jacob_m

During my visit to Montreal I decided to take two days and visit Quebec City, another good advice I got from Flyertalk.
I initially thought about going there only during a day, which is technically possible by train, but I was told the city is way too nice to spend only a few hours there.
It takes three hours to get to Quebec City by train so I booked the first morning train from Montreal, an overnight stop at the Best Western hotel in Quebec City, and then the last evening train back to Montreal the second day.
I was allowed to leave my suitcases free of charge in Montreal as I would return there again the following evening, very appreciated!

The Canadian railway company VIA offers quite a nice first class product onboard their trains.
In first class there is a full meal service, and in the evening that means a full three courses meal with wine, coffee and liquors. First class passengers also get access to Panorama lounges at the major railway stations in Canada.
This obviously sounded very interesting!

I didn’t bother to book first class on the morning train to Quebec City, I don’t care much about breakfast whether it is a take-away sandwich or a full hot meal served on fancy china, and I can’t imagine the train breakfast being that spectacular anyway so I'd rather spend my money on something else.
However on the return I booked a seat in first class which was surprisingly affordable, the train departed at 5.35 pm which meant a dinner service onboard, and I had to have dinner at some point anyway.

Quebec City-Montreal, train 27 operated by Via Rail Canada
Departure: 17:35
Arrival: 20:50
Class: VIA 1 (First class)

I was a bit disappointed with my visit to Quebec City, well don’t take me wrong, the city was great, but it was bloody cold, not more than 5 degrees Celsius (and this was at the end of September). On top of that I caught a cold, which did not really make things more fun.
But again, Quebec City was great, one of the oldest cities in North America, well worth a visit!

I arrived at the railway station an hour before departure. The railway station in Quebec City is one of the coolest I have ever seen, it looks more like a castle than a railway station.
I found the panorama lounge right next to the small ticket desk (it’s a small station, only 4-5 trains a day to Montreal).
Nobody was really checking who entered the lounge, but the people inside seemed to know they were allowed to be there.
There was a coffee machine and a fridge with soft drinks in the lounge and newspapers were also available. I wouldn’t really arrive hours in advance just to spend some time in that lounge, but it was nice to sit down and have something to drink while waiting for the boarding to start.
15 minutes before departure a woman came into the lounge and told us the train was ready for boarding, first class passengers are allowed to board first and there was a door leading directly from the lounge to the single platform.

Pics
The cool railway station in Quebec City
The entrance to the Panorama lounge in Quebec City
Inside the Panorama lounge

At the entrance to my car a train attendant greeted me and checked my ticket before letting me inside. The first class and second class cars are virtually identical, except that the interior is slightly different (a different colour), they both also have a 2-1 configuration.
Not a lot of people boarded the train in Quebec City, but the train ended up being quite full later on. As I was sitting close to an emergency exit the train attendant gave me a short briefing of the emergency procedures onboard and he also put a sticker on my seat to indicate that I had been given this information.

Shortly after departure they passed through the car with the drink trolley, they really had a full bar service onboard with soft drinks, wine, beer and spirits.
I saw there was a bottle of Ballantines, my favourite, and whiskey is good for the throat as well (or isn't it??), well two good reasons to go for the strong stuff straight away! Pretzels were also offered.

Next the menu was handed out, and this is what was on offer this evening:

Minutes later they were back to take the orders for the main course, I chose the pork.
The meal trays were then handed out with the appetizer on it followed by the drink trolley a second time for more drinks with the meal, I had some red wine this time, breads were also offered.
The appetizer plate was then collected and shortly afterwards the main course arrived, it turned out the pork was an excellent choice, it was actually very tasty!
More wine was offered and finally coffee and tea, I tried the hazelnut cake on the tray and it was good as well. A hands up for the food! ^
The drink cart then passed a third time in case somebody wanted anything more to drink with the coffee, they had no more Ballantines whiskey onboard so I settled with a cognac.
I don't think I have ever had so much to drink onboard a train!

Pics
The first class car to Montreal
Passing through the Canadian countryside
The menu and cocktail snacks
A glass of Ballantines before the meal
The main course onboard the train (the pork) and a glass of red wine

The train trip back to Montreal was most enjoyable. Great service onboard and nice food and drinks as well while I got to enjoy the beautiful Canadian countryside. It was autumn/fall in Canada so all the trees were beautifully red and yellow (and the view probably got even nicer after a few drinks).
All too soon we were back in Montreal and I had finished another nice and enjoyable part of this trip.