If you like beautiful nature and a fantastic city, then you need to take a trip to Montreal and Quebec City! Check out all of my recommendations for when you visit! Stay tuned as I am actively updating this blog post.
BASILICA-CATEDRAL DE MARIE-REINE-DU-MONDE
If you follow me on Instagram you know that #MairaLovesCathedrals is a thing. Well, I was able to cross off another bucket list item and add another cathedral to my collection in Canada! I visited the beautiful Basilique Marie Reine du Monde Cathedral which is French for Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. It is a beautiful minor Basilica in Montreal, Canada. I particularly liked it because of all the statues above it and surrounding it. It is the 3rd largest cathedral in Quebec and serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal.
This particular area of Montreal had a ton of churches and cathedrals!
There were so many statues all around it! It was a very cool place.
BIOSPHERE
Montreal was such a cool city with so much to do and see including this really cool looking structure! And no, this sphere looking thing isn’t just for show, it’s actually called the Montreal Biosphere and it is a museum dedicated to the environment.
EAT POUTINE IN CANADA
I love when the universe looks out for me…like when I travel to Canada and want to try poutine and I end up catching the end of their famous Poutinefest Festival!
I was really nervous to try this Canadian delicacy because it just sounds really….interesting. According to Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec made with French fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fries, gravy, and cheese…I’ve just never had them in 1 dish before. But it was DELICIOUS!! Tasted sort of like mashed potatoes. It was really good, but really filling.
The great thing about poutine is that there are so many variations of it. I ordered the most basic one (fries, gravy, and cheese curds) but my friend ordered his with smoked meat, onions, mushrooms and his tasted even better.
Enjoy breakfast at UNIVERSEL DEJEUNERS ET GRILLADES
I had a mimosa fraisiere (strawberry mimosa), eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast and of course since I’m in French Canada I had to get the crepes with blueberries! It was so good!
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHOW
We saw Luzia, the newest show inspired by the cultural richness of Mexico and IT. WAS. AMAZING. Not only were the tricks and performers super impressive, but the music was awesome (downloading all the music for my half marathon training playlist), the costumes were beautiful, the story was emotional AND they served margaritas. Glad I got to see a show in Canada, where Cirque Du Soleil actually originated more than 30 years ago!
MONTMORENCY FALLS
They told me I would fall in love with Quebec City, and they were so right. Absolutely in love with this place. Montmorency Falls was breathtaking and apparently 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls! We got soaked just by standing next to it. You can check out a video of my experience here. It was so beautiful!
MOUNT-ROYAL
Mount Royal is a mountain in Canada with a beautiful view of the city! And if you say Mount Royal really fast it sounds like Montreal!
Great hike with a beautiful view of the city.
NOTRE-DAME DES VICTORIES CHURCH
July 1st is the national day of Canada, a holiday celebrating the enactment of the Constitution Act which formed Canada back in 1867! To celebrate Canada Day, I went cathedral-seeking and found the Notre-Dame des Victories church in Quebec City. This church is a National Historic Site of Canada.
OLD PORT IN MONTREAL
The Old Port was beautiful! So many people and little shops and while we were there, the Poutine Festival was happening!
PARC JEAN-DRAPEAU
We checked out the Piknic Electronik festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. We danced, partied, made some friends and drank sangria.
SAINT LAWRENCE RIVER
I loved Quebec City, the cobble stone streets, the French language, the rich culture, and the fact that Quebec City sits on the Saint Lawrence River!
THE SPLENDID MAGNIFICENT
This piece of art is called Le Malhereux Magnifique which translates to The Splendid Magnificent and is located in the Latin Quarter of Montreal. The sentence by the artist to accompany the sculpture is: To those who look inside themselves and thus cross over the borders of the visible.
I had the best time and cannot wait to return. I hope this post inspires you visit.
Thank you all for reading, and stay enthusiastic!
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-Maira