It would be only 11 hours if you were to do it in one day but there are so many charming landscapes in between that I strongly suggest spending at least one week to visit these beauties or even two weeks if you have never been to Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa.
I had flown to Toronto from Ottawa, where I live and, after a night in a hotel just outside the city, my road trip began.
As soon as we left the metropolitan area of Toronto, we found ourselves walking along gorgeous trails surrounded by unspoiled nature.
The first stop was the Bon Echo Provincial Park, a small (so to speak) provincial park in the Land O' Lakes area.
The name already tells you about the beauty of the place: crystal clear lakes surrounded by lush nature.
We spent a few hours walking through woods and lakes, which are what Canada unspoiled nature is famous for.
We reached Ottawa after two days but we didn’t stop since that’s where we live, so we decided to get to the Mont-Tremblant Park instead and dedicate some time to its discovery.
This Park, located in the Laurentides region, is perfect for spending a day amidst hiking trails and swimming lakes.
It is divided into three sectors with three different entrances, and in each there are paths of different difficulty.
Our itinerary continued the next day with many hours by car because we decided to skip the visit of Montreal but, unfortunately, the traffic around Canadian cities is very intense…
When we reached Québec City, we allowed ourselves some rest and went out in the evening to have a first contact with the beautiful French city, enjoying the view of the magnificent Château Frontenac and the shows of the numerous street artists performing there daily.
Québec City is a rather cosy city, divided into the upper city and the lower city connected to each other by a convenient and fun funicular, which allows you to reach one or the other very quickly.
But we had two sites on our agenda: Montmorency and l'île d'Orléans.
These two sites are located a few tens of kilometres from Québec City and they can be visited in a single day, immersed in the greenery and rural landscapes of Québec.
The park of the Montmorency waterfall is a rather relaxing place, where we could walk and admire the water in free fall.
L'île d'Orléans, on the other hand, is Québec's pantry shop: this beautiful island, connected to the mainland by a bridge, let us discover all the goodness and typical Canadian products because there are gourmet boutiques all over selling local and organic products.
Our itinerary in Eastern Canada continued then through the Charlevoix region headed to Tadoussac.
The landscapes in Canada are stunning, and this route is undoubtedly scenic.
Once at our destination we immediately decide to explore Tadoussac. Tadoussac is a fascinating place and, thanks to its location at the mouth of the Saguenay River, is an ideal destination for watching whales and other marine animals.
We stayed at an incredible wooden house, about eight metres above the ground from which we could hear the animal sounds of the forest during the night. It wasn’t creepy but rather soothing instead. Like being in a fairy tale or better, a fable.
We went on a whale watching excursion the next day, during which we sailed and sighted dozens of seals, belugas, and whales. At the end we took some time to stroll along the Tadoussac promenade and discover one of the many bistros and breweries in the area.
The most amazing experience, whale-watching
