DESTINATIONS QUEBEC & OTTAWA | CANADA


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Nature, culture and urban charm come together on a fam trip tour of Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa, finds India-Jayne Trainor


ou could hear a pin drop in the silence of the vast church we’re sitting inside, pitch black but for the glow of flickering candles. Slowly, lights grow brighter on the huge altarpiece, illuminating intricately carved statues and


rich indigo vaults gilded with gold stars. Dramatic music builds until the organ’s keys crash in concert as each stained-glass window and biblical scene is spotlighted in a spectrum of dazzling colour. This is the Aura Experience, an immersive music and light show inside Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. From the outside, you’d never know this impressive church contains such a spectacle, but I’m quickly learning that this region of Canada is full of unexpected wonders.


A HIDDEN CITY


Our Destination Canada fam trip group arrived in Montreal knowing little about the city, save for the dual- language signs that put us firmly in French Canada. An in-depth city tour reveals Montreal’s many


contrasts, with old-world architecture sitting side by side with modern skyscrapers. We go from downtown across the raging St Lawrence River, passing the city’s Formula One track and St Helen’s Island, before winding back towards Old Montreal. The European influences are strong – the diners spilling out on to the cobblestones of Place Jacques- Cartier wouldn’t look out of place in Paris. But the metropolis soon melts into greenery at Mount Royal, a city park with panoramic views, a shady forest


² travelweekly.co.uk 26 FEBRUARY 2026 29


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