Montreal or Quebec City with kids?
Written October 2026
Quebec City has a walled old town with a castle hotel on the cliff and a winter Carnaval. Montreal is the bigger city, bilingual and full of bagels and poutine, with museums clearly built for kids: the Biodome, the Insectarium and the Science Centre's under-sevens zone. With five days, do both and take the train between them.
Montreal also has a dozen indoor playgrounds and hotels with indoor pools everywhere, so the weather doesn't decide the day. Quebec City is smaller, done in two days, and at its best in winter, with the Carnaval and the toboggan run. Montreal is flat along the river and fills a week.
Montreal, for the museums and the indoor days
Montreal Biodome
Montreal
Penguins and a rainforest in indoor ecosystems, inside the old Olympic velodrome. The Insectarium and the Botanical Garden are across the road, so it fills a full day.
- Restroom
- Yes
Montreal Science Centre
Montreal
A hands-on science museum with a play zone just for under-sevens, on the quay in the Old Port, next to the Voiles en Voiles pirate-ship rope courses and the Ferris wheel.
- Restroom
- Yes
Mount Royal Park
Montreal
The big hill park, with wooded trails and a lookout over the city. Beaver Lake has a playground and, in winter, skating and tubing (it's Montreal's Plains of Abraham).
Kazoom Cafe
Montreal
An indoor play space with a café alongside, one of several indoor playgrounds in the city, good on a January afternoon.
- Ages
- Ages 3 and up
Delta Hotels by Marriott Montreal
Montreal
It's downtown and really set up for kids. There's an indoor saltwater pool and a separate kids' pool, and movie nights and treasure hunts in season.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
- Free breakfast
- Yes
Quebec City, for the old town and the winter
Dufferin Terrace
Quebec City
A wide boardwalk on the cliff under the Château Frontenac, looking down on the river. In winter the toboggan slide runs down it; in summer it's street performers and ice cream. The funicular to the Lower Town is at the end.
Parc de la Chute-Montmorency
Quebec City
A waterfall taller than Niagara, fifteen minutes from the old town. The cable car and the suspension bridge over the falls are the kids' part; the zip line is for the brave.
Aquarium du Québec
Quebec City
Polar bears and seals out by the bridges, and touch pools too. It's Quebec City's one big animal attraction.
- Restroom
- Yes
Mega Parc, Galeries de la Capitale
Quebec City
An amusement park inside a mall, with a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel, for a minus-twenty day. It's a drive from the old town.
- Ages
- Ages 3 and up
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
Quebec City
The castle on the cliff has suites and an indoor pool.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
More in Montreal
The best family hotels in MontrealPhoto credits
Montreal Biodome: Wackistan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Montreal Science Centre: Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0) · Mount Royal Park: Kunal Rakshit (CC BY-SA 4.0) · A latte and a black coffee: Bex Walton (CC BY 2.0) · Delta Hotels by Marriott Montreal: Daderot (CC0) · Dufferin Terrace: Selbymay (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Parc de la Chute-Montmorency: Wilfredor (CC0) · Aquarium du Quebec: Jiaqian AirplaneFan (CC BY 3.0) · Mega Parc Galeries de la Capitale: René Bélanger (CC0) · Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac: Fabian Roudra Baroi (CC BY-SA 4.0)