With just one month to go until our summer vacation, we still have accommodations to book, activities to plan, and restaurant reservations to make. So of course I’m turning to you, dear Internet friends, for recommendations!
Take a look at our route.
A Home
B Saratoga Springs, NY
C Burlington, VT
D Montreal, Canada (with a day trip to Quebec City)
E Niagara Falls, Canada
F Home
Have you visited any of these places or attractions nearby?
We’re specifically looking for B&Bs or quaint Inns in Saratoga, Burlington, and Niagara Falls. (Our aunt and uncle hooked us up with a sweet deal at the luxurious Hilton Bonaventure in Montreal.)
Also, being the food lovers we are, I’d love to learn about local restaurants and delicacies, especially Canadian cuisine.
And what are the must-see sights?
Finally, we’ll be in Montreal for my 28th birthday, so special occasion suggestions are welcome, as well!
I highly recommend spending a lot of time in Old City in Montreal. I will try to dig out the receipts from the restaurant I ate at the first night I was there. It was fabulous.
Its been a few years since I’ve been to Saratoga, but I remember a really great wine bar there (called The Wine Bar, I believe).
Enjoy your vacation!
Ooh! Looks like an excellent trip. As you might suspect, I have a few recommendations from our honeymoon trip…
If you’re in QC for a dinner, I highly recommend Café du Clocher Penché, which is not in the historic old city but was the best meal we had our whole trip! All locally sourced Quebecois cuisine. It seems a bit of a haul for a day trip from Montreal, but if you’re on a train rather than in a car that should be quicker.
In Montreal, we had delicious late-night poutine at Resto La Banquise. Many guide books will list two top bagel places in Montreal, and we found Fairmount Bagel to be the better of the two… I still prefer a NY bagel over the Montreal’s. Eat a beaver tail whenever you can because they are super tasty… but then again fried dough with cinnamon and sugar tends to be that way 🙂 We had dinner our last night at le Local, which was recommended to me by a local blogger. She also recommended Aix for a swankier outing. Both are in Old Montreal.
We also stopped briefly in Burlington where one of my best friends is in med school, so I’ll ask her for B&B tips there. It was SO PRETTY! We ate at the Skinny Pancake, an excellent crepe place near the lake.
Burlington, VT is one of my all-time favorite places! I’ve been there several times, the last of which was New Year’s Eve outdoors and BRRRRRRRRRRRRCOLD doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s such a great little town, though – you will love it!
How fun!!! A couple Saratoga suggestions: Chianti’s is FAB — you guys would love it. Also, Hattie’s is a lot of fun; awesome fried chicken. And finally, I’ve never stayed here, but I’ve always admired the Inn at Saratoga. Very cute!
SO fun! I have lots to share here 🙂
Last year we did a big road trip and had a blast! We stayed at a B&B near Saratoga Springs. http://www.saratogarose.com/ It was okay, but I’ve also stayed in better B&B’s. Breakfast was great though 🙂
While there, the owner recommended we eat at Hattie’s in Saratoga Springs http://www.hattiesrestaurant.com/ We were skeptical since it was fine southern cuisine in upstate NY, but it was SOOOOO good! Awesome food, awesome decor, and wonderful atmosphere. I still think about the meal I ate there. After dinner we walked around the town, which is adorable. A fun vacation spot.
My husband’s family has a place on Lake Champlain (NY side), and if you get a chance, spend some time on the lake. It’s gorgeous! We’ve visited Burlington and there’s lots to see and do there. It’s a very cute place!
We also did Niagara Falls last year, it’s so much fun! Definitely do the Maid of the Mist boat ride. It makes the experience even cooler!
You will have a blast. I can’t wait to read more 🙂
Hi there. I’m new to your blog, but since I just visited Saratoga Springs in October, I figured I’d leave some suggestions! We stayed at the Inn at Saratoga, which was nice, but definitely very quaint and older. I liked it though 🙂
We ate at Circus Cafe for lunch, which was casual and fun. We had dinner at an Italian place called Brindisi’s — I’d probably recommend trying another dinner venue, since the service and food at Brindisi’s was just OK. I’ve heard good things about Chianti’s, but didn’t get to try it while I was there.
Have fun!!
Thank you all for taking the time to share your recommendations! Sounds like we have lots of fun in store!
Just stumbled upon this post while I’m perusing around your old posts (to put off studying for finals…shhh). My family and I took almost this exact same trip a few summers ago, only in reverse. I LOVED Burlington! I would love to go back to Quebec City…so fun!