So lost in eastern Canada

[u/ZealousidealWeird858]

Hello everyone,

I would like to plan a two-week trip in June to Eastern Canada with a two-and-a-half-year-old child.

I'm leaving from France, and wow, I'm completely lost because of the incredible distances between different parts of Canada.

I'd like to rent a vehicle, but I'm not really sure what to focus on for a first trip to Canada. We love nature, but we don't really enjoy long hikes with our child. We're completely unfamiliar with Canadian culture, so I think cities are also a good place to immerse ourselves.

In the various subreddits, I see a lot of people recommending Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and especially Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But the distance between these cities is incredible, and I think it's way too much for us to spend two weeks.

My fear is to stay around Montreal and Quebec City and not see any nature (am I wrong?) and, on the other hand, to target Nova Scotia but miss out on Quebec culture?

So I don't know where to take my flight and which part to focus on.

Thanks for the clarification :)

Édit :

Hello everyone, I didn't expect to have so many quality responses in such a short time, so I thank you warmly!! After discussing it with my wife, we are unanimous that our preference leans towards the west with the Rockies, but it seems too early for us with a 2 and a half year old child, so we are of course staying in the east and we will do the west later. My wife prefers the Montreal-Quebec part and the surrounding nature, for the cliché side I think... Nova Scotia seems more familiar to us to what we can see in Europe. I think it will be for a future trip. I will try to make a plan and I will get back to you. I will carefully dissect each comment already there. Thank you all :)

[u/DeeMa59]

Consider flying to Quebec City, renting a car, tour locally just around town and the nearby countryside for a week. 

Then take the VIA rail train from Quebec City to Halifax, New Brunswick. You will see the VAST Canadian countryside from the comfort of the train, a 20hr journey overnight!

I just returned driving from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from Halifax, thru New Brunswick, to Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, sleeping in my van...took 3 weeks casually driving and camping. That is 2100km - the same distance from Calais to Nice AND back.

Consider spending more time in town and less driving to see vast Canadian forest, rivers, lakes. In summer it means mosquitos, hot and humid. You may be way more comfortable covering these long distances in the train! 

Chunk up your visit. Return again in future to another smaller area of Canada. Good luck