Auberge Saint-Antoine
The clear winner in the Lower City Quebec City hotels ratings is the elegantly restored, family- owned, boutique hotel, the Auberge St-Antoine. Comparable in character, ambiance and cachet in greater Quebec City with the better known Chateau Frontenac. Amidst formidable competition, Visit Quebec considers this property to be the premier boutique hotel in the Province, and indeed, possibly all of Canada.
The Auberge Saint-Antoine lives at the intersection of history and luxurious accommodations. In the most historic quarter of a UNESCO world-heritage city. Hotel guests are surrounded by dozens of historically significant artifacts from the French and British Regimes. These are relics unearthed during construction and restoration of the hotel. And they are now tastefully displayed throughout.
It would be hard to overstate the charm of the hotel’s principal restaurant, Chez Muffy. Guest dine amidst the stone walls and hand-hewn wooden beams of a beautifully restored, 19th Century maritime warehouse. It once stood at the water’s edge along the St. Lawrence River, which it now overlooks.
The hotel is sited between the Musee de la Civilisation de Quebec, immediately across the street, and Place Royale and the Quartier Petit Champlain. In the oldest part of Quebec City where many of the ancient graystone buildings date to the early 1600s. The Quartier Petit Champlain is the home of some of our other favorite restaurants. Chez Muffy being at the top of the list, including le Cochon Dingue (the Crazy Pig, for breakfast or lunch).
When you arrive from the New England States via autoroute 20, Visit Quebec recommends that you take the ferry from the South Shore community of Levis. The ferry takes you to the Quebec City ferry terminal, an adventure unto itself, even in mid-winter. Then, upon arrival, exit the parking lot, turn right onto Boulevard Champlain (becomes rue Dalhousie). Then through the stop light at Cote de la Montagne, and finally take the next left onto rue St-Antoine; this is less than a one-minute drive (if the two traffic lights are green).
The hotel is pet-friendly, and there are a number of dog-friendly parks nearby.