24 HOURS IN QUEBEC CITY
Quebec City, the cobblestoned capital of Quebec flanked by the St. Lawrence River, was founded by European settlers in 1608. Visit for the food, the beautiful streets and views, and the quaint energy that reflects the city’s French history and culture!
Start your day by checking into the Château Frontenac, not only a beautiful place to stay, but also an iconic Quebec City landmark in its own right. Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2018, Le Château Frontenac is named after the French governor Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, who was instrumental to New France from 1672 to 1698. His coat-of-arms is actually displayed throughout the hotel! Notable visitors include King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace of Monaco, Ronald Reagan, Charles de Gaulle, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Le Château Frontenac
If you don’t have time to sit down for breakfast, stop by Paillard for the best moist chocolate chip banana muffin that certainly I’ve ever had in my life, or an almond croissant. If you can dedicate a little more time for breakfast, take a walk over to Le Buffet de L’Antiquaire, a cute little spot.
As you walk to breakfast, stop by the Place Royale, where the first permanent French settlement in North America was cemented. The Place Royale and the Petit-Champlain district allow you to take a peek into what Quebec looked like over 400 years ago.
After some breakfast and exploring, visit the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency to observe an 83-metre high waterfall, overlooking the St. Lawrence River, Ile d’Orleans, and Quebec City. You can take a cable car from one side of the falls to the other, walk across a suspension bridge, or even zip line across (check the website for operating times).
After your breathtaking waterfall experience, take a cab ride across the river to Ile d’Orleans. Known as the “Garden of Quebec,” it is a mostly rural community replete with apple orchards, wineries, and other farms that produce things like strawberries and potatoes.
views from Île d’Orléans
Head back into the city and walk through Battlefields Park, Canada’s first national historic park. Notable gems of the park are the Plains of Abraham, created in 1908 to mark the 300th anniversary of Quebec’s founding, and the Joan of Arc Garden, complete with over 150 types of plants and flowers. Battlefields Park hosted important battles hundreds of years ago, and the city’s defensive system including gates, towers, ramparts, and the Citadelle, that still stand today.
When dinner time rolls around, dine at Aux Anciens Canadiens, a super cozy restaurant serving traditional Quebec cuisine in an old home. CJ and I both had beef wellington and split fries and maple syrup pie. For something a little more casual, eat at the rustic La Buche. I had the pork chop with potatoes (they were absolutely delicious) and CJ and I tried iced cider! I would highly recommend both places.
Whenever you go, there is no doubt that you will soak up the beauty, culture, and taste of Quebec City!
