Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

September 15 (Sun) Saint Charles, IL - Quebec City, Quebec, CA

Travel Day

Pretty easy travel day. Flew Air Canada from Chicago to Montreal then to Quebec City. Flight out of O'hare was delayed about and hour but luckily, the layover in Montreal was long enough and we caught our connnecting flight. We are staying downtown so we decided to not rent a car for this trip and plan to walk the city.

Dinner at Limproviste

We walked to the Old Quebec City region and had dinner at Limproviste, a small quaint restaurant. A signature dish of Quebec is their Poutine (french fries in brown gravy and melted cheese. So, we had to try it. They actually serve this as an entree. So we ordered that and Wapiti (Elk) medallions in cranberry sauce with mashed potatoes. Food was very good, atmosphere we very nice. Service was fast but, laid back. Yum.

Lodging - Hilton

All five nights. Downtown Hilton. Nice hotel and room. The city workers do like to get started early in the morning with their hammering and digging.

September 16 (Mon)

Weather Woke up to cloudy and 54Deg. Planned high of 63. No rain forecasted.

Just did the breakfast buffet at the hotel before heading out for a day of walking the Old Quebec fortified city.

We headed to Old Quebec. The Old section of the city was fortified against attack from both New England and Britain in the 17 and 1800s and was a fortified Citadel surrounded by a wall around the perimeter. All the streets are steep as you head down closer to the water. You are always walking either up hill or down hill until you get to the water. As you can see from all the pictures, there are some very old parts of town still well preserved.

Among the stops and sites we saw were:
- The Parliament Building
- Plains De Abraham
- La Citadelle
- Petite - Champlain District
- Hotel Le Chateau Frontenac
- Musee' Du Fort Area(where we watched a historic video)
- Place Royale - Notre Dame Church
- Lots of interesting city streets with tons of cafe's and boutiques.

The city is very walkable BUT, it is all hills! At times, the streets got busy with lots of tour busses, especially around Musee De Fort area but, all were friendly. There were a few musician street performers at various spots singing french tunes (and one Roy Orbison) which was fun. The mix of french, english and various other languages as you walked the streets and all the old buildings and cobblestone streets gives it a very European feeling.

Late in the afternoon on our way back to our hotel we stopped for about an hour and watched a few short films at an outdoor film festival.

As we exited the Old Quebec section and headed back to our hotel the streets were pretty packed with lots of buses and cars so, just like every city, they have congestion and rush hour traffic. Glad we were on foot.

Old Quebec District

Parliament Building

Plains De Abraham

La Citadelle

Petite - Champlain District

Hotel Le Chateau Frontenac

Musee' Du Fort Area

Place Royale - Notre Dame Church

City Streets

The weather stayed cool and overcast and was pleasant all day. Was a very nice day in Old Quebec.

Dinner at Les Freres De la Cote

We walked back down to Old Quebec for dinner at one of the many small Bistros. Kathryn had a Cesear Salad and a Liver Entree. I had a burger. All was good.

Had a long and interesting conversation with a couple from England next to us. Talked alot about travel but also touched on some political topics. The Brits are hurting badly with their messy exit from the EU and even said they might want to move to the U.S. We reminded them, we hare having some of our own serious political and social problems in the U.S. these days.

The food, service and atmosphere were good.

September 17 (Tue)

Weather 56 in the morning only a high of 59, windy 10-15mph, mostly cloudy

Ate a late breakfast in the room. Kathryn just picked up some yogurt and fruit for breakfast since we have the Culinary walking tour this afternoon.

Culinary Walking Tour

Walked backed down to the visitors center across from the Chateau Frontenac Hotel to meet the tour.

Jules was our first stop sampled three cheeses and 3 zambuchas

LeBuche was our second stop (a "Sugar Shack" which are known for their comfort food). Sampled wine, pea soup (chickpeas) and smoked salmon

Tournebroche was our third stop. Had wine, wild boar pate', shrimp croquette, maple fudge and honey right from a honeycomb.

Le-Local was our fourth stop. Had a couple of tiny crepes and some tea.

Augustine Monestary was our last stop. This was in the modernized Augustine monastery. They built a museum, hotel and restaurant commemorating the Augustine Sisters who came to run a hospital and all girls school in the new country. We got a little history as we sat on benches where they hold silent breakfast each morning (yes you eat in silence as the sisters did). We samples hot tea and a chocolate torte.

Our guide was fun and informative as we walked to each restaurant and talked about the history of the region. It was a good tour although, mostly, the portions were tiny. But, still a good outing.

Dinner at Aux Anciens Canadiens

This restaurant is in the oldest remaining house in Quebec City dating back to the mid 1600s. We both had a type of meat pie. The meal was good.

