Montreal

Quebecers offer their top staycation ideas

Quebec's summer offerings attract floods of tourists to the province. Now locals themselves are deciding these easy-access tourism spots are the right place to spend their vacation.

Recent survey said 58 per cent of Quebecers are vacationing within the province this summer

At the Marché des Éclusiers in the Old Port locally grown produce and artisan foods are for sale. (Kamila Hinkson/CBC)

Quebec's summer offerings attract floods of tourists to the province. Now locals themselves are deciding these easy-access tourism spots are the right place to spend their vacation. 

A recent survey suggested as many as 58 per cent of Quebecers are vacationing within the province this summer. 

CBC Montreal's Radio Noon assembled a panel of tourism industry insiders to talk about the options for staycationers. Here are their top picks.

Montreal staycations

Tourism Montreal's Catherine Morellon said the new public market in the Old Port, Marché des Éclusiers, is a must-see.

La Petite Boulangerie has a stall at the Marché des Éclusiers. (Kamila Hinkson/CBC)

"You can go shop around and then just stay for the waterfront and the sun there," she said.  

Listeners called into Radio Noon saying some of Montreal's bike tours or the Red Bus tour are great ways to explore the city. 

They also recommended going to one of the many farms around Montreal to pick fruit with the family. 

People can pick their own strawberries at Ferme Wera. (Ferme Wera )

Quebec road trip 

Pierre-Paul Leduc, the general manager of the Société des Attractions Touristiques du Québec suggests heading out to Gaspésie.

"When you're in Percé Village and you see the rock you think 'Wow'. You feel like you're somewhere else," he said.

Getting to Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine from Montreal will mean an 8 to 10-hour road trip. (Radio-Canada)

He also suggested heading to Tremblant for their summer Blues Fest which is on until July 17. 

For history lovers

For a culturally enriching trip there is also the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, which Leduc says is the most popular museum in Canada with 1.2 million visitors per year. 

Their current exhibition looks at Napoleon's Parisian legacy.

Fit trip

Melanie Searle, a writer for Quebec Vacation Guide, suggested a fitness-based vacation with the Petit Train du Nord.

Its more than 230 kilometres of cycling trails go from Bois-des-Filion, just north of Laval, all the way to Mont-Laurier.  

The bike path Le Petit Train du Nord around Nominingue, Que. (Francis Labbe/Radio-Canada)

with files from CBC Montreal's Radio Noon