While autumn officially started and gives typical autumn weather in Canada (lots of rain), it is a great time to share with you a beautiful, historic, and romantic city to visit in Canada; Québec!!
Our trip to Quebec City was a surprise for me by my hubby. Until 1,5 hours before we arrived in Quebec City, I wasn’t certain what our destination would be. After a drive of more than 7 hours, we arrived in Quebec City. We brought our baggage to our Airbnb and went for an evening walk in the center.
Quebec City reminded me right away of the old and romantic cities in Europe. Something I didn’t see before in Canada. That evening I already knew that Quebec City would become my favorite city in Canada 😊
Quebec City in short In 1608 the French Samuel de Champlain founded a settlement for fur trade in the place what we now call Québec (city). He adopted the name “Kébec” of the Algonquin people. Which means “where the river narrows”.
Québec is the capital city of the province of Quebec, also referred to as Quebec City in English. With around 532,000 it is way smaller than Montreal that has over 1,7 million citizens. Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America from the European settlement. Like the rest of Quebec, French is the first language of most Québécois.
Château Frontenac, Dufferin Terrace, and Pierre-Dugua-De-Mons Terrace We woke up early in the morning to see Old Québec with sunrise and of course with fewer tourists. The area where Old Québec is located is called the Historic District of Old Quebec. This area is a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985.
The first place we visited was Château Frontenac. This hotel is Québec's most famous landmark and one of the most photographed hotels in the world. It looks a lot like a castle from a fairytale! 😊
Château Frontenac was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1892-1893 and was designed by Bruce Price. Château Frontenac is named after Louis de Buade, Compte de Frontenac and governor of New France between 1672 to 1682 and from 1689 to 1698. The idea to build a luxury hotel came from William Van Horne, who was the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, to promote luxury train travel.
After wandering around on a pedestrian lane in front of Château Frontenac it was time to go to the Dufferin Terrace. This terrace is located next to Château Frontenac and overlooks the Saint Lawrence River. The Terrace is a popular spot. In summer you can find here live music and lots of people.
We walked to the end of Dufferin Terrace to reach a small park and stairs. From near Pierre-Dugua-De-Mons Terrace, you have a beautiful overview of the city and the St. Lawrence River. The Château, the clouds, and the park in front of it, who doesn’t think that Quebec City looks magical?!
Bakery Baguette & Chocolat
If there is one thing, I missed the last months (except for my family and friends) it is good strong nice coffee! After walking around and shooting pictures we were looking for a nice bakery spot and we ended up at Baguette & Chocolat. I ordered in French (or at least I tried), and we both were so happy with the delicious coffee and almond croissants. Hmmm!
Montmorency Falls
After visiting the old center, we continued to Montmorency Falls. The falls were only a 15-minute drive from Old Québec. We drove up the hill to go to the top of the waterfall. After buying a ticket we walked towards the bridge above the waterfall.
The Montmorency Falls is 83 meters high, which is 30 meters higher than Niagara Falls. It is a spectacular sight to see the water of the Saint Laurence river coming down the hill. We walked towards the start of the panoramic staircase which has 487 steps down next to the Falls.
Dark clouds filled the sky and the wind got stronger, but we got lucky 😊 the sun came through after some drizzle giving it a spectacular light.
Île d'Orléans
Near the Falls you have the Island Île d'Orléans which can be reached by one bridge on the north side of the Island. Île d'Orléans has around 6900 citizens and during summer this amount is almost twice as high due to tourists and seasonal workers on the farms. We went for a drive on the Island and stopped at the Parc Maritime de Saint-Laurent. Interesting small museum about the Maritime history on the Island and located in a beautiful location next to the river.
Umbrella Alley
After a quick nap, we went to the Umbrella Alley in the old center. It got dark quickly, but we made it on time! After taking several photos of the old streets with Château Frontenac in the background it was time for an Italian dinner. Nice all these European vibes that I missed so much 😉
Museum of civilization
The next morning we went to the Museum of Civilization. The museum is located in the old city and had several exhibits about different subjects. The main reason for us to visit the museum was the exhibit about the Maya civilization. The exhibit was informative and the setup and design were amazing!
We also visit the exhibit about Québec's history and then it was time to leave. We stopped at Baguette & Chocolat for delicious coffee and croissants and pain au chocolat.
With a bag of macarons and a big smile, we left Québec City.
Au revoir! 😊
Nicole
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