Seat 2A

Upstate New York - from the Finger Lakes region to Adirondack State Park, it is a beautiful combination of spectacular scenery and small quaint towns. And - if you like baseball, you can go visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

2nd Choice: The Rocky Mountain Southwest, i.e. Four Corners region, Durango, CO, (Mesa Verde N.P.), Moab, Utah, (Arches/Canyonlands N.P.), Flagstaff, AZ, (Grand Canyon N.P.), Kanab, UT, (Zion/Bryce Canyon N.P.)

Wherever you go, have a great trip!

CalAlumnus13

Do any Oregon or Washington destinations come to mind?

aBroadAbroad

The Willamette Valley is lovely in summer. Actually, if you get good weather, it's spectacular. Small towns, green everywhere, rivers, vineyards, farms and orchards. I especially like Corvallis. Even Salem, the state Capitol is a charming small city. You can easily get to the coast from there and spend days hitting up all the towns there, too. Oregon's coastline is gorgeous.

And there's always Portland, of course, if you like trendy.

dulciusexasperis

At some point you need to pull the trigger CalAlumnus. Otherwise all you end up with is a list of every town/city in N. America and still having to make a decision.

As for weather in Quebec City in June/July, at some point you need to do your own Googling. I gave you a suggestion, you can look up the weather as easily as I can.

CalAlumnus13

Geez. Sorry for bothering you?

Doc Savage

Weather should be fantastic.

VivoPerLei

I'm partial to the North East. I would suggest a road trip starting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, then drive along the Maine coast to Bar Harbor, backtrack to northern New Hampshire, traverse the Kancamagus Highway, and return. Fabulous road trip and five days is just about right.

onobond

Yes, and even if not searching for the trendy it's a good alternative

You want to go where?

Tapping into Byward Market as a clue to your preferences (I spent a week in Ottawa for vacation and had a great time), it would seem that you prefer a city with a compact walkable downtown and some history. Many of the suggestions that have already been mentioned here worked for me -

Halifax, NS
Quebec City (you might find it too touristy, however)
Victoria, BC
Charleston, SC
Annapolis, MD (might be too small)
Seattle is a little big, but not too big, and doesn't have the 'commotion' as you put it
Banff, Alberta
Richmond, VA

Places which are on my short list to visit -

Savannah
Portland
St. John's, NF
Portsmouth, NH

Once you are ready to branch out to Western Europe, you will find many, many options -

York, UK
Bologna, Italy
Nantes, France
Mainz, Germany
Bergen, Norway

are just a sampling to get you started.

At the time you are planning to travel, unless you are tolerant of humidity, you will want to stay out of the southeastern US in July.

roo514

I did a four night trip in November, two in Quebec and two in Montreal. Old Quebec is lovely, though small, so two nights there is plenty. Stayed at the Loews in Montreal and loved it - I'd definitely stay there again. Make reservations at Au Pied De Cochon in advance.

You could also fly up to Seattle and drive to Vancouver and Whistler. If you want to avoid heat and humidity in the summer, staying on the west coast is a good bet.

Go Bears.

CalAlumnus13

Yep, you nailed it.

I'm fairly set on Quebec City, since it does seem to feel very European, without having to cross any oceans. The only complication is that because of award flight availability on Air Canada, it'll be a six-night trip. From the comments here, that sounds like it might be too much time.

As roo514 suggested, I'm considering splitting the trip in half, with two destinations. Halifax sounds interesting, and I might also end up back in Ottawa (I've only been once, over 5 years ago, and my girlfriend never has). I think I'd prefer one of the destinations to be in an English-speaking area, just to get a flavor of both cultures.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

WIRunner

Fly into Portland, ME, spend a day there. Next drive to Acadia and Bar Harbor (I would spend the night in Bangor (if you golf let me know, seriously). After that head up to Moosehead lake. From there head down to the Sugarloaf area. And back to the Portland area for the last day.

j_the_p

Do you golf? Something every golfer should experience is the Midnight golf tournament at the summer solstice in Yellowknife. 18 hole tee off at 6pm, then another 9 hole tee off at midnight.

http://www.yellowknifegolf.com/

beachmouse

I'll throw in Traverse City, Michigan. The Great Lakes are beautiful and temperate in the summer, and northern lower Michigan is getting big on locally sourced food & wine. (Mario Batalli's given TC his seal of approval) Traverse City proper is a pretty reasonable size, or you can get into some of the smaller fishing or forest villages- day trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes is pleasant. And if you go Sunday-Friday, it's less crowded than on weekends when the area draws crowds from Chicago and Detroit.

mpsrent

As I frequent visitor to the Byward Market (will be there again next week) and the other Canadian destinations that you've mentioned, I've got a sense for what you are seeking.

Old Quebec offers the quaintness of the Byward Market with lots of pubs, restaurants and shops all easily available by foot with the added twist of adding old Europe flair. As I love Europeans cities, old Quebec is my North American favourite.

Montreal is easily accessible by rail or bus, so don't let a 6 day stay in Quebec be a deterrent. Conversely, target Montreal or Ottawa with a side trip to Quebec City. I agree with others that the Old City is really only a one or two day visit.

From a different perspective, Halifax and St. John's also offer what you appear to be seeking. So many choices. It basically comes down to what flight options work best for you.