14 Days in Quebec: Complete Province Grand Tour Including Gaspésie
Overview
Fourteen days unlocks a substantially more complete experience of Quebec than a single week allows. This itinerary covers the two anchor cities, the stunning Charlevoix coast, the Tadoussac whale watching area, and the dramatic Gaspésie Peninsula — a circuit of the province that captures its urban brilliance, coastal grandeur, and wilderness character. The route is a one-way progression from Montreal northeast to Quebec City and Charlevoix, then south around the Gaspésie loop, finishing at Percé on the Atlantic coast before returning to Quebec City or flying from the Gaspésie.
A car is essential for this trip. Driving distances are substantial but all highways are well-maintained, signage is bilingual, and the routes are among the most scenic in eastern Canada.
At a glance
| Days | Destination | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Montreal | Old Montreal, Plateau, Mile End, museums, food scene |
| 4–5 | Quebec City | Old City, Plains of Abraham, Île d’Orléans |
| 6 | Drive to Charlevoix | Baie-Saint-Paul, Route 362 coastal road |
| 7 | Charlevoix to Tadoussac | Whale watching in the Marine Park |
| 8 | Drive south shore, begin Gaspésie | Rivière-du-Loup, Rimouski |
| 9 | Gaspésie north coast | Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Gaspésie National Park |
| 10 | Forillon National Park | Gaspé, Cape Bon Ami, whale watching |
| 11 | Percé | Rocher Percé, Île Bonaventure, gannet colony |
| 12 | Gaspésie south coast | Chaleur Bay, Bonaventure |
| 13 | Return north: Rivière-du-Loup | Ferry options, south shore highlights |
| 14 | Return to Quebec City or Montreal | Departure flexibility |
Day 1: Montreal — arrival and first impressions
Land at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. Take the 747 express bus or a taxi to downtown (approximately 25–45 minutes depending on time of day). Check into your hotel and spend the first evening walking the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood — Rue Saint-Denis for terrasses and the evening energy, then down to the Old Port for the first view of the St. Lawrence.
Dinner in Old Montreal: Garde Manger (Chuck Hughes’s long-running seafood-focused restaurant), Toqué! (Quebec’s most acclaimed restaurant, book ahead), or the more casual Le Serpent for contemporary Italian-inspired Quebec cooking.
Where to stay: Three nights in Montreal. Hotel 10 or ÉPIK Montreal for mid-range in the centre; the Hôtel Gault in Old Montreal for atmosphere; the Four Seasons for luxury.
Day 2: Montreal deep dive — food, art, and the city character
Morning at the Jean-Talon Market: arrive before 9am for the full produce experience. Then walk through Little Italy to the Mile End neighbourhood. St-Viateur Bagel for wood-fired bagels, Café Olimpico for espresso, and browse the independent bookshops and galleries on the surrounding streets.
Afternoon at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal — allow two to three hours for the permanent collection, which covers Indigenous art, European masters, and contemporary Quebec works comprehensively.
Evening in the Plateau: the neighbourhood’s restaurant density and quality are the highest in the city. L’Express (Parisian bistro, open since 1980, perfectly executed), Pastaga (natural wine bar, excellent small plates), or Joe Beef’s Vin Papillon for a more festive evening.
Day 3: Montreal — Old City and Mont-Royal
Morning: the Basilique Notre-Dame in Old Montreal (book timed entry) followed by a walk through Place d’Armes and the cobblestoned streets of Vieux-Montréal to the Old Port. The Cirque du Soleil headquarters (visible from the Old Port) is a Montreal institution; the Cité des arts du cirque in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood offers tours of the training facility.
Afternoon: take the No. 11 bus up to the Belvédère du Mont-Royal viewpoint for the panoramic city view, then walk through the forested park back down toward the Plateau. Evening at leisure — there are always concerts and performances in the city.
Collect rental car or confirm VIA Rail booking for tomorrow morning.
Book a Montreal guided tour or cycling city excursionDay 4: Drive Montreal to Quebec City — with a Trois-Rivières stop
Depart Montreal in the morning on Highway 40 (north shore). The 270-kilometre drive takes approximately 2.5 to 3 hours nonstop, but a stop in Trois-Rivières adds an interesting midpoint. The historic core of Trois-Rivières along Rue des Ursulines and the waterfront above the St. Lawrence is genuinely worth 90 minutes — the 17th-century Ursuline Convent and the historic old city core are among the most intact in Quebec.
Arrive in Quebec City in early afternoon. Check into the Old City — and if you can afford it, the Château Frontenac for at least one night delivers an experience that is part history, part landmark, and part genuine luxury. Take the afternoon to walk the fortification walls for an initial orientation, then descend to the Lower Town for dinner in the Petit-Champlain area.
