Day 1: En Route
West and Midwest Canada: Three Great Cities travelers will meet in Chicago Union Station this afternoon. At 8:00 p.m. we’ll board the eastbound Lake Shore Limited. A reception for sleeping car passengers will be held in the dining car. Departure is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. Relax in your comfortable coach seat with leg rest. Roomettes and upgraded Bedrooms are available for an additional cost.
Eastern tour members will travel independently the previous day to Depew, New York, a Buffalo suburb near the Amtrak station. They will spend the night at a nearby hotel. Arrangements will be made by America by Rail.
Day 2: Niagara Falls
Enjoy a delicious dining car breakfast. Our Lake Shore Limited will arrive in the Buffalo Amtrak Station (located in Depew) at 8:30 a.m. We’ll board our deluxe motor coach and pick up Eastern tour members at their hotel. It’s 30 miles to Niagara Falls, Ontario, our destination for today.
At 10:30 we’ll embark on a four-hour sightseeing tour. You’ll see the American Falls and rapids from three excellent vantage points. One of the best views of both the American and Canadian Falls is seen from the Rainbow Bridge. We’ll also see the Scenic Tunnel Station, picturesque Dufferin Island and Upper Falls view area, Whirlpool Rapids, Floral Clock, the vast electric power stations and other attractions.
You’ll have several hours of free time. You may want to consider a cruise to the front of the Falls on the Maid of the Mist. Other popular points of interest include the Louis Tussaud’s Wax Museum, Marineland and the Niagara Falls Museum.
We’ll have an early dinner atop the Skylon Tower (included). The view of the Falls is spectacular and the dinner is fine.
Following dinner we’ll reboard our motor coach and travel the 80 miles to Toronto. Our elegant hotel for the next two nights will be the downtown Toronto Novotel.
Meal(s):B* & D
Day 3: Toronto/Montreal
This morning we’ll set out on a three-and-a-half hour tour of Canada’s Queen City. We’ll travel through Chinatown and the Bay Street financial district. You’ll see the three City Halls, Eaton Centre, St. James Cathedral, the Parliament Building, the University of Toronto, and the CN Tower, the world’s tallest freestanding structure. A highlight of our tour will be the visit to Casa Loma, a 300-foot high, medieval-style castle with 98 rooms. It took 300 men three years to build (completed in 1914).
You’ll have several hours of free time this afternoon to, perhaps, have lunch atop the CN Tower, shop or visit the magnificent Art Gallery of Ontario and the Grange.
We’ll return to Union Station by 4:30 and preboard a VIA Rail train for the journey to Montreal. Upondeparture at 5:00 p.m. you’ll be pampered by VIA I service. Enjoy exquisite first-class treatment as you travel the 335 miles along the north shore of Lake Ontario and up the St. Lawrence Seaway. A delicious three-course dinner will be served at your seat. Complementary beverages and wine are featured as well.
Our arrival into Montreal is scheduled for 9:06 p.m. At Montreal’s Central Station we will literally get off the train, walk through the station and take an elevator upstairs to the fabulous Queen Elizabeth, one of Montreal’s premiere hotels. You’ll live in luxury throughout this tour and the majestic Queen Elizabeth is no exception.
Should weather be inclement, it is possible for you to have a great time during your day and a half in Montreal without ever going out-of-doors. Montreal is probably the most weatherproof metropolis in the world. The ever-expanding underground city soars upward, downward, and sideways around our hotel and beyond. You’ll have access underground to more than a thousand boutiques, major department stores, and more than 125 restaurants and bars, movie theaters, art galleries, and more.
Meal(s): B & D
Day 4: Montreal
This morning, plan on a two-and-a-half hour tour of the city, taking in over 200 points of interest including Notre Dame de Montreal (the most magnificent of French-Canadian churches), Old Montreal, the French Quarter, McGill University and a view of this great city from an observation point atop Mount Royale.
You’re free this afternoon to shop on nearby St. Catherine Street or to visit a number of Montreal’s various attractions. The Tour Director will lead those interested in an optional visit to the acclaimed Botanical Garden of Montreal. The 180-acre complex contains more than 26,000 varieties of plants within 30 gardens and 10 exhibition green houses. Included are the Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden and Pavilion and Montreal Insectarium (Collections of butterflies and other exotic insects from more than 100 countries).
At 5:30 transfer to the Casino de Montreal for an evening of fun and excitement. Try your luck with the “one armed bandits” or at the roulette wheel. There will be places for an “on-your-own” dinner.
Day 5: Quebec City
Breakfast this morning is included. We’ll take our hotel elevator down to the station where we’ll board another VIA Rail corridor train in time for its 7:00 a.m. departure for Quebec City. Our arrival is scheduled for 10:26 a.m.
Following our arrival, we’ll board a deluxe motor coach and begin out journey northeast along the St. Lawrence River. Our first stop will be the renowned Shrine of Sainte Anne de-Beaupre. We’ll also witness the Montmorency Falls which drop 227 feet into the St. Lawrence River.
We’ll continue north another 100 miles to Tadoussac, a village located at the confluence of the Saguenay and St. Lawrence Rivers. Dominating the horizon is the red-roofed, colonial-style Hotel Tadoussac. Our attractive hostelry for this evening. Tadoussac is famous for its whale watching tours. Dinner tonight is included at the hotel’s Restaurant William, a small and intimate atrium dining room. You’ll want to spend time enjoying the hotel’s spectacularly view over looking the St. Lawrence River which is ten miles across at this point.
Meal(s): B & D
Day 6: Tadoussac
Following breakfast (included) we’ll embark on a two-hour cruise on the St. Lawrence River searching for the world’s largest mammals - the whale.
Following an “on-your-own” lunch, we’ll return south to Quebec City where we’ll check into our hotel.
This evening you can choose from French or Continental cuisine or seafood at a variety of restaurants.
Meal(s): B
Day 7: Quebec City
This morning you’re free to wander through the narrow cobblestone streets and visit many interesting museums, art galleries and shops.
This afternoon, we’ll embark on the “Rendezvous with History” tour including all points of interest in Quebec City: the Old Quebec section, the fortifications, Battlefields Park, Place Royale, the narrow streets, the oldest church and much more.
Following the tour, we’ll enjoy an early dinner (included) and continue on to the Quebec train station. We’ll depart at 5:40 and arrive in Montreal at 9:20. Upon arrival, we’ll go upstairs to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel for the night.
Meal(s): D
Day 8: En Route
At 9:00 a.m. we’ll descend into the VIA Rail Station and prepare to board Amtrak’s Adirondack for our 9:50 departure. Our train will travel along the west shore of Lake Champlain. The Green Mountains of Vermont provide a scenic background. It’s one of Amtrak’s most scenic routes.
Eastern and Mid Atlantic tour members will continue on to Albany, New York, where they’ll spend the night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Midwest participants will change to the Lake Shore Limited in Albany, New York. They’ll enjoy the same reclining coach seat with leg rest they enjoyed on their eastbound trip. Sleeping accommodations are available at an additional cost. Dinner is included on the Lake Shore Limited.
Meal(s): D*
Day 9: En Route
Eastern and Mid-Atlantic travelers will transfer to the Albany train station in time for the 9:00 a.m. departure of the train for New York’s Penn Station. They’ll transfer there for trains to home destinations.
Midwesterners will arrive into Chicago at 9:45 a.m. on the Lake Shore Limited. They’ll continue on to home destinations throughout the morning and afternoon.
Meal(s): B*
Passport required for this tour.
*West and Midwest members only