Do you like quaint places? Does the french language sound dreamy and romantic to you? Is maple syrup one of your favorite food groups? Well boy do I know the place for you! Tucked within one of Canada's eastern Provence's is a little pocket of European goodness named Quebec City. We had the privilege of spending a weekend in this charming city and I hope that sharing our experience will help you to plan a québécois adventure of your own!
Arrival Day
We stayed right outside the edge of Veux-Quebec in the Hilton Quebec. The location was ideal because it was super close to the old town, but detached from it so it was easily accessible by car. Of course if you can afford to stay at the ever so famous and luxurious Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, then you definitely should. I am just not quite there in life yet...
We arrived at our hotel right before sunset and because we were starving after our six hour drive from upstate New York, we decided to go do some exploring and find a place to eat! Wandering around old town at dusk was absolute magic. The city began to light up and the european charm of the place really shines through. We happened upon a wonderful crepe restaurant with live music named Le Petit Chateau and decided to give it a go. It was delicious! After some more wandering around and taking tons of pictures, we retired back to our hotel to get some much needed R&R.
Day 2
There is no other proper way to start a day than with a good breakfast! I searched the internet to find a suitable place and the internet did not disappoint. We ended up at a place called La Buche and it was DELICIOUS. I only wish we could have tried more things on the menu because it all looked amazing.
Quebec City's old town is divided into two separate parts: The upper town and the lower town. The previous night we had only seen the upper town, so we thought it would be a grand idea to venture downwards. We had a little but of trouble figuring out how to do that, but eventually found the funicular to get down. It costs $3 CAD one way, and lasts only 60 seconds. There are stairs you can take for free, but my sister takes a million years to descend stairs so it was worth it for us.
Maybe it's because we had just went to Disney World and Universal Studios, but this part of Quebec City definitely felt like an amusement park version of an old french village. It was gorgeous, but packed with people and tour groups. It also does not feel very residential, there were tons of shops and restaurants that all seemed mainly for tourists. This is just my first impression of course, and probably not entirely accurate. It is lovely though, and for sure worth seeing.
After exploring this cute little part of town, we decided to take a journey across the St. Lawrence river. There are several options to do this at varying price points, and of course me being the penny pincher that I am, we took the cheapest option which is the ferry. It costs $3.60 CAD to cross one way and takes about 12 minutes. Why do the ferry you ask? Because the views are iconic! It was a pleasant ride and a gorgeous view, so what more could you ask for?
After our adventure on "high seas" the perfect thing to top it off was some poutine! You cannot come to the provence of Quebec without trying Poutine, I'm pretty sure that's law. We just stopped at one of the restaurants along the river, which was probably a tourist trap, but when you are tired and hungry you sometimes do not give AF. It was delicious of course, because you simply cannot mess up french fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds.
After some more walking around and taking in Old Quebec, it was finally nap time and we headed back to the Hotel.
Emerging from slumber, our desire for more scrumptious French-Canadian cuisine drove us out of our hotel room in search of dinner. I did some more searching on the internet and found a lovely restaurant right down the street from our hotel called Le Hobbit. We got some french onion soup, which the waiter did not think I could finish by myself for some reason? But I quickly proved him wrong.
Day 3
For our last day in Quebec City, we checked out of our lovely hotel and ventured away from city life. Well, only a hop skip and a jump away to the land of the Île d'Orléans. It's a lush island full of beautiful farm land growing all sorts of gorgeous produce that feeds the city next door. We went to a black current farm called Cassis Monna & Filles. This place is a hidden gem and a definite must see! They have an incredible restaurant where everything on the menu features black current. They make everything homemade there on the farm including liqueur, jams, salad dressings and so much more that they sell in a little shop below the restaurant. They even have a mini museum telling you about how they came to grow black current on the island and the process of making everything. It was one of the highlights of my entire trip!
After an incredible lunch and having way too much fun buying jam and tasting liqueur in the gift shop, we headed right across the bridge to Montmorency Falls. It was magical! You hike a bit up to the top and can walk across a suspension bridge at the very top of the falls. They also have zip lining across, which I did not try this time, but if I do go back, it is at the top of my list to try! There is another vantage point that the bottom of the falls which you can get to by walking down tons of stairs, a tram ride across, or by driving down and parking at the bottom.
As gorgeous as the falls were, it was time to move on to our next adventure and bring this perfect weekend in Quebec City to an end. I hope this post helps to give some inspiration on what to do in Quebec City and, as always, if you have any questions or recommendations please leave them in the comments below!
xo- Eva