Day 5: Quebec City — the complete Old City experience
Full day in Quebec City. Morning: the Citadelle guided tour (the star-shaped British fortification, still garrisoned, with an engaging military history). Then the Plains of Abraham — the broad maple-forested park where the 1759 battle between Wolfe and Montcalm determined the future of French Canada. The Musée des Plaines d’Abraham covers the battle and the subsequent history with nuance and quality.
Afternoon: descend to the Lower Town for the Musée de la civilisation — one of Canada’s genuinely excellent museums, covering Quebec history from Indigenous nations through the French Regime, British conquest, and Confederation to the present. Allow two to three hours.
Evening: dinner at one of the Lower Town’s consistently excellent restaurants. Chez Boulay bistro boréal (northern Quebec flavours — labrador tea, cloudberry, local game) is one of the most distinctive restaurants in the province.
Day 6: Drive to Charlevoix — coastal road and Baie-Saint-Paul
Drive northeast from Quebec City on Route 138. The 100-kilometre route to Baie-Saint-Paul takes approximately 1.5 hours, but plan for 3 hours with stops. The road enters the Charlevoix region as it climbs over the edge of the ancient meteor impact crater, and the first view down into the river valley from the summit is one of the most dramatic in the province.
Spend the afternoon in Baie-Saint-Paul: the Musée d’art contemporain, the artisan food shops on Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Fromagerie du Presbytère sells the excellent Charlevoix cheeses; La Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour is nearby), and the gallery district.
Drive the Route 362 coastal road in the late afternoon — the 40 kilometres from Baie-Saint-Paul toward La Malbaie winds above the clifftops with constant river views. Stay overnight in La Malbaie (Manoir Richelieu, a dramatic clifftop château hotel) or return to Baie-Saint-Paul.
Day 7: Charlevoix to Tadoussac — whale watching on the St. Lawrence
Drive northeast from Charlevoix through La Malbaie and Clermont to reach Tadoussac (approximately 90 kilometres from Baie-Saint-Paul, following Route 138 to the Saguenay ferry crossing). The free car ferry across the Saguenay Fjord mouth is included in the journey and provides a first encounter with the fjord’s dramatic scale.
Tadoussac is the whale watching capital of Quebec. Book a morning or afternoon departure — Croisières AML and Groupe Dufour run large-vessel cruises; smaller zodiac operators provide more intimate but colder experiences. From June through September, blue, fin, minke, humpback, and beluga whales are all potentially present. See the Quebec whale season guide for detailed species timing.
Stay overnight in Tadoussac (Hôtel Tadoussac, the historic red-roofed hotel on the waterfront, is the town’s landmark) or in the larger town of Sacré-Coeur 10 kilometres inland.
Book a St. Lawrence whale watching cruise from TadoussacDay 8: South shore transition — beginning the Gaspésie approach
Cross back on the Tadoussac–Baie-Sainte-Catherine ferry and drive south and east via the south shore. Highway 20 east takes you toward Rivière-du-Loup and then continuing east into the Bas-Saint-Laurent region — the gateway to Gaspésie.
Stop at Kamouraska, one of the most beautiful villages on the south shore: historic houses, a small artisan food scene, and views across the tidal flats to the north shore. Then continue to Rivière-du-Loup for the night, or push further to Rimouski (approximately 60 kilometres further east) for a more advanced starting position for the Gaspésie. Rimouski has good accommodation and a pleasant downtown core.
Alternative: Take the ferry from Rivière-du-Loup to Saint-Siméon on the north shore to avoid the long south shore drive — but this adds complexity if the Gaspésie loop is the priority.
Day 9: Gaspésie north coast — Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and the national park
Drive east from Rimouski on Highway 132, which hugs the south shore of the St. Lawrence as it widens toward the Gulf. The Métis-sur-Mer village has an excellent garden (Les Jardins de Métis) well worth an hour stop — the botanical collection, created beginning in 1901, is exceptional in the summer months.
Continue to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, the main town on the Gaspésie’s north coast. From here, an inland road leads to Parc national de la Gaspésie, which protects the McGerrigle Mountains — Quebec’s highest range outside the far north. The Mont Jacques-Cartier summit trail (19 kilometres round-trip, allow 7 hours) is one of Quebec’s finest alpine hikes. Alternatively, drive to the park’s Gîte du Mont-Albert for lunch and shorter trail access.
Day 10: Forillon National Park and the Gaspé tip
Continue east to Forillon National Park at the very tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Forillon’s combination of rocky coastline, boreal forest, and marine wildlife makes it the finest national park in Quebec. The Grande-Grave historic area (reconstructed 19th-century fishing village) and the Cap-Bon-Ami coastal walk are the park’s highlights. Whale watching from the cliff tops at Cap-Gaspé is possible with binoculars during the summer season.
