3 Day Quebec City Fall Itinerary
Planning a quick escape or getaway? Simply head out to Quebec City for the weekend. With this 3-Day Quebec City Fall Itinerary, you will be sure to make the most of your getaway with fine dining, and fun discoveries while immersing yourself in French Canadian culture.
Day One (Thursday or Friday)
Arrive in Quebec City in the mid- to late-afternoon. If you’re driving from New York, or New England, and arriving via Autoroute 20, the South Shore Route, we emphatically recommend that you bypass the standard route into the City (via Autoroute 73 and the Pierre Laporte Bridge), stay on the South Shore, and drive directly to Levis, Quebec.
From Levis, take the ferry (a 15-minute ride across the St. Lawrence River, departing every 30 minutes) to the Quebec City Ferry Terminal at the base of Cap Diamant and the Chateau Frontenac. You’ll have plenty of time to leave your car and enjoy the ride from the upper-level decks or main cabin. This will be especially fun if you’re staying at the Chateau Frontenac which will loom larger and larger on the horizon as you cross the river. GPS: 5995 Rue Saint-Laurent, Lévis, QC
After checking into your hotel, we also recommend that you begin your visit with a stop at the Musée du Fort, just steps from the Chateau and a block from the Hotel Clarendon, for its multi-media history presentation about the historic Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This 30-minute presentation will orient you geographically, and acquaint you with Quebec City’s place in history and with the hallowed ground that you’ll be walking on for the next several days.
Day 1 Evening
Alter the sound and light show, you will certainly want to stroll through Haute Ville (the Upper City), beginning on the Terrasse Dufferin, and there will be more than enough to keep you busy and interested for an hour or more before returning to the hotel to freshen up and dress for dinner.
In the spirit of getting you oriented early, we recommend that you plan to go to dinner at Ciel, the revolving rooftop restaurant atop the Hotel Le Concorde, about a 15-minute walk from virtually any hotel inside the Walled City. Optionally, you could save this memorable dining experience for your last night in Quebec.
After dinner, you might pause, weather-permitting, for a nightcap at one of the dozens of sidewalk cafes on the picturesque Grande Allée, or if you’re staying at the Chateau Frontenac, a nightcap overlooking the St. Lawrence River at Le Sam Bistro on the lobby level. Definitely one of the surprising night spots in Quebec City.
Day Two (Friday or Saturday)
Begin your day with a ride on the Funiculaire (the outdoor elevator that connects Haute Ville to Basse Ville (the Upper City to the Lower City), then walk a few steps to breakfast at Le Cochon Dingue (the Crazy Pig). Try the Chocolat Chaud. You will not regret it.
After breakfast, you may be tempted to linger in the Quartier Petit Champlain to plan some gift- and souvenir-shopping. But don’t stay too long (you can come back on Day Three). You have places to go and things to see!
While you’re in the Lower City, you can walk easily to the architecturally acclaimed Musée de la Civilisation (the Quebec Museum of Civilization) featuring multiple exhibitions usually related to humanities and the history of Quebec.
Or, you can return to the Upper City via the Funiculaire and walk via the Promenade des Gouverneurs (the boardwalk 300 feet above the St. Lawrence River) to the Citadelle de Quebec, the home of the Royal 22e Régiment. There, you can take a guided tour of the Royal 22e Régiment Museum, and after June 24 (until Labor Day), you can watch the colorful changing of the Queen’s Guard ceremony on the parade grounds at 10:00am daily. You’ll know you’re not in Peoria.
Activities to choose from
Or, you can return to the Upper City and walk easily, with a brief stop at Notre Dame de Quebec Cathedral. As you walk en-route make sure to see the spectacularly restored Monastere des Augustines. The cloistered nuns who lived there three centuries ago, developed the template for modern medicine in the 21st Century.
If the weather is pleasant, it’s a picturesque, 30-minute walk via the Grande Allée (the Champs Elysees of Quebec) to the Musée Nationale des beaux Arts de Quebec on the Plains of Abraham, which you learned about yesterday if you visited the Musée du Fort.
Time for lunch. You can pause on the Grande Allée for lunch in one of the sidewalk cafes that line both sides of the street (you won’t have any trouble finding one), or if the weather is marginal, stop for lunch at Restaurant Les Trios Garcons, a few steps from the Monastere,
If you’re in the mood for a fondue, then head to the Petit Chateau. They have a great selection of original swiss fondue.
Musée Nationale des beaux Arts de Quebec is Quebec’s Provincial Art Museum and the home of a wonderful collection of Quebec historic art, from which much has been learned about the life of Quebec’s original “habitants” who settled the province four centuries ago.
Or, you could save this museum visit until your last morning and take a tour of Montmorency Falls and the beautiful and virtually unspoiled Ile of Orleans. Another option is you can hire a private guide to take you there in your own car or his or hers (we recommend this). Or you can book a scheduled tour departing at 1:30pm (we recommend this too).
Day 2 Evening
You will have three notable fine dining options for the last night of your trip. You may want to return to the Ciel, of course, our recommendation for the first night of any stay, but visitors have been known to come back on their last nights because the first night was so special. The second option might be at Chez Muffy, a top-tier restaurant in a wonderfully restored, centuries-old stone warehouse appended to the Auberge St. Antoine. Of course, the third of the best three fine-dining establishments in our editors’ opinion is the Champlain Restaurant in the Chateau Frontenac. If you’re staying at the Chateau or at the Auberge St. Antoine, you’ve seen them.
Perhaps you may be in the mood for some steak frites and we would direct you to L”Entrecote St-Jean.
Day Three (Saturday or Sunday)
Breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast at the Clarendon’s Les Mordus is quite plentiful. If you’re staying at the Chateau, or even if you’re not, the buffet breakfast at Place Dufferin is legendary. It overlooksthe Boardwalk and the St. Lawrence River. You need not look much further.
You could alsotry the brunch at le Cafe du Monde as well.
After breakfast/brunch, you may want to take the Funiculaire back to the Quartier Petit Champlain. (Or you can always walk down to take the funiculaire back up.) Explore the lower city to pick up some gifts and souvenirs.
If it’s Sunday, Catholics might want to attend mass at beautiful Notre Dame de Quebec Cathedral.
If you missed the Changing of the Guard ceremony yesterday, it takes place at 10:00am daily in the summer. This colorful ceremony, features soldiers of the Royal 22e Régiment in scarlet regimental dress and bearskins. It is based on the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Be sure to arrive 15 minutes early. (check the schedule here)
After checking out of the hotel, visitors en route to New York or New England by car may want to say good bye to Quebec City from the ferry. The terminal is easy to find, across the street from Le Cochon Dinge (GPS: 10 Rue des Traversiers, Québec, QC ). Or drive along Boulevard Champlain beside the river to the Pierre LaPorte Bridge (Pont Pierre Laporte). The latter will be about 30 minutes faster, but maybe less memorable.
Au revoir, Quebec. A bientôt.