September 18 (Wed)

Weather looks perfect for hiking. Sunny, in the 60s and a slight breeze.

Had breakfast at Le Buche. This was one of the stops on the culinary tour yesterday and we liked the breakfast menu.

We then stopped at a small deli and had sandwiches made to take to the Park.

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency Park and Waterfall

T0ok a short taxi ride to the park (about 20 min).

The water fall at the park boasts to be 30m higher than Niagara Falls. It is an impressive waterfall. There is a suspension bridge that passes directly over the falls so, I got some cool pictures and videos from the bridge looking directly down at the falls.

We then took the "panarama stair case" (about 500 steps) down to the bottom of the falls. The climb back up the steps got your heart pumping!.

After that we had a nice picnic lunch and then took the only hike in the park up the Monmorency river. Nice hike.

We decided to take the bus back to Quebec City instead of the taxi. The trip was about 45 minutes with all the stops but, it was fun to see the small city and suburbs around Quebec on our way back to our hotel. And cheaper too...

Dinner at Saint Patricks Irish Pub

We walked back into Old Quebec and ate dinner outside, cool but very nice under the heater.

On our way back to the hotel the theater was playing Forest Gump on the outdoor screen so, we sat and watched for about a half an hour. Temp was down to 45 deg so we did not stay for the whole movie.

September 19 (Thu)

Weather is another perfect day for hiking. 60s, sunny and a light breeze.

Had breakfast at Paillard. Great place for baked bread, breakfast pastries and good sandwiches. We also had sandwiches made for lunch so we could eat them at the park.

Parc de la Jacques Cartier

Rented a car and drove about 45 min North of the city to the Park. Very little traffic. The trees are starting to change and the countryside reminded us both of Vermont. Lot's of rolling hills filled with trees changing color in the early fall season. Nice!

Les Cascades Hike

The first hike was all hills which after a few days walking the hills in Quebec City (I don't think there is a flat street to be found) and ' the panoramic staircase at Montmorency yesterday, I was kinda hoping for a flatter hike. No problem tho. The hike ran along a nice brook and very few people on the trail. Nice Hike.

La Tourbier Hike

We had our sandwiches for lunch before our second hike.

This hike was shorter and flatter through the woods pareallel to the Cartier river. Had the trail all to ourselves. Nice Hike.

Dinner at Chez Jules

Walked back to Old Quebec for dinner. The night was warmer than yesterday so enjoyed another dinner outside. Amusingly, the party next to us was a family of 6 adults. Kathryn said it looked like a Saturday Night Live skit. The whole meal all six had their cell phones out (some even with extra chargers) and were all watching videos and such, turning up the volume to be heard over the other five with their cell phones. Nice dinner.

September 20 (Fri)

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Weather 60s and mostly cloudy headin for a high of 70. We have had good luck with the weather.

The view from our Hotel

Old Quebec one more time

Our flight was not until 5pm so, we had a good half day before we needed to get to the airport. We headed back to Paillard for an early lunch then again walked the streets of Old Quebec. We stopped in at two church's we had seen the first day.. both are named Notre Damn actually. Then, we made are way ALL the way down to the water to visit the Museum of Civilization. Had a really nice area on the history of Quebec City but, infortunately, some of the other areas were closed for construction so we missed alot of what they had to offer.

Notre Dame Des Quebec

Notre Dame Des Victories

After the musuem it was time to head to the airport so we headed back to our hotel, caught a taxi, and had an on time direct flight back to Chicago.

Home Sweet Home.

Summary

Overall a very nice (but short) vacation. People were all very friendly. It was fun to hear all the French being spoken but, all are bilingual so, no problem communicating. We both really enjoyed just walking everywhere and not having a car (but the one day). Although, this place is all HILLS. Be ready for it and wear comfortable shoes!

Walking Old Quebec

Learned a bit about the history of the City and Province which was fun. Old Quebec District is excellent, old world European feel, and ALL hills. Very walkable, very cool, very hilly. Stars: 4

Culinary Tour

This was a lot of fun and the food was good although some of the portions were really tiny. Ended going back to eat at two of the places later in the week. Stars: 3

Parc De La Chute-Montgomery and Waterfall

Walking directly over the falls on the bridge was really cool. Well worth a day trip. Stars: 4

Parc De La Jacques-Cartier

We enjoyed both hikes quite a bit. Easy drive to get there and very few people on the trails. Nice! Stars: 4

Food was great. Tons of places to eat, reasonable prices, great service. Stars: 4

Hotel Good accomodations. Super convenient to Old Quebec. A bit expensive for me. Stars: 4

Fact Sheets