Quebec City: Romantic World Heritage City

Quebec City is historical, theatrical, and romantic.  The city celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2008.  You can feel the city's history just by walking on cobblestoned streets.  You might feel as though you were part of the theater scene when you interact with a street performer or guide in costume.  When you see a beautiful view of the city at twilight and night, you will enjoy its romantic ambience, even by yourself.  (You might wish to have someone to share the experience in this city, though.) 

In my opinion, food in Quebec City is the best in Canada although it is fatty.  Bread and pastry were good (thanks to French people!)  A traditional meat pie, pea soup, and maple syrupt pie were so good.  I was not particularly into meat balls and baked beans.  Among the restaurants that I visited, I like Casse-Crepe Breton the best.  I went there around 3 o'clock, but there were people waiting for a line.  I did not have to wait as long as many other people because I was alone and had a seat at a counter.  However, people in a group had to wait for a while.  Some of them looked upset.  However, it was worth waiting.  The crepe was tasty and fulfilling.  Each crepe was made after an order was taken.  You can choose ingredients to make your own crepe.  I felt that menu choices at this restaurant were healthy, including freshly squeezed juices.  In addition, the prices were reasonable.  This was the best crepe I ever tasted, because the crepe was not too soft and a little crispy at the edges.  This restaurant may be suitable for solo travelers.

Well, I have to mention one more place even though this is not a fancy restaurant.  A market called "Marche du Vieux Port" was a good place to visit and nibble good local products.  This farmer's market is located near the train station and Parks Canada discovery center in Lower Town.  There are many ready-to-go food and a few cafes.  I had delicious free samples of cheese, wines, maple products, and apple ciders.  Many other local products, such as ham and pastries, could be tasted, as you wish.  I entered the market to find a good ice wine.  However, all I found there was ice ciders, a.k.a. ice apple wines.  Of course, I tasted them.  They were sweet and good.  In addition, maple wines that I tasted were good.  Despite overly indulging myself in wines, I could not find a bottle of ice wine at the market.  I finally found it at the duty-free shop in the Montreal international airport.  (The Marche du Vieux Port site is available only in the French language).

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Lower Town (Basse-Ville):

In my opinion, the main attraction of the Lower Town is the historic Petit Champlain district which is located at the bottom of the funicular or breakneck stairs.  The Petit Champlain has many boutiques, galleries, and restaurants.  Beside, this district is just fun to walk and take a picture.  Architectures and wall murals in the Lower Town shows the history of Old Quebec. 

In addition, you can take a ferry trip from the port near the Petit Champlain district.  You can see a spectacular skyline of the fortified city from water at an affordable price.  

Lastly, for your souvenir hunting, do not forget to stop by Marche du Vieux Port.  This farmer's market will help you satisfy your appetite as well.

Upper Town (Haute-Ville):

The Upper Town accommodates political and religious institutions at the top of Cape Diamond, although it is developed later than the Lower Town where many merchants and artisans were settled along the river.  The symbol of the Upper Town, or Quebec City, is Fairmont Le Château Frontenac.  This grand hotel dominates the city's skyline.  It also offers a guided interior tour where you usually cannot access.  A guide plays a role of a character from the late 19th century.  I have enjoyed this theatrical tour, but some may find it a bit cheesy.  If you stay at this luxurious hotel, you may not need this guided tour.  If you stay at a different hotel and like a theater experience, you may enjoy this tour. 

Regardless whether you take the guided tour, you should walk along the Dufferin Terrace (Terrasse Dufferin) near the hotel.  This boardwalk gives a magnificent view of Saint Lawrence river.  In summer, you may enjoy entertainment provided by street performers with nice breeze coming from the water.  At night, it also gives you a light-up view of the city along the river.  

West of the walls:

I visited two major attractions at the west of the walled city:

• The Citadelle of Quebec
• Parliament Hill including Parliament Building 

I wondered whether I should visit the Citadelle, the military installation.  I decided to go because I could see the military ceremony of the Changing of the Guard only during the summer.  It was a long ceremony.  Kids may be bored.  Honestly, I like the British version of the ceremony better than the Canadian version of it, but I would not visit the Citadelle without this ceremony.  A regimental goat, Batisse, never seen in Britain, adds some interest to the ceremony.  A guided tour after the ceremony was so-so.  I do not care much about arms, uniforms, and medals.  In my opinion, the highlight of the tour was overlooking the Quebec City skyline from the fortification of the Citadelle.  It was a great view!  However, I could not visit the overlook without a guide.  In the Citadelle, visitors must follow a tour guide, (probably for the security reasons).  I think that the Citadelle ticket (10 dollars at that time) would be too overpriced for just a guided tour if I did not have the Changing of Guard ceremony. 

The Parliament Hill district is close to the Citadelle.  The district has a beautiful French-style Parliament Building and gardens.  It is interesting to see just the outside of the Parliament Building.  However, you can go inside the building by taking a free guided tour.  I booked the tour first entering the left wing (entrance 3) of the Parliament Building.  Prior to the tour, I decided to explore the gardens and the street called Grande Allee where I saw fancy restaurants and Victorian buildings.  It was a nice walk!   It was also a nice surprise to find a few inuksuks in the garden, which became famous due to the Vancouver Olympic game.  I might be wrong, but you would probably see enough about Grande Allee if you reach a chimney-looking stone church.  After the church, I did not see anything much. 

