Montréal Magic

Friday, October 17, 2025

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Montréal, Canada

Our 12 night New England Fall escape aboard the Azamara Quest comes to a close in Montréal. Dining and whining (minimal grumbling is allowed), leaf peeping and walking thousands of steps, shopping, and getting better acquainted with our North American neighbor. Canada has a fascinating past, much related to American history, (we blush at our lack of historical knowledge), but the European architecture and allegiance to the British crown is prevalent. Everywhere we found charming, funny, polite and welcoming folks who were grateful for tourists.

The cruise traveled 2067 nautical miles, stopped in 11 ports. Quest, 25 years-old, is almost an exact replica of Azamara’s three other ships: 9 guest decks with a guest capacity of 694 and 400 crew members. Having cruised on two others, the ship familiarity and seeing some crew members who served us on the world cruise makes us feel special. We enjoyed several excursions to explore the scenery and culinary scenes. The foliage has been impressive, but a little disappointing since much of New England has been plagued by drought that diminished the trees. Colorado’s aspen is unrivaled by New England’s fall colors this year. We were very fortunate weather-wise, little rain but very chilly!

Montréal is built on an island which sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It’s named after Mount Royal, a triple-peaked hill that rises in the heart of the city and is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris. Yet most residents are bilingual, and many speak a third language. It was designated a UNESCO City of Design in 2006, joining a global network of creative cities that promote sustainable urban development through design. The sculptures and buildings are fantastic! What a city!

Notre Dame Basilica stunning!