Quebec City is lovely with its cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture and fantastic food. 

At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never actually been there.

Next month I was planning to fly into Montreal then drive with my daughters to the famous walled city. There we would take a walking tour of the city, visit the waterfalls and do a little cheese tasting over a three week trip

That was the plan anyway. Before I lovingly pack away my itinerary, here’s an outline of what I’d planned and some ideas along the way. Someone might as well use them. Hopefully someday I’ll reschedule my trip as well:*

Quebec City

Every single person suggested staying within the walls of the Quebec City. Prices skyrocket there, so we decided to stay a ten minute walk away near cafes and restaurants. We planned to rent a car from the Montreal airport and drive to Quebec City, so having a place to park the car and make day trips was critical.

One tip was to visit le Petit Champlain, a section of the city filled with artisans, cafes and boutiques. I don’t usually follow restaurant recommendations as it’s often rather difficult to find a specific restaurant in a big city, but La Crepe Bretonnne might have been worth the effort. One evening we would take the Levis ferry to the little town across the river. While the town is evidently not interesting, the view of Quebec City as the sun is setting makes the trip worthwhile. 

Taking a walking tour of almost any city helps with bearings, and I was debating between Tours Voir Quebec and Cicerone Tours. Both are highly rated on TripAdvisor and both included history and food. 

Beyond the big cities

While Quebec City has amazing architecture and is stunning on its own (according to pictures) I was particularly interested in the surrounding areas: Montmorency Falls, Mauricie Park, Canyon Saint Anne, Ile d’Orleans and Baie-Saint-Paul. The first three are supposed to be incredibly picturesque natural attractions for hiking, wildlife viewing and just seeing cool waterfalls. 

Ile d’Orleans is a small agricultural island adjacent to Quebec City.  The island itself is the home to several quaint communities, yet the main attraction is gastronomy. Cheese, flour, wine, berries, apples and potatoes are all grown or produced there.

Baie-Saint-Paul is a quaint town about an hour north of Quebec Cityalong the Saint Lawrence River. The town has plenty of museums, artists and pottery plus nearby there is a Laiterie Charlevoix – a cheese outlet with a museum about the history of cheese making and plenty of frommage to sample and purchase. 

Montreal

Returning to Montreal we would have spent a good bit of time underground. Montreal Souterrain – Montreal’s Underground City – is its own world of 20 walkable miles. It contains a shopping center, a food hall, an ice rink, a section of the Berlin Wall, an art museum and plenty of murals. Above ground Olympic Stadium has fantastic views of the city. Biodome houses five different ecosystems. Montreal’s Botanical Garden is adjacent and worth a walk through if the weather is comfortable, at least from pictures. The Biosphere Museum, dedicated to the environment, looks a bit like a clear version of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth from the exterior. It’s located on Saint Helen’s island, where it could also be fun to either rent a bike or visit La Ronde operated by Six Flags. 

While I’m a bit disappointed that Covid-19 has foiled our travel plans for 2020, I’m also taking this time to save for a bigger trip in the near future and consolidate my many itinerary ideas onto this site so that others can access ideas for their own future travels.

* Air Canada has two options for cancelling a flight: received a refund for the fare (minus U.S. Transportation tax and other fees) or receive a 24-month voucher for the full amount. Considering that the former is about 1/3 the amount of the latter, I’ll be taking the voucher. It’s my understanding that this is consistent with other airlines; accept the loss in taxes and fees or commit to traveling again.