Québec, Québec

You cross the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Montréal, the one with the little Eiffel Towers on top as points, to get to 20 east towards Québec City, Québec (also known as just Québec in French so I’ll just say Québec from now on). Québec sits 250 km (156 miles) northwest of Montréal or about 2 and half hours away. A perfect quick getaway for 2 days.

Driving was pretty easy but it was extremely cold that day. Our time in Québec was going to be spent in some of the coldest temperatures I’ve ever experienced. Highs were expected to be only -8F with lows near -30F. Add in the windchill factor and it was going to be around -35F. During our drive the side windows in our car were starting to freeze. It had been cold in Montréal but this was a new type of cold.

You cross the Pierre-Laporte bridge to get into Québec and then take side streets to get to Vieux-Québec (Old Québec). We saw very cute houses, old architecture and some mini skyscrapers just outside of Vieux-Québec. Québec is definitely different compared to Montréal as it feels closer to France and more people speak solely French instead of both French and English. As we pulled up to Vieux-Québec, Sylvain, Roman and I remarked how it felt like we were back in some old city in France. It does resemble a mini-France and undoubtedly is the closest city we have in North America that feels French.

Getting out of the car at the hotel was bone chilling. We were staying at the L’Hôtel du Vieux-Québec rated the 2nd best hotel to stay at on TripAdvisor and was relatively well priced. $150 for one night for 3 people right in the middle of Vieux-Québec. For people who are not aware of Québec, the old city is the place to stay and most people only know about the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. It’s the big castle that dominates Vieux-Québec and is one of the most photographed hotels in the world and is quite remarkable in person.

Once we settled down and got everything in order we all take a walk through Vieux-Québec. The Old City is not that big and has a distinct European feel with its stone buildings and winding streets lined with shops and restaurants. Vieux-Québec today is mostly for tourism as very few of the locals live there but that’s the way it should be. It keeps the Vieux-Québec up and running and in pristine condition. It felt like little has changed on these streets.

Being so cold outside we decided to first walk up towards the Notre-Dame de Québec while going in and out of souvenir shops. It was a strategy that paid off in Montréal. To see most sites in Vieux-Québec will only take you about a day and really the idea of being in Québec is to shop, have some R&R, take in the sites, have some photo ops, and enjoy being in the most French city in North America.The Notre-Dame de Québec was also charming but not as grand as the one in Montréal.

However it is worthy to note that this church is one of the first churches in Canada. Inside the Notre-Dame is white and gold ceilings and has a less mysterious feel compared to Notre-Dame de Montréal. It’s still very ornate and attractive.

Back outside we brave the mind numbing cold and walk closer to Château Frontenac. Stopping along the way to take some more pictures of the narrow and twisting streets as well as getting warm in souvenir shops. The cold was especially harsh that day and I felt my fingers becoming very cold very quickly. It was uncomfortable! Closer to Château Frontenac the wind picks up and everybody felt colder. We snapped some photos in front of the hotel and quickly went inside, partially to get warm but partially to see if there was anything to do.

While inside we noticed that the hotel was very old-time. It reminded me of the Drake in Chicago. Wood paneling and a design that was used in the late 19th century. Of course it had grandeur and style but definitely felt dated (not in a bad way of course). Other than seeing the front entrance and lobby there really isn’t much else to do at the Château Frontenac. So we left and toured the front part of the hotel; the part closest to the St. Lawrence River. The river was almost frozen but still some ice was moving which I captured in a video. It was at this point that I felt the coldest and worst than any other part of the trip. I think it was the combination of the extreme cold, being by the river, wind, and the fact that I was taking so many photos and video that I seriously felt like I had frost bite. I was a little worried.

However I did get great photos of the river, Château Frontenac and this luge course they had set up outside. Done taking photos I told the guys that I needed to rush inside to anywhere as quickly as possible. By this point putting my hands in my pockets didn’t even help and I was for sure the tips of my hands had a bit of frost bite. So we settled on crêpes at a nearby restaurant. I’ve never clung on by a heater so much and was relieved that I did not have frost bite. Warming up when you’re that cold is extremely painful!

After a nice meal, with some hot drinks, it was time to tour the second part of Vieux-Québec. Like before we went into souvenir shops and took photos along the narrow streets. It really does feel like some random French city. Getting tired of walking around we decided then it was time to go back to our hotel where Sylvain would go his own way and Roman and I would decide what we should do for the rest of the night.

Back at the hotel we had a good 3 or 4 hours to rest and shower and take advantage of the gorgeous room. We decided to go to the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor in Vieux-Québec thanks to Romans company (seriously should go off what people say on TripAdvisor; it’s great advice). It was a restaurant that was only a 7 minute walk but being so cold outside I was really not looking forward to it. But actually the winds had died down and the only hard part was not tripping on the ice as we walked up this giant hill.

Le Saint-Amour specializes in French cuisine and deserves every credit it receives online. It was delicious! We went with a restaurant menu and had vegetable soup, beef tartare, veal tenderloin, and the most delicious gourmandises to top it off. Oh and some French wine of course. Unfortunately Roman was sick from almost the beginning of the meal, so we had to leave early and eat the rest at our hotel. I still enjoyed it though and it was nice to have such a extravagant dinner.

The next morning we were already leaving towards Montréal but there was no rush. So we thought to see the Falls of Montmorency or Chute-Montmorency. It is located only about 20 minute drive north of Vieux-Québec and lies across from Île d’Orléans, an island known for it’s beauty and pastoral setting.

The falls were very pretty but being that it was still freezing outside it was hard to be out for that long. I did get some great photos and a video of ice cracking. A weird but fascinating sound to hear. The falls were mostly frozen over but behind the ice you could see the steam from the water rising. It was a unique experience as I’ve never seen a waterfall nearly frozen over.

And then it was time to go back to Montréal. I feel that one day I will be back in Québec but most likely in the summer so I can see it from a warmer perspective.

I enjoyed my time in Québec and I feel it’s a great city to hang out for a couple of days. It can be expensive, I’m assuming way more expensive in the summer, but if you have the money it’s well worth the trip. How many times can you say you visited France while in North America?