update: 2023 Festival weekends are September 3-5 and 9-10.
This year we celebrated beginning of fall season with a 3-day Spa and Wine getaway to Canadian Quebec. We try to do this couple’s retreat every year on our anniversary weekend in September – and it often coincides with Magog Harvest Festival (Fete des Vendanges) which is held on the first two weekends of September.
We chose a town of Bromont as our base and made trips to Magog (25 mins away) and Montreal (an hour away). We stayed in Le St. Martin-Bromont.
THE WINE FESTIVAL
We started our weekend with wine and foie gras degustation at Fete des Vendanges Magog. The main focus of this fall Harvest Festival (in its 24th year) is to showcase local wines but the number of other local products on the exhibit floor has been growing. This year they added beer and a new Spirits Pavilion where in exchange for your 4 coupons (read our blog post to find out how it works) they fixed you a nice cocktail.
Enjoy our New Video from the Fete and start planning your next September’s Quebec getaway.
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It is a truly unique experience to taste the wines and products as the wine makers and farmers tell you about the love and labour that goes into the products.
Tip: Come early in the day when the halls are not crowded and the exhibitors can give you their personal attention.
After tasting a number of wines, sausages and fois gras we selected our favorites for an al fresco lunch on the shores of Lake Memphremagog right outside of the exhibit Pavilion.
OLD PORT IS FOR SPA
On Saturday afternoon we drove to Quebec capital Montreal. We visit this most European city in North American quite often – here are our Top 10 Montreal for you. On this short evening visit we stayed in the Old Port area. We planned to take a walk, but it was raining hard, so we headed straight to Spa Bota Bota on St. Lawrence River.
It is housed on the old boat and consists of the hot and cold pools and relaxation areas, all with the views over the city or the river.
We greatly enjoyed the visit and even hesitated for a moment whether Spa Bota Bota became our favorite spa in Quebec.
SPA BALNEA- STILL THE FAVORITE
We already told you about the Spas of Eastern Townships of Quebec, just over the Canadian border. Our favorite is Spa Balnea in Bromont and our favorite time to visit is early fall when the “beach” area is open and we mix in the magic of the lake and mountains with the typical spa cycle of Heat-Cold-Relax-Repeat.
We keep coming back to Spa Balnea – for the incredible natural scenery and their attention to detail. (Health food fans might be happy to learn that food became.. even healthier..) On this visit we went early on Sunday morning to enjoy the beach practically all to ourselves. It was really not allowed but we were able to put together this 2 minute video for you so you can experience a little bit of Spa Balnea for yourselves.
For other activities and tours in Quebec Province, check out this Get Your Guide link.
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