Restless Explorer | Travel Blog – Tips, Reviews & Destination Guides

Montréal is one of the best cities to explore in Canada, there are too many things to see and do, so you’ll want to maximize your time and stay in a good location with easy access to public transportation.  The Residence Inn by Marriott Montreal Downtown, is downtown and on Peel Street; this is one of the two best areas to stay: Centre-ville or Old Montréal.  But Montréal being such a hot tourist destination, especially during the busy summer festival season, staying in these areas gets pricey.  When researching hotels, I found there was no in-between, it was either a nice (pricey) hotel in a hot location or a dive where you’d run the risk of bringing bed bugs home.  So, we opted for the Residence Inn by Marriott Montreal Downtown, which was rated highly and was a reasonable price with all things considered.

Some people say Montréal is one of the coolest cities in North America and others call it Canada’s Las Vegas.  Well, Montréal is one of my favorite cities in the world, and I’d agree with both of those statements, that’s why I keep coming back.  Montréal is where I started my travel journey 12 years ago; I enrolled in the Explore Program, a 5-week summer language program. The program took place at the Université de Montréal and is open to Canadian university students.  I learned a bit of French but mostly partied, made friends and explored the lively city daily.  After that, I was hooked on travelling and haven’t stopped since. Fast forward to this summer, which was my fifth time back in Montréal, but this time with my family.  Things have changed, a few of the old bars (Terrasse Bonsecours & Saint-Sulpice to name a few) are gone and the cheap drink specials aren’t like they used to be, but still Montréal is Montréal and it’s one hell of a city.

Tonga Lumina is one of Mont-Tremblant’s most popular activities, so was it worth the hype?  We purchased the Multi-Activity Bundle and Tonga Lumina was one of our 3 activities.

What is there to do in Mont-Tremblant besides ski? There are many things to do and in this blog I’m going to talk about the Multi-Activity Bundle. Mont-Tremblant is a cool little mountain town that is known for skiing and ski resorts.  But aside from skiing, especially in the summer, there are many other things to do.  When strolling through the Pedestrian Village and you end up in the Upper Village, you’ll notice a lot of things going on.  Many of these activities are part of the Multi-Activity Bundle.

Mont-Tremblant is a ski-village and tourist destination nestled in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, the town is full of hotels and resorts.  Some of these resorts are luxurious but can get quite pricey; La Tour des Voyageurs is a nice resort with everything you need at an affordable price.  We stayed in Mont-Tremblant for two days and La Tour des Voyageurs helped make our stay more relaxing and enjoyable.

Mont-Tremblant is in the Laurentian Mountains of Québec and is a popular ski-village that is only two hours north of Montréal.  People usually visit Mont-Tremblant in the winter; but this tourist spot is a hidden gem year-round.  And in addition to reaching Mont-Tremblant from Montréal, you can reach this beautiful town in under two hours if you’re visiting Ottawa.  That’s what we did, we drove from Ottawa to Mont-Tremblant, stopping at Parc Omega along the way.

Parc Omega is nestled in the Quebec wilderness between Ottawa and Montreal, offering an unforgettable North American safari where you can get up close to Canadian wildlife in their natural habitat.  It is quite an experience, rain or shine, and despite being in Quebec it’s a perfect day trip from Ottawa being only an hour drive away.  You could also pair Parc Omega with Mont Tremblant or Montreal which are only a little bit further away.

Ottawa has plenty of good restaurants (especially in ByWard Market) and it’s a surprisingly diverse city.  So, there are plenty of options; and if you are looking for Asian, then look no further than Gyubee Japanese Grill   Gyubee is a Japanese style all you can eat grill, serving both Japanese and Korean style meats and side dishes.  Gyubee originated in Ontario but has spread across Canada.  We stayed in ByWard Market at the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market, and Gyubee Japanese Grill was perfectly located across the street.  And regardless of where you’re staying, you’ll likely be visiting ByWard Market so Gyubee is a must when you’re in the area.

Looking where to stay in Ottawa?  The best location is ByWard Market and we ended up going with Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market. We only had one night in Ottawa to start our trip before we headed off to Quebec; so staying in a prime location was paramount.  When searching for hotels, I came across the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market which like the name said I in ByWard Market.  The hotel looked trendy, modern and in ByWard Market, the prime location, and it is a Hyatt hotel, which we’ve always had good experiences with, so we booked it.

Fallsview is the hotel district in Niagara Falls with hotels, resorts, casinos and views of Horseshoe Falls.  For a bit cheaper, you can stay in hotels near Colton Hill with views of the American Falls, but since we drove up from Toronto and were only staying one night, we decided to splurge and stay in Niagara Falls Marriot Fallview Hotel & Spa with a Fallsview room.  How was the hotel and the upgraded room? I will tell you about the location, the rooms, the amenities and services, the view, and the prices. 

📍 Location: Ontario, Canada🌊 Known for: Massive waterfalls & lively entertainment district🎡 Top attractions: Clifton Hill, boat tours, Fallsview, casinos🍷 Nearby stop: Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries and old town charm💵 Prices: Hotels and parking can get expensive near the Falls🚗 Road trip vibe: Easy and scenic drive from Toronto👨‍👩‍👧 Best for: Families or weekend getaways

Toronto has many things to do, and you can't read through a Toronto Travel Guide without hearing about the CN Tower . Standing 550 m, the CN Tower , once the tallest building in the world, now holds the title of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. For our trip to Toronto, we planned to visit the CN Tower and decided to pay a little extra to visit “ The Top”.   The Top is 33 stories higher than the main observation deck so we decided to check it out. The CN Tower was a perfect place to visit on our Spring Break trip to Toronto, especially since two years ago on Spring Break, we checked out the next tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, The Willis Tower in Chicago. How would it compare? And was the experience worth it?