I was going to say, don't rule Ottawa out as a destination. But then I thought about it and realized that when Ottawa folks want to blow off some steam, they drive over to Montreal.
It it a fantastic city!!!!
It has a little bit of everything.
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.
A bunch of friends that I met in University are planning a trip in 2024. Since there may be up to 10 of us ... we are currently leaning towards renting a castle in the South of France for a week. (When you split it between 10 folks, it becomes less than $100/night)
You now have me imagining, sipping wine, and finding someone to come out and "lead" us in a paint session.
We're considering either Toronto or Vancouver for next year! This was our fourth time back to Montreal and, although we love the city, we don't want to get stuck in a rut. We bought an Opus card this time and used the Metro quite a bit. A 3-day Metro card was less expensive than ONE Uber ride! The price of Uber was INSANE this year. It cost us nearly 50$ CAD to get to the airport.
Your trip sounds incredible. I can't wait to hear about it when it takes place. That will be well worth the cost and the planning. I highly recommend Airbnb Experiences. I've taken quite a few and they're always stellar. This is how we found the Ax Throwing and the Painting Class.
I like Airbnb as well. But I prefer it's older cousin. VRBO.com. I've been using VRBO since around 2005 and have never had a bad experience. For larger groups, you can get a castle and/or a mansion in the Hollywood hills. All the way down to a long boat in the canals of Amsterdam.
We've used VRBO as well and like them too! Do they offer "experiences" as well as accommodations?
As far as I know, VRBO only offers the accommodation. We'd need to add the experience ourselves.