read.
The petrol is cheaper on the USA side and so are the cigarettes if you smoke.
If you are looking for cheap cigs (if you smoke) then you want to head to a neary Indian resevervation. Locals can give you a clue to where they are. Cattaragus, and also Chitaqua I believe are some of their names.

The petrol is also tax free on the reservation.

Niagra falls ha a nice casino if you like that.
The one on the American side is also cheaper.

You can find parking for free if you jot down one of the side streets and find a spot on the road that does not have a no parking sign (this is legal to park there so long as the curb is not painted yellow).

Good luck,
God Bless

See my Niagra falls wedding photos at http://myspace.com/fawnemine  - November of 2007 (a few months ago).

Hotels for a week on the USA side cost us less than 120.00 (because we are cheapskates).

Thanks, don'tcallmeyank, but as you can see from my flag, I'm in the US. My boyfriend and I  both have American citizenship and live in MA, so we'll drive anyway. I tried to look at your page, but couldn't. I just saw the one picture on the main part. It looked gorgeous!

My sister works for Marriott, so she's going to get us the family discount. She said those aren't usually released until the month ahead, so we'll have plenty of time to plan and decide the itinerary!

I know the Canadian side is so much better! I plan on stopping on the US side for a short bit before crossing into Canada. I'd love to go to the revolving restaurant. We went there last time and it was amazing. I'm not sure if we'll end up doing that though.

I love architecture, so don't feel like a dork for mentioning it. 

I just did a Google maps search and it doesn't seem like as long of a drive from Niagara to Montreal as I thought. I definitely think we'll try to do it all together then since you recommend places along the way to see.