The Glade 4.0

So with all of the countries I have been too I have never really been to Canada except across the border at Niagara Falls. My wife really wants to stay at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec, so we are planning a trip there this summer. We are considering a couple of options which is why I am asking for advice, I know we have at least one resident Canadian here on the board.

We are planning on avoiding being molested at the airport so we will be driving from Columbus.

So option one we drive to Quebec via NY state going through Syracuse spending the night there. Anything to do there or another suggestion for someplace interesting to stop at along the way?

Option 2 (my idea) We dive to Toronto spend a day or 2 there then take the train to Montreal, spend a day or 2 there, then take the train to Quebec and spend 4 or 5 days there. Then we would take the train back to Toronto and then drive back home. It sounded fun to me but curious about things to do in each city along the way or should we bypass Montreal and just go straight to Quebec.

Also on the Canadian rail is it worth it to go business class versus the economy? I have never really done a lot of travel by train some in Europe and Japan but the trips were usually less than 2 hours. Those trips were comfortable just as a standard passenger but the legs on this trip will be much longer - the trip back from Quebec to Toronto is 12 hours.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

Edit - I almost forgot. When I was looking at the train information in Toronto it said there was no parking at the train station. So where do we park at and is it safe to leave our car someplace there while we are on the train?

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

If you go Via Rail from Toronto to Quebec (an excellent idea, btw), be sure to take business class. Its only slightly more expensive than economy class, and Via Rail's motto appears to be "an inebriated customer is a repeat customer." Bring your internet devices, there's free wi-fi on the train, of course.

As far as parking in Toronto, that's an issue. THere are safe places to park, but cheap places is another matter altogether. You might want to travel a bit further before you catch your flight, find parking in Toronto's 'burbs. Aldershot VIA rail Station, just one example I found on the 'net, is in Burlington, Ontario (between Toronto and Niagara Falls) has free long term parking. I'm sure there are others.
http://search.hipinfo.info/record/BTN1914

Alternately, park at Yorkdale Mall in the north end of Toronto, and subway down to Union staion. It's one train the whole way, and Toronto subways are safe. I used to commute into Toronto - an ugly 2 hour trip if forced to do it in rush hour - and I'd park at Yorkdale Mall and subway down. It's pretty easy.


I haven't been to Quebec City since I was a kid. I remember it being beautiful. As a warning, though, Québec City is legitimately French. (Montréal is not...everyone there is bilingual.) You shouldn't have any trouble with the tourist industry, but people on the street won't understand you.

(Don't worry about Toronto. It isn't French at all. There's more Italian speakers than French speakers in T.O.)

Heading to work, post more later.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Here's a basic list of things to see in Toronto:
http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadianci ... ctions.htm
(If you've become even a bit of a Bluejackets fan since Columbus got an NHL team, here's your chance to visit the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame.)


Here's a neat list of "25 things you must do while visiting Toronto."
http://www.toronto.com/attractions/article/600238
I do think a few of them sound horribly boring, and some are mutually exclusive because they require different seasons (for example: Bike tour of Toronto Island vs. Ice Skating at Nathan Phillips Square).

Here's some more:
http://www.timeout.com/toronto/features ... in-toronto
(Note they include Niagara Falls in Toronto. There is a growing sentiment that includes the Niagara region in Toronto's suburbs, because of the contiguous urban sprawl between Niagara and Toronto.)

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Oh, and in case you're used to your money being worth more up here, right now the USD is a fraction of a cent lower than the CAD, so budget accordingly.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Wow, Thanks Taly I wasn't expecting a full on trip plan but a lot of great info.

I'm not too worried about Quebec I speak a little French and I am brushing up on it right now. We have done ok in France when we go there, and that is one of the reasons the wife wants to go to Quebec city, to get that European feel without having to get molested at the airport trying to fly there.

I like the idea of taking the rail from Niagara to Toronto, but the wife might like going to the mall, although any issue with long term parking there? We will be gone at least 4 to 5 days.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

I've parked there over a long weekend and had no issues. YMMV.

If you do this, though, be sure to use the "TTC parking" (TTC=Toronto Transit Commission, in the multilevel parking garage). It's free if you enter it after the Mall opens (9am-9pm), and you can just stay there. If you enter early, it's still cheap ($6 as I recall.) They expect cars to be parked there at off hours, because of what it's used for. The same cannot be said for the general mall parking.


I lived right in the City of Toronto for 12 years (1994-2006) so I'd feel guilty not providing as much info as I could.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Sounds like a fun trip! I need to go over to Niagra Falls, haven't been there since I was a kid. The train sounds like a cool way to go to!

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

This is how I initially read this post. It made me ...

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

LOL!

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Heh, same here, especially after seeing a show last night on the National Geographic channel or something on people who've gone over the Falls.

When I lived in the Midwest, we actually went to Canada a lot. Drove around Lake Superior twice, went to Winnipeg, a friend's cabin in Ontario. I enjoyed Quebec City a great deal, and when I went to Montreal later as an adult, I enjoyed it a lot. Fun country, I'm jealous of your trip.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Bamf was nice. Plus it's just really fun to say "Bamf."

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Yes, although it's spelled Banff. (After Banffshire, Scotland.)

However, that is very, very far away from Ontario and Quebec. For me to drive to Banff is twice as far as for me to drive to Miami, FL.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Wawa Canada has a waterslide.

Oh and things with horns and fur are also up there.

You used to be able to play 5 video games for a dollar as well.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville