We booked our tour for Sunday, Mother's Day. The tour bus was easy to find, outside of Chateau Frontenac. It was a small group which was nice. Our bus driver and tour guide, Jean, provided commentary and kept us laughing as well.
Our first stop was at the Chocolaterie de I'lle D'Orleans. We had time to buy some yummy treats and sample their own ice cream.
Our second stop was at Montmorency Falls. The walk along to see the falls was an easy walk and the falls looked great. We only wish we could have spent more time at the falls. We didn't have time to walk along the top of the falls or take photos at the bottom of the falls.
Our third stop was at the Cuivres D'Art Albert Gilles(copper art museum). We found the tour guide very knowledgeable and friendly, She was one of a family of sisters who along with their mother, make the products and run the museum now that their father has passed away. I purchased a beautiful copper pendant made by one of the sisters.
Our fourth and final stop was at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. The copper doors of the basilica were made at the copper museum many years before by Albert Gilles. We were not able to venture too far into the basilica to see the stained glass and to take photos because there was a mass in progress. This was unfortunate for us. We seemed to spend a lot of time sitting around waiting until we got back onto the bus.
Taking the bus tour was an ideal way to travel to I'lles D'Orleans and learn more about it. We did find out according to Jean, that the island is known for its strawberry and apple harvests.
We did appreciate the tour operator for changing our tour time for us when the original time of 10:00 was not available. The 1:00 pm tour worked out better!