# Montreal or Quebec City with kids?

Written 2026-10-10 by Play Day. Quebec's two cities for a family: Montreal for the Biodome, the science center, the indoor play and the food, Quebec City for the walled old town, the Château, the waterfall and winter. Which one for a long weekend, and how the three-hour train makes both easy.

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](https://ourplayday.com/places/montreal-biodome-montreal)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/montreal-science-centre-montreal)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/mount-royal-park-montreal)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/kazoom-cafe-montreal)

City: Montreal

An indoor play space with a café alongside, one of several indoor playgrounds in the city, good on a January afternoon.

- Playground: Yes

### [Delta Hotels by Marriott Montreal](https://ourplayday.com/places/delta-hotels-by-marriott-montreal-montreal)

City: 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.

- Pool: Yes, indoor
- Indoor pool: Yes

## Quebec City, for the old town and the winter

### [Dufferin Terrace](https://ourplayday.com/places/dufferin-terrace-quebec-city)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/parc-de-la-chute-montmorency-quebec-city)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/aquarium-du-quebec-quebec-city)

City: 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](https://ourplayday.com/places/mega-parc-galeries-de-la-capitale-quebec-city)

City: 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.

- Playground: Yes

### [Fairmont Le Château Frontenac](https://ourplayday.com/places/fairmont-le-chateau-frontenac-quebec-city)

City: Quebec City

The castle on the cliff has suites and an indoor pool.

- Pool: Yes, indoor
- Indoor pool: Yes

Page: https://ourplayday.com/guides/canada/quebec/montreal/montreal-or-quebec-city-with-kids