Sign in with Facebook
2 Stars - 6 Opinions
Fountain dedicated to St. Anne
Jewelry
Twins with their godsister in middle, Quebec
Another Quebec Mural (on a freeway overpass)
Hi, We will be on a 13 day coach tour leaving Boston late May and visiting the Canadian cities along the St Lawrence seaway. We will be in Canada for 7 days and wish to know whether shops will accept our US dollars. We are travelling from Perth Australia and would like to arrange currencies before we leave. In the last week the Australian Dollar has risen 5% against the US dollar, very good for travelling.
Mike
Hi Mike, some will and some won't depending on the shop, and whether they are located in a tourist town or not. You will not get a very favorable exchange rate if they do. You may be better off getting some Canadian dollars.
Hi Helen, Thanks for the advice, I want to buy some US dollars whilst the rate is up. The banks will give you an ATM type card with the amount of currency you buy and then you just go to a ATM in that country and their currency comes out. The card has no name on it and you have the password so if you lose it they say you will not lose your money.This is new here but I guess it has been operating in USA & Europe for a while. Would be good for Euros as you could use it in many European countries.
I recall you are off to Italy soon, have a great time, I doubt if anyone could not have a good time in Italy.
Mike
On my trips to Canada, I typically do not worry so much about exchanging money. I use credit cards for larger purchases or where ever available and use cash for small things.
If you are stuck in a situation where you need Candian dollars, as already mentioned by Helen, US dollars are accepted depending on the location. All hotels will exchange, obviously banks will too. An often overlooked exchange is a place like McDonalds. ALL McDonalds and fast food places will accept US dollars and the change they give you will be in Canadian. You can go in, buy a coke, give them $20US and receive $22CAN in change (assuming 1.15 rate)
Hi I thought this would be the case, I usually use my ATM card when in Europe to obtain the respective currency, but as the Australian Dollar is presently up on the US dollar I thought I would buy a bundle, I will now buy less as it is no point in paying fees to convert to Canadian dollar, plus the inconvenience.
Thank you for your replies.
Mike
Even in smaller towns (like mine) US dollars are widely accepted. The main thing is to find the ones which will give you a fair exchange rate. All banks, most department stores, and many of the smaller places are quite fair. Occasionally you will run into one which goes "at par" -- no exchange. The problem with the debit card is the charge for the machine, the bank fee for the card, and then the bank fee for the foreign transaction. I find this is more than I want to pay. So I use Bank cards sparingly in each country to get cash for several days....Then I use credit cards for almost everything. If you know how much you intend to spend, the credit cards are the best value, cause when you pay on time no interest, no fee for use, and bulk-buying on foreign currencies, so a reasonable exchange rate.
Most of the time, when your not in a touristic town close to the fronteer, they will just accept your american money as if it is canadian money, without any exchange rate and give you back the change in canadian money... It's not in your advantage.
Check out La Petite Quartier. Very nice! Near le Chateau Frontenac is a store which sells products made from maple syrup. All I can say is th eold part is great. I also drove eastward for about 3.5 hours to Tadoussac (to go wahle watching) and the view on the road to there is really great. It's right beside the St. Lawrence river.
Take a walking tour of the old town. Allow about a day for this, maybe more if you want to visit museums as well. Although it is not huge, if it's the middle of winter you'll need to leave time to réchauffer un peu in one of the many bars, cafés or restaurants. Start in Place d'Youville, where there is a lovely icerink throughout the winter months (free to use if you have your own skates!). Walk down Rue St Jean (where there are many cafés and tourist shops). Follow the road round to Chateau Frontenac (the big castle-style hotel). Either walk down the steep stairway towards the St Laurence or take the furnicular railway towards Basse-ville. Here you can visit the Musée de Civilisation and the Musée de Place Royale. Don't miss Place Royale, Rue de Petit Champlain, the murals, and remember to stop for coffee once in a while. Back up in Haute-Ville, you can do a walking tour of the battlefields behind the chateau, and visit the Inuit Art gallery and the Contemporary Art Gallery. You need at least a day, but two would be preferable! The above picture shows me down by the St Lawrence in February - it was COLD. My fondest memory of Quebec was the time I spent there with my then-boyfriend, Ed, staying in the gorgeous Chateau Frontenac hotel (okay so it's expensive, but it beats the youth hostel for romance value!)
Outside the Old City, very few people speak fluent English, but in the tourist area, most everyone speaks English. Signs, however, are often only in French (unless the English is smaller), so take caution if you are driving!
It is handy to learn at least a few french phases.
In late summer, bring cool comfortable clothing for the day. Good shoes for hiking. Resort Casual clothing for the evening and be prepared for the temperatures to drop quite a bit in the evening.
Why are we stopping by these rustic cabins and... nothing else?
The answer came with the explanation: in winter the river freezes, and those cabins are pushed to the river.
A hole in the floor allows the renter to catch dozens of fishes from the river, without leaving the "comfort" of home.
Ingenious, indeed, but... is that sport?
Latest Quebec hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Comments