Our second trip to Quebec City: A great European-style city in North America!

 

Quebec City, Canada (View of Chateau Frontenac)

The first time my wife and I drove into Quebec City, admiring the undeniably majestic Chateau Frontenac, we thought we were transported to any number of beautiful and historic European cities like Vienna, Heidelberg, or Salzburg.  The charming buildings decked out in colorful roofs, the cute flowers placed in outside window boxes of many homes, and busy alfresco cafes/restaurants really set the mood for a trip like no other.  We fell in love with the city at first sight…

That was exactly 20 years ago.  Upon leaving Quebec City after a two night stay, we knew in our hearts that we would soon be back.  That didn’t quite turn out to be true, as it took all of 20 years to go back.

In the month of July 2022, we literally had the opportunity of a lifetime to revisit the city, as we were staying two months in the northwest part of Maine.  The US/Canada border was only about 30 miles away from our place in Stratton (Maine), therefore, we had to take advantage of that.

On the first day we went back to Quebec City, we had spent a full day exploring Montmorency Falls and the Casino de Charlevoix.  We got up at 7 a.m., then went to bed at around midnight, thanks to our evening excursion to the casino, which took around 6 hours of drive time to get there, then to come back.

We were exhausted from all the driving, walking, and sightseeing we had done the prior day.  After a good night’s rest (we slept like zombies!), we were refreshed and ready for more of the same on our second day.

After getting up, then eating the hotel’s free continental breakfast, we got ready to really walk the city.  On our first trip there, we barely scratched the surface, as we basically walked around the area near Chateau Frontenac.  On our second trip, we decided to visit a museum as well as explore more of the city by foot!

We drove into a public parking lot near Rue Dauphine, as it was only about 3 blocks from Chateau Frontenac.  After parking, we walked out on a hot but sunny Friday morning to the familiar and nostalgic downtown area of Quebec City.

Down the block from the parking lot, we found the remnants of the walled city, which we had to check out.  We climbed some steps to check out the ramparts with excellent views of the city center and the famous St. Lawrence River.

Quebec City, Canada 

Found this cute restaurant on our way to the parking lot 

North America’s only walled city, Quebec City 

The views of the city center brought us back to our first trip to the city.  We remembered the cute city streets full of cafes/restaurants, all with signs in French.  We remembered the expansive views of the city and the river from our vantage point on top of the wall.

View through an opening in the wall, Quebec City 

We started to walk down towards the street, then entered the Parc-de-l’Artillerie (Artillery Park), where we were greeted by a friendly but more importantly, a bilingual guide.  Our guide spoke excellent English, and she explained about the park and its importance to the city of Quebec.  

Artillery Park, Quebec City 

At the main entrance, Esplanade Park, Quebec City 

I’m a big sucker for history, so I soaked it all in.  My wife, not so much a lover of history, seemed to enjoy our history lessons from our guide as well.  We thanked her, then started to make our way towards the famous Chateau Frontenac.  

We got to the intersection of Rue Saint-Jean/Vieux-Quebec/Parc de l’Artillerie, then turned left towards Vieux-Quebec (Old Quebec).  We walked a block down, then turned right, unsure if we we’re heading in the right direction or not.  We asked a truck driver who was parked on the road for confirmation, and luckily, we were.

We walked along the street, taking in all the incredible scenery:  the river, the beautiful historic buildings, and the cannons placed every few hundred steps.  Parents with kids were busy corralling excited kids who were jumping on top of those same cannons, many of them speaking French.  Although we didn’t understand what they were saying, we got the sense that they were probably saying things like “Be careful!”, which is common in any language…

City center, Quebec City 

The further we walked, we saw the majestic Chateau Frontenac in the distance, beckoning us to come closer.  Chateau Frontenac is the focal point of the city, full of focal points.  As you walk around the Old Quebec, you can’t help but see it just about anywhere.

We got closer to the chateau, as surely as moths that are attracted to flame at night.  We ran across some beautiful flower beds across the street from where we were.  

We got closer and closer to the château, crossing a foot bridge to climb the steps to get to the Dufferin Terrace.  We stopped on the foot bridge to check out a picture perfect European-style street below with historic homes and shops in various colors.

Old Quebec, Quebec City

We made it to the top of the Dufferin Terrace, then finally saw the Château Frontenac in all its glory!  Even seeing it the second time in person, it was truly impressive.  It felt as if we were transported to a castle somewhere in France (even if we’ve never been to France)…

There was a cacophony of sounds coming from all directions:  sound of a busking musician singing jazz tunes, children giddily running around and yelling in French, and tour guides trying to talk over the din.  It was, in short, a perfect city scene, full of tourists and locals, trying to enjoy the all-too-brief summers of Quebec City.

We started to walk along the famous Dufferin Terrace, reminiscing about our previous visit to the same place.  For some reason, the terrace and the surroundings felt smaller than the last time.  Maybe the crisp, clear skies in October had something to do with that, as everything felt bigger and brighter.

Our second trip definitely had more people near the château and the terrace compared to our first trip.  We saw so many visitors from other countries speaking in their native tongues, like Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, and English.

We found our way to the famous Plains of Abraham, which is perhaps one of the best places to take photos of Château Frontenac and its surroundings.  We took some time to take in the incredible scenery.

Views of St. Lawrence River and Quebec City 

Photo taken from Plains of Abraham, Quebec City 

We took off after several minutes towards the Citadelle, an active military installation and the secondary official residence of both Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Quebec, using the wide walking paths on top of the fortification wall.  It was just great to be back at the same place.  We still remembered the same views of the city center from the Citadelle.  

