One of the most typical things to do when you live in Canada is to leave for a weekend in a cottage in Québec or the Great Lakes region to discover the natural beauty of the country. As the landscapes change with the seasons, you can go any time of the year.

There are many ways to spend a weekend in a cottage, the best of course to own one yourself that you can personalise and have access to whenever you want. If that’s not within your means, you may know somebody who owns a cottage and would be happy to lend it to you for the weekend. Otherwise, most people rent a cottage for a weekend because it is not very expensive (if you’re out of peak season).

We find the best cottages tend to be the ones located close to a lake. In the summer, you can paddle boat, kayak, water ski, or simply swim the lake, and in winter you can skate or snowshoe on the frozen lake or even ice fish. There are also a lot of beautiful walks to take in nature to discover the forest and its amazing colours. You don’t need to go too far away from Montréal or Québec City to find a good cottage in the midst of nature: there are many within an hour of the cities in the Laurentian, Lanaudière or the Eastern Townships.

You can find a cottage on different websites like cottagesrental.com or chaletauquebec.com, where you can search by selecting different criteria: close to a lake, a golf course, a ski station; choose the number of rooms, if you want a spa, and of course the price. You can also look for cottages on classified ads websites like kijiji.ca.

Discovering the Québec countryside from a cottage adds a certain charm to the adventure and you will feel at home in the tranquil paradise of rural Canada.