Anyway, the guided tour was interesting.  I saw beautiful interior and learned some history.  However, the tour was a little bit stricter than I expected it.  Of course, I had to present the ID and go through a metal detector.  In addition, a tour guide told me when to move, when to take photos, and when to listen.  I guess they want to make sure that nothing strange or dangerous will happen.  In addition, I felt the tour was a bit shorter (maybe less than 30 minutes) partially because I could not see the Legislative Council Room that was being used.  Regardless, it is a tour of the governmental building and free of charge.  So, you can join the tour when you have some time.  Finishing the trip, I later learned that a library next to the Parliament Building was recommended by visitors.  You may want to visit the library which is open to public and free.

Suburbs:

I had one extra day in Quebec City, so I decided to go to the Montmorency Falls.  I had three options to reach there: 1) taking a bus, 2) taking a tour, and 3) renting a car.  I checked the tours, but they seemed to stop many shops before the falls.  Renting a car was expensive.  In addition, the parking fee was required.  So, the option 1 was my choice.  It took me approximately 1 hour, including the wait, to reach the Montmorency park surrounding the waterfalls by bus.  At the park, I asked a lady walking with her dog about a direction of the falls.  She told me that she could not speak English.  It was refreshing to be reminded that French speaking people are dominant in the Quebec province because it barely happened to me in Quebec City.  Anyway, she kindly told me how to reach the waterfalls after I used a body language and the French term of the waterfall "chute". 

The Montmorency Falls were spectacular.  The Montmorency Falls are surprisingly 1.5 times taller than the Niagara Falls.  So, it was impressive to see the water dropping the basin.  Despite a long trip, I felt lucky to use the public transportation because I did not have to walk the staircase or ride an expensive cable car to reach where I was.  At the top of the waterfalls, I enjoyed walking across a suspension bridge and around the park.  In addition, it was easy to walk down the stair to have different views of the falls.  I wanted to ride a cable car before I arrived at the Montmorency Falls.  However, many people seemed to wait for a ride when I reached there.  I did not want to be stuck to the side of the car where I could not see the falls.  In addition, I may not be able to take good photos of the waterfalls from the crowded car, so I did not take a cable car ride.  I do not know whether I made a good choice, but I felt it was good enough for me to explore the Montmorency Falls without using a cable car.  If I go there during the winter time, I might take a cable car to closely see frozen waterfalls.  In addition, it should be warm inside the cable car. 

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I stayed for three nights at Auberge Saint Louis.  This small hotel was conveniently located at the heart of Quebec City.  I could easily access many attractions by walk.  It was a good value for its location and the room that I got.  The rate for a room with a shared bathroom was only 79 dollars per night.  The room was small, but cozy and clean.  It was located at the top floor, like an attic room.  I liked it because I felt as though I were a main character of the children's book, such as "Heidi, Girl of the Alp".  It has a cable TV, a sink, and a good view from the room window.  In addition, the breakfast was included.  For the breakfast, I had to walk to the restaurant called Le Petit Chateau next to Chateau Frontenac.  The breakfast there was excellent.  Besides, the restaurant offers a few breakfast choices so that each day I had a different breakfast.  I really like this hotel, but the only complaint I have is no elevator.  The stair was small and narrow.  The cheaper the room is, the upper the room becomes.  I was glad that I did not bring a big luggage.  I wondered how people carried a huge suitcase to their room when I saw it at the front desk.    

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To Quebec City:

I traveled between Quebec City and Montreal using a coach bus: Orleans Express.  I first planned to fly, but I was glad to choose a bus instead of an airplane.  There are two reasons:  1) Easy access from both downtown areas, and 2) Enjoyable sceneries.  Coach terminal stations in both Montreal and Quebec City are located near the hotels where I stayed.  On the other hand, airports in both cities are away from their main attractions.  In addition, you can see the sceneries on bus.  Especially, a returning coach ride to Montreal gave me a last chance to have close-up views of the Chateau Frontenac along with St. Lawrence River. 

You must wonder why the train was not a viable option for me.  Both train and bus takes about 3 hours.  Sometimes train offers great deals for those who book a ticket earlier or at the last minute.  The train usually costs a little bit more expensive than the bus, although they were not much different.  My reason was simple.  The train station in Montreal was not as close to the hotel where I stayed as the bus station.  In addition, the bus seemed easy for me to reach the Montreal international airport from Quebec City than the train.  I definitely recommend a bus route from Quebec City to Montreal because you can spend extra hours in downtown and can have one last look of the beautiful old city from the bus window.  The other bus route just gave me a view of farmland.  Here is an idea to take a train to visit Quebec City and take a bus to return to Montreal.   

Within Quebec City:

Walking is the best way to explore Quebec City.  It is very easy to find major attractions in Quebec City on foot.  However, you should at least try one time to ride a funicular, which connects between the Upper Town and Lower Town.  I used the funicular to reach the Upper Town, because I was tired from walking all over the Lower Town.  Although the funicular might look like a toy, it offered a steady ride with beautiful night scenes of the old town.

In addition, you can enjoy seeing a spectacular skyline of the fortified city from a ferry, which you can take from the port near the Petit Champlain district.  A round-trip ticket cost 6 Canadian dollars, although I officially got a free ride.  Many people stayed on board without visiting the other side of the river, Levis.  I think that the ferry ride is better at evening, because of the illuminated town view.  Some of you might feel tired of the same view from the ferry, especially during the daytime.  Additionally, you may feel that the round trip takes longer because the ferry does not leave until cars are loaded and unloaded. 

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