We walked down from the top of the wall so we can get to our next destination, Musee National Des Beaux-Arts Du Quebec.  As we made our way towards the Grande Allee, we saw several soldiers acting as sentries for cars heading into the Citadelle.  We loved the camouflage uniforms worn by the soldiers.  

Being that the Grande Allee is a major boulevard, we took our time walking along it.  We found a covered building patio which we took full advantage of to rest up.  We almost emptied our bottle water we had brought from our hotel while resting.  

After enjoying beautiful flowers planted in front of various government buildings nearby, we got up to continue our journey towards the museum.  We were debating whether to eat lunch first or after the museum, but decided to find a restaurant on our way to the museum.

We found one called Louis Hebert, along Grande Alle, nestled among many alfresco style restaurants.  As we were looking at the menu written in French (and trying to figure out the menu), the restaurant proprietor/manager came over to ask if we’d like to see the menu in English.  We were so glad!  

We decided to sit inside and not outside, as it was getting hot and humid.  We needed to cool off and drink plenty of fluids.  We got a cozy table in the corner, near the windows with air conditioning directly overhead.  It was truly heavenly…

I ordered the steak with vegetables and my wife ordered the salmon with risotto.  The scallions were quite possibly the most important relish that really accentuated our main entrees.  We had not had steak or salmon dishes in the US, where they use scallions, but it was really that special.  Bon appetit!

We attacked our food, including the bread basket (twice!), then had coffee (both of us) and crème brûlée (my wife).  Food was one of the best we’ve had anywhere!  French way of cooking definitely had us hooked.  My wife commented the crème brûlée was the best she’s had anywhere, multiple times!

Thanks to US Dollar to Canadian Dollar conversion rate, we paid $86 including food/soft drinks/coffees/tips/dessert, which we thought was a fantastic value for the quality of the food and the service.  What a great meal and what a great city!

Our lunch (salmon with risotto and steak with veggies)

After savoring our meal for a good hour or so, and after cooling down, we got up to finish our walk to the museum.  The walk would take about 20 minutes but we had finally made it!

We walked inside to nicely air conditioned hall, then paid $20 per person for museum admission.  We started on the ground floor, then to second and finally to the third floors.  Tip:  the $20 fee include entry to three different buildings to explore.  Highly recommended.

There were so much things to look at, that our brains were overloaded!  Afterwards, we used the downstairs connecting hallway to make our way over to the other two buildings, to check out local (Québécois) artists’ works.  I think we saw enough art works to last few months!!!

It took good two hours to complete our tour of all the buildings.  We were tired, both mentally and physically after that.  We decided to head back to the area near the château so we can walk around the cute European style streets.  

After about 30 minutes, we finally made it back to the château.  We headed for the famous street, Rue du Tresor, to see local artists selling their works.  As usual, the street was jammed packed with people.  

The streets near the château are perhaps the most European of all the streets in Quebec.  Old, historic buildings abound, with colorful roofs and plenty of alfresco dining options.  We looked at different restaurants’ menus, but frankly, we weren’t that hungry at around 4:30 p.m.

After strolling for about 30 minutes or so, we decided to head back to the parking lot, and to eat dinner near our hotel.  On our way over to our hotel, I had a great idea to find something simple and inexpensive at a supermarket that was near the hotel.

My reasons were as follows:  1) To check out a local supermarket so we can see for ourselves what they sell (I always found this fun; we did the same in Germany, Austria, and Mexico for example), and 2) I figured a supermarket would sell something that’s ready to eat, like a hot/cold salad bar, hot sandwiches, and/or pizza.  To our disappointment, we were way off…

Not only did the supermarket didn’t sell any ready to eat meals, but they didn’t even sell any hot sandwiches. Darn!  We ended up just buying a seltzer from the supermarket and nothing else.

We were onto Plan B!  That plan turned out to be great one, as we found a local Italian restaurant called “Tuscano’s” about a mile from our hotel.  The restaurant had a “meal for two” for $50 that included soft drinks, dinner rolls, garlic bread, salad or soup, and either a pasta dish or a pizza.  

My wife ordered a penne arabiata and I ordered a vegetable pizza.  The pasta was superb, al dente, and spicy!  My wife thought it was one of the best she’s had, and I couldn’t disagree.  My pizza was also very good, thanks to their liberal use of veggies.  My pizza was so big that we took it to our hotel, which became our lunch the next day.

We were so happy we found that restaurant only a mile from our hotel.  Feeling full and satisfied, we headed to our car, for our return trip to our hotel.  Once we got to our hotel, we realized we had walked over 15,400(!) steps, which was the highest total number of steps we had ever taken, since we started to track our steps via my iPhone.  

We were tired, exhausted, but at the same time, incredibly happy that we had really seen the city like it was meant to be seen.  Wow, what a great city, full of things to see and do!

In conclusion:

Our second trip to Quebec City took a very, very long time, but we really got to see and experience the city the second time around.  We had a great time in those short 2 night/3 day trip.  It feels like we did what we normally do in a week long trip!

Quebec City was incredible, just as we remembered it.  The sights, smells, and sounds will always stay with us.  We especially loved hearing kids speaking French everywhere we went, and we absolutely loved the cuisine of Quebec City!

We long to go back, and we’re hoping it doesn’t take another 20 years!  Happy trails and thank you all for reading!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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