One morning when I was browsing my daily news feed, I came across an article for winter weekend destinations. Québec City was pretty high on the list. Winter pictures of the city with Christmas decorations looked amazing. Since we are not winter explorers, I decided to take Chander to Québec City in September before the weather started to get cold. This was part of his milestone birthday celebration.
American has a 2 hour direct flight out of Chicago which was perfect. Our flight departed and arrived on time. We cabbed it to the hotel. Our hotel Hotel Port Royal was located in Lower Town. During our ride from the airport to the hotel (almost 20 minutes) we saw fireworks the entire time. The city of Québec had fireworks every Thursday in the month of August and they were spectacular, right across our hotel by the riverfront. Had we known, we would have taken an earlier flight.
We were pleasantly surprised at the size of our room. It had a small well equipped kitchenette, sitting area, work desk and a bedroom. The gas station right behind our hotel is a convenient place to get water / snacks / other basic necessities. Hotel staff was very polite. They had a decent restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Things that lacked from our standpoint…..they did not have tea bags, the gym was very very basic (rusted equipment, hard on joints). I used it for one day and then decided to skip.
The city can be thought of in 2 parts : Lower Town which is alongside St Lawrence river, very quaint, has tons of artist galleries, cobblestone streets, the picture perfect Petit Champlain Street. And Upper Town which is fortified. The fortifications of Québec consist of 4 gates, 3 Martello towers, the Citadelle, and 4.6 km of ramparts, complete with cannons, which encircle Old Québec’s upper town.
Most of the attractions required us to walk up to upper Town (pretty steep hike). We walked almost 9 miles everyday and were pretty exhausted. We might consider staying in Upper Town if we go back (although Lower Town is much quieter and has a charm of its own)
On our first full day, we decided to take a trip to Montmorency Falls. We started our day with a good breakfast at the hotel. I am glad we did that as the round-trip to the Falls takes a good 4-5 hours and there is not much to eat there.
Bus 800 from Gare du Palais takes you all the way to the attraction. Five minute walk from the last stop was Manoir Montmorency. You have to pay $9/person entry fee to get inside the park. We did the Panoramic Circuit, stopping at various observation decks / lookout points, viewing the fall from different angles, walking along the suspension bridge, down 487 steps, along the promenade and taking the cable car ($15/person) back to the Manor. The park offers some adventure activities which we skipped because they had limited timings and we did not want to be time bound.
Right across our hotel was a Vegan restaurant called Don. We tried the Tostada Don which had Jackfruit mix on top of a Tostada, topped with pickled onions, avocado. This was my favorite. We also ordered the Bibimbap which lacked flavor. After dinner we walked around exploring night life. The city is very supportive of local artists. In every nook and corner you will find musicians playing different instruments, surrounded by people listening, dancing. Other street artists perform at Monument Samuel-De Champlain. After having walking almost 8 miles, we retired for the day.
Next day we started with breakfast at the hotel (that is Chander’s favorite part on vacation).
We walked around Lower Town starting with :
Québec City Mural – recounts the story of Québec City, weaving in visual allusions to its architecture and fortifications
Place Royale – this is where Samuel de Champlain founded the City of Québec in 1608. The area has buildings that combine French and British influences. You can pull up a chair outside The Smith and enjoy coffee in the charming atmosphere of the area
Night Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Catholic Church – Located in Place Royale, the church was nearly destroyed during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. By 1816, the church was fully restored. Today, the church is a National Historic Site and remains an important part of Old Québec.
We then walked through Petit Champlain Street. This was my favorite street and an absolute must-see. It is a picture-perfect / postcard-perfect street lined with boutiques, souvenir shops, cafes & ice-creme shops. Theres a store that sells fresh maple candy which seemed very popular with tourists. The street was decorated with lights and lanterns. From here you can take the funicular to Upper Town or you can take one of several staircases located at various spots in the city. The oldest staircase in Québec City, Escalier Casse-Cou is located here. You get a beautiful view of the street day and night from the top of the staircase. While walking this street we saw a Crepe place and decided to try that for breakfast the next day.