The town of Gaspé — the nominal capital of the peninsula — has a good visitor centre and the Musée de la Gaspésie, which covers the region’s Mi’kmaq and French-Canadian history effectively.
Day 11: Percé — the Rocher and the gannet colony
Drive south from Gaspé to Percé (approximately 75 kilometres). Percé is one of Quebec’s most immediately dramatic destinations: the Rocher Percé — a 438-metre-long limestone rock with a natural arch, standing in the sea just offshore — is visible from the village centre and provides one of the province’s most photographed views.
The main excursion is a boat trip to Île Bonaventure, an island 4 kilometres offshore that hosts one of the world’s largest northern gannet colonies — approximately 60,000 gannets nest on the island’s cliffs from May through September. The cacophony, the smell, and the extraordinary spectacle of tens of thousands of large white seabirds in a cliffside colony is genuinely unlike anything else in Quebec.
Stay two nights in Percé if the schedule allows — the light on the Rocher at sunrise and sunset is the finest photography moment in the Gaspésie.
Day 12: Gaspésie south coast — Chaleur Bay and Bonaventure
Drive south and west from Percé along the southern coast of the Gaspésie toward Chaleur Bay (Baie des Chaleurs). This coast is warmer and calmer than the north-facing Gulf coast — the bay is sheltered and the water temperature substantially higher, with small beach resorts at Bonaventure and Carleton-sur-Mer.
The town of Bonaventure has the Musée acadien du Québec, covering the history of the Acadian people who settled the south Gaspésie following the expulsion from Maritime Canada in the 18th century. Carleton-sur-Mer has one of the most accessible mountains in the region — Mont Saint-Joseph, accessible by road to near the summit — with views over the full length of Chaleur Bay.
Day 13: Return north — Rivière-du-Loup and south shore villages
Drive west from Chaleur Bay, then north through Amqui and the Matapédia Valley (an inland route through the Appalachian foothills) to rejoin Highway 132 west toward Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup. Alternatively, take the Matane–Baie-Comeau ferry across the St. Lawrence to reach the north shore if your final destination is Quebec City via the north bank.
The south shore drive west from Rimouski passes through several interesting villages: Kamouraska (if missed earlier), Saint-Jean-Port-Joli (famous for wood-carving artisans), and Montmagny (a good dinner stop with excellent regional restaurants before the final stretch to Quebec City via Highway 20).
Day 14: Return to Quebec City or Montreal — departure
Final morning in Quebec City (if returning north via Highway 20 from the south shore) for a farewell walk through the Old City. Alternatively, fly from Gaspé airport (small regional airport with connections to Montreal and Quebec City) if the itinerary is adjusted to end in Percé.
The drive from Quebec City to Montreal takes 2.5 to 3 hours on Highway 20 or 40 for those dropping rental cars at the airport.
Budget breakdown
Costs per person, two people sharing, in Canadian dollars.
| Category | Budget (CAD) | Moderate (CAD) | Comfort (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (14 nights) | 1,200–1,600 | 2,200–3,200 | 3,500–5,500 |
| Food and drink | 700–1,000 | 1,200–1,700 | 1,800–2,600 |
| Car rental and fuel (14 days) | 700–900 | 950–1,200 | 1,300–1,700 |
| Activities and admissions | 300–450 | 500–750 | 750–1,200 |
| Ferries (Saguenay, Tadoussac–Baie-Ste-Catherine) | 50–100 | 50–100 | 50–100 |
| Total per person | ~2,950–4,050 | ~4,900–6,950 | ~7,400–11,100 |
Booking tips
Plan accommodation bookings in this order of priority: Tadoussac in July and August (fills completely — book months ahead); Percé in July and August (limited quality accommodation, book early); Charlevoix in peak fall colour season; Montreal for Jazz Festival weekends. The Gaspésie outside of the Percé peak is generally easier to book at shorter notice.
The Tadoussac whale watching operators should be booked as soon as your travel dates are confirmed — the best cruise operators fill quickly in peak season.
Variations
Shorter version: Drop the south Gaspésie coast (Days 12–13) and return from Percé via the north coast, reducing the trip to 12 days.
Add Côte-Nord extension: From Tadoussac, continue northeast along the north shore of the St. Lawrence (Route 138 continues through Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles) for an extension into Quebec’s genuine wilderness. See the 21-day Quebec deep dive for this extension in full.
Closing
Fourteen days in Quebec delivers a genuinely complete picture of the province. The progression from Montreal’s urban sophistication to the dramatic scale of the Gaspésie coastline — with Charlevoix, the whale watching grounds, and the ancient forests of the national parks between — covers the full range of what makes Quebec one of North America’s most distinctive destinations. The driving distances are real but the roads are excellent and every kilometre between stops has its own character.