Quebec is an amazing historic city with great architecture, tasty food, and captivating views. But remember there are so many steps, hills, and its winter in north Canada… meaning it snows a lot.
1. Self Guided Walking Tour of the City
Dufferin Terrace
The boardwalk along the Lawrence river that was developed in 1838. It provides amazing view of the Chateau Frontenac, the river, and Old Quebec. Beneath boardwalk are the remains of Fort. Louis, and there of skylights in the floor of the board walk where you can see perserved elements of the fort. They offer tours, but not during the time were spent there due to the weather.
Place Royale, Rue Notre Dame, and Notre-Dame-des-Victories-Catholic Church
This beautiful stone street is lined with pubs, coffee shops, historic statues, and the center piece is Place Royale with the Notre-Dame-des-Victories, a church dating to 1688 shortly after the first settlement of the French.
Quebec City Mural & Fresque du Petit-Champlain Mural
A wonder picture of what Old Quebec would have looked like at the time of the first settlement. This is wondrous and takes up the whole side of the building it is painted on.
Breakneck Steps (Escalier Casse-Cou)
The steps provide a picturesc view onto Rue Petit Champlain. The were built in 1635 and show no real signs of wear due to all the snow over the centuries.
Other Activities: Shop along Rue du Petit Champlain, Overlook the Lawrence River, Walk along Rue Saint-Louis
2. Take the Funiculaire du Vieux-Quebec
This electric cable car will take you from the lower street of Rue Petit Champlain to Dufferin Terrace. It is much better than hiking back up the many (and I do mean many) stairs to get back to the terrace. It is a very nice scenic view of the river. Two notes: it is cash only, so you need a few Canadian Dollars and it closes periodically for maintenance so plan ahead.
3. Visit Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac
Beautiful Castle hotel that is essential attraction that you must visit when going to Quebec City. You can stay at this hotel, but is very experience and many people said it was not worth the cost. I agree with this, you can still tour the Hotel, eat at the restaurants, shop at the cute boutiques, and just hangout in it’s breath taking lobby.
4. Tobogin SLide (Les Glissade de la Terrasse)
I sadly was not able to experience this slide due to the weather, it snowed 12inches the first night we were there, it took a day to clean the slide because it is done with shovels, and the other day it was a high of 10 degrees F, not the best for a slide. But looks so much fun I recommend it.
5. Try Quebec Cusine
Le Buche: Rustic restaurant with Quebec style food. One of there signature items is a deconstructed shepherds pie that was amazing. They also have maple candy over snow, such a fun shack.
Le Continential: This flambe experience was one of the highlights of the trip. The flambe is done table side so you see the chef making your protein from start to finish. I like variety and while they did not have a surf and turf option, simply asked for it and was able to get a few of the giant shrimp with a nice steak. And don’t forget the sauce! They make an amazing sauce for your protein using the flambe sauce and cream, I could have licked that plate. I also tried escargot for the first time, fun experience. One of the more expensive meals that I’ve had in a while, but so worth it.
Bistro St-Malo: This was a recommendation from our hotel and while I would not have picked it out on my own, it was great. The vibe was cute and fun, but the food was even better. This was the first time I had duck (on Poutine) and rabbit (roasted as a main dish). They were both very tasty and I highly recommend.
Chic Shack: Excellent burger spot, with great milk shakes, poutine, and cute drinks.
La Maison Smith Cafe: Local chain coffee shop with amazing croissants and smooth coffee.
6. Visit the Plains of Abraham and La Citadelle de Quebec
History of French and British Battles around Quebec City. The plains are hilly but beautiful and offer great views of the city. We toured the Plains of Abraham Muesum and learn a lot of the history of Quebec.
7. Go Dog Sledding
This is a must do activity while in Quebec. It was the thing I was most excited for and it did not disappoint me in any way. There are so many options for dog sledding and some places treat the dogs and people better than others. Everyone I spoke to said Secret Nordic was one of the best place. They have over 80 dogs have rides 3 times a day during the winter. The trails were beautiful, with tons of trees, turns, and hills. We even saw moose tracks!
8. Visit Montmorency Falls
I was excited about seeing this amazing waterfall that is taller than Niagara Fall, but it was much better than expected. With your ticket you get admission to the top and bottom part of the fall. During the winter the falls partially freeze and so does the pool of water below so you can walk our on the snow covered ice and see the falls even closer. It was breath taking.
9. Stay at the Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel)
If you’re headed to Quebec City you might as well take the 35 minute ride outside of the city to see the Hotel De Glace, it is the only Ice Hotel in North America. You can just visit or you can stay the night in one of their rooms, of course I had to experience staying the night and it was an amazing experience. If you don’t stay the night it is still a great place to visit to see the chapel, where people actually get married, the ice bar to great a drink poured in a block of ice, and tour the rooms. The theme of the rooms this year was, what happens in the night (lots of dream related rooms). That’s right you can tour the rooms from 10AM to 8PM because hotel checkin for guest is not until 9PM. For more details on staying at the Ice Hotel see this article:
10. Stay at Valcartier Resort
The resort was so fun and had options for the whole family. I should mention that the Ice Hotel is apart of the Valcartier resort and Hotel. For more on staying at the hotel see this article:
Bora Parc (Indoor Water park): The fairly large indoor water park offered many slide, tubes, a lazy river, a wave pool, kids area, and a hot tub. Enough to keep you occupied for a couple of hours. There was also a snack bar connected to it in case you get hungry.
Aroma Spa Nordic Spa: One for the best surprises of the trips was that I purchased the package that included to nights at the Nordic Spa for two. A Nordic spa is has aspects of hot and cold, meaning there is a hot tub and heated pool outside in the snow. Not only that but there was an Aroma Therapy steam room, cold bath, and sauna. This combination of activities made for a very relaxing couple of hours. When you arrive at the spa inside the hotel, you are giving a locker to store all your items at no addition cost. There are also a lot of indoor rooms to just lay out and relax in comfy chairs.
Winter Play Center (Snow Tubing): There a 24 tubing trails on this resort, each offering different levels of extremeness. But so fun and much easier that skiing. Only note is be prepared to walk, because the trails are very spread out.
