秋のケベック州（カナダ）⑤：ケベックシティからモントリオールへ やはりフランス語圏は飯が美味い！/Quebec in Autumn (Canada)⑤: From Quebec City to Montreal—after all, the French-speaking region has great food!
Departing Quebec City, Heading to Montreal Along Route 40
We left Quebec City early in the morning after a wonderful stay at a lovely Airbnb. Even the cat that came with the place seemed reluctant to say goodbye.
(English texts continue to the latter half of the page)
ケベックシティを出発、ルート40沿いにモントリオールへ
とても素敵なAirbnbに滞在できたケベックシティを朝一で出発、宿にもれなくついてくる猫ちゃんも別れを惜しんでくれました。
モントリオールに移動するためルート40を西に向かう。ルート40はセントローレンス川に沿った陸運の大動脈。ほとんどの道は丘陵地帯を下の写真のようにひたすら真っすぐな道が続く。
ケベックシティとモントリオールのちょうど中間地点に位置するのがトロワ・リヴィエール（Trois-Rivieres）、セントローレンス川の港町だ。ここを通りかかった時にちょうどお昼時だったので、観光案内所のお姉さんに教えてもらったカフェに行ったらこの何気ないバーガーとクロックムッシューが実に美味しい！田舎町とは侮れないレベルだった。
食後にゆっくり街を散歩したら面白いことに気が付く。住宅地の周りにリスが多くいるのだが、それがどの個体も黒一色。あまり見たことのない色なんだけど、この地域だけの特徴なのか。
モントリオールに到着、Airbnbとは一悶着
再びルート40を走り、３時前にはモントリオールに到着し予約していたAirbnbに直行。この宿はモントリオール旧市街からメトロで20分程度、北米最大の食品市場ジャン・タロン市場から1㎞ほどの住宅街。長期滞在者には実に便利なロケーション。ただ実は少し事前にトラブルもあった。予約はすでに3か月以上前に済ませており、宿泊の１－２週間前に宿泊先ホストから「入館の手引き」が送られてくるはずだったが、催促してもいつまでも届かず、やっと前日になって入室の手順を示したメールが届く。これがまた見たこともないほどの長文で、ありとあらゆる要求を網羅している。相当に神経質な家主なのかと思ったが、肝心なことは予約時に15:00だったチェックイン時間が勝手に18:00に変えられている！こちらはあくまで15:00以降にチェックインするつもりで予定を組んでいたので、いきなり前日になって前触れなく3時間も繰り下げられては困る。もちろんメールを通して事前の取り決め通り15:00チェックアウトに戻してほしいと要求するが、向こうは「前の客が出ていくのが16:00になったからチェックインが遅れるのは当たり前」と訳の分からないことを言い出し、挙句の果てにはフランス語で悪態まで突き始めた。名前から判断するに、ベトナム移民らしいが、普段は温厚なのにうまくいかないことがあると突然感情的になるタイプらしい。埒が明かないのでAirbnbのサポートデスクに相談したところ、「これは明らかにホスト側が悪い」ということで瞬時に解決。現地でサポートデスクを使ったのは初めてだったけど、ちゃんとしっかりした仕事をしてくれるもんだな、と、ちょっと感心した。
下の写真が部屋の写真。2人の旅行には十分すぎるほどの広さで、立地も地下鉄の駅から5分ほど、ベトナム人街に近いところらしく付近には小さなスーパーや気軽なベトナム料理屋があり、暮らすにはとても便利なところ。ここで5泊することになる。
紅葉の名所、ローレンシャンヘ
モントリオールに到着翌日は、スキーと紅葉の名所で知られるローレンシャン高原へ。ちなみに「ローレンシャン（Laurentian）」は英語になった地名で、フランス語では「レ・ロランティード（Les Laurentides）」と呼ばれるらしい。高級感が漂うレジャー保養地。斜面に広がる街中は、無料のゴンドラで昇り降りができてとても便利。下はゴンドラからの映像。
街の上まで一度昇って、徒歩で降りてくると坂道の途中にお洒落な店が並び、モントリオールのファッションブランド「ARC’TERYX」を始め高級ブランドやスポーツ品店が並ぶ。実に高級でお洒落な雰囲気が小さな街の中にギュッと詰め込まれた感じ。
ここで食べたランチは、フィッシュ＆チップスにマカロニチーズと北米を代表するジャンクフード2種類だったが、これが全然ジャンクの雰囲気がないくらいに美味しい。何が違うのか分からないけど、やはり食のレベルが違う。
午後になり天候が回復してきたので、山頂へのゴンドラに乗車する。おそらく冬にはスキーのゴンドラとして使用しているもの。最初の計画ではここで盛りを迎えた紅葉の絶景を見る予定だったけど、今回は10日ほど早かったようできわめて残念！それでも山頂からトレッキングコースを歩きながら眺める光景は最高のものだった。しかしそれにしても頂上の表示板にある「バンザイ（Banzai）」って、スキーの滑降コースの名前なのか。
こちらはローレンシャンの帰途に立ち寄った湖畔のリゾート地。特に見るべきものはないものの、青空の下、水辺を散歩するだけで心地よくなるところだ。
翌日からは天候が悪くなりそうなので、先に景勝地を廻った。翌日からモントリオールの市街を散策することになる。
Departing Quebec City, Heading to Montreal Along Route 40
We left Quebec City early in the morning after a wonderful stay at a lovely Airbnb. Even the cat that came with the place seemed reluctant to say goodbye.