We continued our way to Upper Town. Sitting up-top is the iconic Fairmont hotel overlooking St. Lawrence River and Dufferin Terrace. The Monument Samuel-De Champlain is a popular spot for street performers who take turns and showcase several performances day & night to keep tourists entertained. We first stopped at Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral then walked around Rue du Trésor aka the Artists Street. It attracts a host of artists who display their work on the walls lining the narrow street. We had lunch at an outdoor Café-Terrasse La Nouvelle-France lined with green umbrellas. The ambience was great but the food was not worth it.
A stroll along rue Saint-Jean, rue Sant Dauphine and rue De Buade is a must for anyone visiting Québec City. Starting from centrally located Place D’Youville, a string of boutiques, restaurants, churches, and historic buildings create a unique and eclectic ambiance.
Chander saw this appetizing ice-cream photo and immediately wanted to dig into it. Chocolato Saint-Jean offered this soft swirl ice-cream dipped in a chocolate sauce of your choice. Being chocolate lovers, we opted for chocolate ice-cream dipped in 70% dark Noir, topped with peanuts. It was totally worth it. What I loved about the store was its ceiling. It was shaped in form of a chocolate slab with chocolate dripping which I thought was very creative.
Our evening exploration involved walking along Dufferin Terrace (named after Governor General Dufferin) which offers breathtaking views of St. Lawrence River, and Québec City’s Lower Town. The 425-metre long wooden promenade is a popular place where musicians and street entertainers perform. Located here is the iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac which looks magnificent during the day and night. There was a beautiful butterfly display made of flowers outside the hotel. Inside the hotel was a beautiful staircase lined with flowers. Fun facts about The Château Frontenac:
- Is said to be the world’s most photographed hotel.
- If you went jogging in the hotel, you’d find a total of 12 kilometres of hallways.
- There are close to 2,000 windows with spectacular views of the St. Lawrence River, the city and the interior gardens.
- The executive chef collects some 650 litres of honey every year from 4 hives in the Château’s private rooftop garden.
At the far end of the Dufferin Terrace is a staircase with several landings to get to the Governors’ promenade, which runs along the Citadell and leads to the Plains of Abraham.
The Citadelle, located atop Cap Diamant was erected between 1820 and 1850. It is a national historic site of Canada since 1980 and is star shaped (clearly seen from above). Inside the Citadelle is The Musée Royal 22e Régiment with one of the largest military collection in Canada covering over 300 years of history. After walking close to 10 miles we decided to have dinner and get some rest. Dinner was at La Pizz located at Royal Place. Very slow service and totally not worth it.
Exhausted fo the previous day, we woke up pretty late. Headed over to Crêperie et Cie 5.0 for breakfast. Since we arrived late, they were out of Salmon. We both had the Jardin crepe which had arugula, cherry tomatoes and pesto. I think I could have eaten two of those. Don’t miss the mural on the adjoining wall depicting milestones in the history of Cap-Blanc, Québec City’s working-class waterfront neighbourhood, from the beginnings of New France until the present day.
We then walked to Parliament Hill in Upper Town, just outside the fortifications. It’s home to a number of government buildings and the famous Plains of Abraham. The Parliament Building was erected between 1877 and 1886.Its architecture, inspired by the Louvre Palace. Fontaine de Tourny (fountain) stands in front of the Parliament Building, with its 43 water jets and sculpted figures.
Close to the Parliament Building is Observatoire de la Capitale, tallest building in the city and is the best place to see Québec City from above. Standing at the top of the observatory at 221 meters above sea level, you’ll have a stunning panoramic view of Old Québec, the St. Lawrence River, the Plains of Abraham, Île d’Orléans, and even the city fortifications. Next to it is the mural commemorating Québec City’s 400 years of rich political history. It depicts the façade of Québec’s Parliament Building and various individuals who—each in his or her own way—left their mark on the province’s political development.
The Battlefields Park was our next stop. it includes the Plains of Abraham, was created in 1908 to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of Québec. The Joan of Arc Garden located there has over 150 plant and flower varieties on dazzling display. For our route home we took the Cap-Blanc stairs which is the longest wooden staircase in the city consisting of 398 steps, a very popular spot for fitness enthusiasts. After getting off the steps, we walked along the river back to our hotel.
We were quite exhausted with all the walking. Decided to spend the last evening walking along the riverfront, saw some street performances and went back to Don for a final celebratory meal to end the fantastic trip. It was a great European experience just two hours from home.
Our Walking and attraction map: