Europe outside of europe – Quebec city

Looking for a European vacation? Don\’t want to pay much for airfare and long flights? 🤔 Quebec city is something you are looking for. A real magical place! One minute you are in North America and the next minute you feel like in Europe.

Vieux (old in french) Quebec – is glorious and well preserved old city. City is filled with castles, churches and beautiful houses. We drove from Montreal, and was expecting something similar, but it was so much more surprise.

The city is divided into Basse-Ville and Haute-ville(upper and lower city). Clean and well maintained cobblestoned streets are easily walkable except a few hill roads along the fortified walls.

We parked at Rue Saint-Paul just next to La Vivrière and started with our day-long walk from there. We had no fixed map or guided tour to walk, just kept strolling these beautiful old streets. Even with the typical cold winter it was as romantic as one could imagine 😍.

Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is most photographed building in the world. This Disney fort like building is actually a massive hotel. Dufferin Terrace is right by the Citadel, the Chateau Frontenac and the Champlain statue. Even if it is a winter or summer walking on terrace gives an excellent view of town and river. You can reach there by Frontenac stairs as well.

During pre Christmas season, evenings in Vieux Quebec are special. All streets were decorated, and each and every building is lighted and big Christmas trees illuminating the way.

Some pointers:-

• It is highly recommended staying for at least 2 days and visit some places during night as well
• Haute-ville is not for the faint of feet, A few roads are on steep hills and stairs
• Best part of city is it has tons of old shops, restaurants, things to do all times of the year for every taste and interest
• All public notice, parking slips and sign boards are in french. Google translate is a life saver
• People are friendly and appear to appreciate the fact that you are a tourist.
• Rue Sainte-Anne, Côte de la Fabrique and some parallel streets are good for buying souvenirs and gifts. Rue Saint-Jean is recommended for eating and shopping.
• This ancient city is beautiful and full of charm. It can captivate your attention for every step in your walk.

Thanks for reading. Happy traveling!!! 👋

Statistics –

Started from	Montreal
∑ Miles driven	51
∑ Miles walked	3.4 😓
∑ Time spent	11 hrs