We headed west on Route 40 to travel to Montreal. Route 40 is a major transportation artery that runs along the St. Lawrence River. Most of the road stretches straight through hilly terrain, as seen in the photo below.
Located right in the middle between Quebec City and Montreal is Trois-Rivières, a port town on the St. Lawrence River. When we passed through, it happened to be lunchtime, so we went to a café recommended by the local tourism office staff. The seemingly simple burger and croque-monsieur turned out to be absolutely delicious! The quality was surprisingly high for a small-town spot.
After a leisurely stroll around town after lunch, I noticed something interesting. There were plenty of squirrels around the residential areas, but every single one of them was completely black. It’s a color I don’t see often—could this be a unique characteristic of this region?
Arrival in Montreal: A Dispute with Airbnb
Driving along Route 40 once again, we arrived in Montreal just before 3 PM and headed straight to our reserved Airbnb. The place was about a 20-minute metro ride from Old Montreal and roughly 1 km from Jean-Talon Market, the largest food market in North America—an incredibly convenient location for long-term stays. However, there had been some trouble beforehand.
I had booked this place over three months ago, and normally, the host should have sent the “check-in guide” about one to two weeks before our stay. But no matter how many times I followed up, it never arrived. It wasn’t until the day before our check-in that I finally received an email with the entry instructions—an absurdly long message that covered every possible demand. I figured the host must be extremely particular, but the real problem was that our check-in time, originally set at 3:00 PM, had been changed to 6:00 PM without any notice.
Since I had planned my itinerary around the original check-in time, having it pushed back by three hours at the last minute was completely unacceptable. I emailed the host requesting that the check-in time be restored to 3:00 PM as per our original agreement, but they responded with nonsensical reasoning, saying, “The previous guest is checking out at 4:00 PM, so of course, check-in will be delayed.” They even started cursing at me in French toward the end of our exchange. Judging from their name, they were likely of Vietnamese descent. Normally, they seemed mild-mannered, but when things didn’t go their way, they became unexpectedly emotional.
Realizing this was going nowhere, I reached out to Airbnb’s support desk. They quickly ruled that the host was in the wrong and resolved the issue immediately. This was my first time using Airbnb’s support service on-site, and I was quite impressed with how efficiently they handled the situation.
The photo below shows the room—it was more than spacious enough for two people. The location was also great, just a five-minute walk from the nearest metro station and close to the city’s Vietnamese district, with small supermarkets and casual Vietnamese restaurants nearby. It was a highly convenient place to stay, and we would be here for the next five nights.
A Trip to the Laurentians, Famous for Fall Foliage
The day after arriving in Montreal, we set out for the Laurentian Mountains, a region renowned for both skiing and breathtaking autumn foliage. Interestingly, “Laurentian” is the English name, while in French, it is called “Les Laurentides.” The area exudes a luxurious resort atmosphere.
The town, spread across the slopes, offers a free gondola service, making it incredibly convenient to move up and down. Below is a shot taken from the town gondola.
After taking the gondola up to the top of the town, we walked down on foot, passing a series of stylish shops along the sloping streets. Luxury brands, sportswear stores, and even Montreal’s own fashion label, ARC’TERYX, lined the way. The entire town felt like a compact yet refined hub of elegance and high-end leisure.
For lunch, we had two of North America’s most iconic junk foods: fish & chips and mac & cheese. But surprisingly, they didn’t feel junky at all—they were incredibly delicious. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what made them different, but the quality of food here just seemed to be on another level.
In the afternoon, as the weather cleared up, we took the gondola to the summit. It’s likely the same one used for skiing in the winter. Originally, our plan was to witness the breathtaking autumn foliage at its peak, but unfortunately, we were about ten days too early—what a disappointment! Even so, the views along the trekking trails from the summit were absolutely stunning.
That being said, I couldn’t help but notice something amusing—the sign at the top had a ski run named “Banzai.” Is that really the name of a downhill course?
On the way back from Laurentians, we stopped by a lakeside resort. There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy to see, but just strolling along the water under the blue sky was enough to feel refreshed and at peace.
Since the weather was expected to worsen the following day, I decided to visit the scenic spots ahead of time. The next day, I would be exploring the city of Montreal itself.