Kendall’s Guide To Quebec City

eat + drink:

• Café La Maison Smith Place-Royale – bakery
• Café Saint-Henri (Saint-Roch) – coffee
• Cantook Micro Torréfaction – coffee
• Charbon Steakhouse – dinner
• Chez Jules – dinner
• Chez Muffy – dinner/sunday brunch | read about it here
• Chez Rioux & Pettigrew – dinner
• Ciel Bistro-Bar – dinner | stunning views of Quebec City
• Cochon Dingue – breakfast/lunch/dinner | try the hot chocolate (a must!), eggs benedict, french toast or seafood pot pie
• JAJA – breakfast/lunch/dinner
• L’Atelier – dinner
• La Fudgerie – dessert
• La Planque – dinner
• Laurie Raphaël – dinner
• Le Cafe du Monde – breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Le Continental – dinner | they flambé your food tableside; try the flambé mustard sirloin steak and the flambé peaches
• Le Lapin Sauté – breakfast/lunch/dinner | cute little cafe in Petit Champlain; try the daily specials
• Le Lièvre Et La Tortue – tea house | try the “La Comtesse” tier which comes with scones & cream, tea sandwiches & little cakes
• Les Cafés Du Soleil – coffee
• Les Sales Gosses – lunch/dinner
• Madame Chose – breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Paillard – breakfast/lunch | you definitely need to try the Equinox pastry (it’s a classic brioche with a glossy crust, generously topped with dark chocolate chips and scored like a Vienna roll)
• Paris Grill – breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Première Moisson – breakfast/lunch/bakery | stop in for pastries, bread or a little lunch
• Restaurant Le Saint-Amour – dinner
• Restaurant Légende – dinner
• St-Hubert – lunch/dinner | casual dining known for its rotisserie chicken, BBQ sauce & poutine

see + do:

• Baie de Beauport – with a sandy beach and great recreational facilities a 5-minute drive from downtown Québec City, Beauport Bay is the perfect place to have fun outdoors on a sunny summer day
• Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré – set along the Saint Lawrence River and one of the five national shrines of Canada
• Battlefields Park – 267-acre strip of land; home to the beautiful Joan of Arc Garden and riverfront vistas
  • Cap-Blanc Stairs – 398 steps; Québec City’s longest staircase
• Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec – the oldest church in Canada and was the first church in Canada to be elevated to the rank of minor basilica
• Domaine de Maizerets – located on a popular bike path, this pretty park contains gardens, an arboretum and other historic buildings
• Érablière le Chemin du Roy – enjoy a visit to taste their maple taffy on snow
• Galeries de la Capitale – shopping mall with an IMAX and stores like La Baie d’Hudson, Simons, Atmosphère/Sports Experts & Best Buy
• Helicopter Tour – take flight above for 15, 30, or 45-minute helicopter tour; discover famous sights like Old Quebec, the Chateau Frontenac, the Plains of Abraham, the Saint Lawrence River, and Montmorency Falls from above
• Hôtel de Glace – built with 2,300 blocks of ice and 15,000 tons of snow, Hôtel de Glace is the only ice hotel in North America
• Ice Canoeing – travel by ice canoe through, over, and around the river’s ice-covered waters with an expert guide; admire panoramic views of the city, and savor a hot chocolate stop halfway
• Île d’Orléans – located on the Saint Lawrence River, this island is a perfect day trip spot
• Jardin Botanique Roger-Van den Hende – botanical park showcasing educational exhibits of flowers & plants, plus sculptures & an arboretum
• La Citadelle de Québec – open daily to tour; an active military installation and the secondary official residence of both the Canadian monarch and the governor general of Canada
• Mont-Sainte-Anne – Only 30 minutes from Québec City, Mont-Sainte-Anne boasts incredible ski conditions, with 71 trails, 2 snow parks, 1 boardercross run and 3 trails of alpine touring, all of them spread over 3 sides of the mountain. With 19 illuminated runs, Mont-Sainte-Anne has the highest vertical drop for night skiing in Canada. This resort, renowned for the quality of its snow and the daily grooming of its slopes, has one of the province’s longest ski seasons. The gondola affords a breathtaking view of the St. Lawrence River.
• Montmorency Falls – visit this beautiful waterfall on the Montmorency River; zipline across or take a cable car ride
• Morrin Centre – a cultural centre; contains the private English-language library of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec
• Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) – four pavilions house a collection of over 40,000 works dating from the 17th century to present day
• Parliament Building – an eight-floor structure home to the National Assembly of Quebec
• Place D’Youville – a public square in the core of Quebec City; take advantage of the outdoor skating rink in the wintertime
• Place Ste-Foy – upscale shopping mall with stores like Simons, Signature Maurice Tanguay, Metro, Saks Off 5th and Archambault
• Quartier Petit Champlain – one of the best shopping streets in Québec City, known for its boutiques
  • Old Québec Funicular – there are several staircases leading to Petit-Champlain, but you can also get there via the funicular; it links Lower Town with the Dufferin Terrace and offers passengers a wonderful view of the neighborhood and of the St. Lawrence River
  • Place Royale – this small cobblestone square in the Old Port is where it all started—the site where Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City in 1608. Presiding over it is Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church, one of Canada’s oldest stone churches and almost as old as the square itself, having been built in 1688.
• Quebec City Ferry – the ride (one-way) takes about 12 minutes; in the summertime, bike along the paths located on both sides of the shore: Corridor du Littoral (Quebec City) and Parcours des Anses (Lévis); in winter, experience the beauty of the ice on the St. Lawrence River
• Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré – basilica set along the Saint Lawrence River; one of the five national shrines of Canada, it has been credited by the Catholic Church with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled
• Snowmobile Rental – rent for a 1/2 day or full day of exploring
• Snowshoeing Tour – take a snowshoe hike and explore the beautiful Jacques-Cartier National Park
• Terrasse Dufferin – a boardwalk that wraps around the Château Frontenac and overlooks the St. Lawrence River
  • Terrasse Dufferin Slides – located on the magnificent Terrasse Dufferin boardwalk, overlooking the St. Lawrence River and beside the world-famous Château Frontenac, this unique toboggan slide attracts thousands of visitors each year
• Whale Watching – explore the stunning whale kingdom of Charlevoix in the St. Lawrence Estuary

stay:

• Fairmont Le Château Frontenac – beautiful & historic hotel overlooking the St. Lawrence River