Around Quebec City--St. Anne de Beaupre and I'lle d'Orleans

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre

While the carful of kids are living large at Grandma's house, we are spending a long weekend in quaint Quebec City. After a great walking tour of the old Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and dinner at an authentic sugar shack, we head outside of Quebec to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre.

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre anchors this village 20 minutes east of Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains.  This basilica is known as a shrine for miracles with over half a million visitors each year.

The basilica ceiling

The basilica's history started in 1658 when a farmer donated two acres for a chapel; when a worker was cured of his ailment, the legend began. On the inside of the basilica, there are crutches and walkers attached the pillars as a testament of its healing powers.

We take a thorough tour of the basilica, completed in 1946 after stops in construction for the Depression and WW2. The interior of the basilica is incredibly light, not the usual dark, somber interior that most of the cathedrals have across Europe.

The tour continues downstairs to the Immaculate Conception Chapel where the walls are decorated with delightful little mosaics of flowers and animals. This is a popular shrine and the chapel is full of candles lit by the faithful.


We have a few minutes to explore and I take the opportunity to visit the bookstore and get some holy water that is blessed on site by a priest. I would like to sprinkle some on my boys before important school days.

We continue our tour and head over to the Ile d'Orleans by crossing the Pont de l'Ille d'Orleans over the St. Lawrence River; built in 1935, it's the last suspension bridge across the river headed north. Ile d'Orleans is a great day trip destination outside of Quebec City for adults with vineyards and tasting rooms, it's a foodie paradise.

Our first stop is the Vignoble Ste-Patronille, a vineyard and winery overlooking the Montmorency Falls (located at 1A Chemin du Bout de I'lle, open daily May through October). They offer tours and a tasting room along with a food truck with an attached terrace, it's a spectacular location to enjoy the day.

Our next stop, le Delices de l'Ille d'Orleans is another jewel with its private tasting room and owner guided tour--they have been making jams, jellies, mustards, vinegar and syrups since 1998 (Located at 1735 Chemin Royal). After our tasting, we load up on some items that you don't see back in the States, like carrot confit and terrines.

After sampling for the last couple of hours, we need to walk it off so we head over to the Montmorency Falls for a tour. You have to pay for parking and there are a couple of options for getting to the top of the falls. We choose a round-trip cable car ticket to get to the suspension bridge and restaurant but you can take the stairs.


After exiting the cable car, we walk across the bridge to experience the power of the falls that are almost 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls. This is another popular spot with tourists but should not be missed (located at 2490 Ave Royale, open 8:30 to 7:30 during the summer months).

After our hike around the falls we are hungry again, the Manoir Montmorency offers lunch in their dining room from 11:30 to 3. They feature an upscale menu in their traditional dining rooms but there are more casual options outside.

It has been a great day exploring the area around Quebec City but we need to head back to our hotel, Chateau Frontenac, for dinner. We are foodies remember. Before we fly back to Texas, we need to pick up some souvenirs for the carful of kids.

Though this our first trip to Quebec City, I hope it is not our last. It's a great destination for those who love Europe but don't have the time for a transatlantic crossing.

Quebec City has all the history, culture and great food of France without the blow-smoke-in-your-face attitude. The French-Canadians love to share their jewel of a city to Americans and this is a great destination for a couple's weekend away or introducing your own carful of kids to international travel.

Walking Old Quebec City

While the carful of kids are staying with their grandparents, we are exploring Old Quebec City in Canada. In the province of Quebec, this namesake city is the best example of a fortified walled European city in North America, earning it a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

We wake up and enjoy breakfast at our hotel, Chateau Frontenac, before meeting a local tour guide for a walking tour of Old Quebec. We walk down the Dufferin Terrace to Parc des Gouverners with the Wolfe-Montcalm Monument.

As we continue to stroll the streets of Old Quebec, we pass the Maison Jacquet, the oldest house in Quebec from 1677. Passing the Place d'Armes, we walk down Rue du Tresor, artists alley, on our way to Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral and Seminary.

We pass City Hall, the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the first Anglican cathedral built outside of Britain in 1804, and Ursuline Chapel. Then our tour guide stops to show us the cannonball stuck in the tree.

We continue on to the Ramparts of Quebec, the fortified wall that surrounds part of Old Quebec. We pass through the St. Louis Gate, a National Historic site of Canada, and the old horse troughs used for water.

The Hotel Du Parliament, home to the provincial assembly, is next on the walking tour then we proceed down the Grand Allee. Along the way, we have to stop for a quick sample of the signature dish of Quebec--Poutine, French Fries with a brown gravy and cheese curds on top.

We walk down the L'Escalier du Casse Cou or Breakneck Stairs to continue our tour in Lower Town Quebec. At the bottom of the stairs is Rue du Petit Champlain. It is a pedestrian walkway with quaint shops on both sides--it should not be missed.


On to the Place Royale, the original marketplace of the colony of New France, it is another quaint area not to be missed. We continue to the Maison Lambert Dumont for the trompe l'oeil mural depicting early settlers.

We have to say goodbye to our tour guide and board AML Louis-Jolliet for a lunch time tour. The riverboat departs from the Chouinard Pier and cruises north on the St. Lawrence River while we enjoy a lunch buffet. The tour takes us pass the Montmorency Falls to the Ile d'Orleans Bridge before heading back.

After disembarking from the riverboat, we head back to Rue du Petit Champlain for some shopping. Then we find the lower terminal of the Funiculaire, the cable car linking the lower and upper parts of Quebec, and ride it back to our hotel.

We have to get to our dinner reservations at le Chemin du Roy, a traditional sugar shack, located in a maple forest. We are learning all about maple syrup from the tree to the candy with a traditional Quebecois meal and music to finish off the experience.

If it seems like we eat all the time, we do. My traveling companion and husband is a trained chef.

Up Next: Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, Ile d'Orleans and the Montmorency Falls

Quebec City--like Europe only closer

Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City

My travel muse has smiled on us and we are headed off on long weekend without the carful of kids. Yes. There is NO car and NO kids--just my husband and myself on a long weekend of great food and sightseeing in picturesque Quebec City, Canada.

The carful of kids are at the most magical of places--it is full of candy, unlimited cartoons and a pair of facilitators that love them in spite of their tantrums and sibling war. It is Grandma and Grandpa's house and I don't need to know what happens there when I'm not there to witness it.

My husband loves to travel as much as I do and we love visiting new places; Quebec City is one of the few places we haven't been to before. We can't wait, it has a reputation for being the most European-like city in North America and we absolutely love Europe.

We leave out of Austin-Bergstrom Airport early and arrive in the afternoon at Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City. The airport is on the smaller size so it does take a bit of time to clear customs but we are on the bus and headed to the old city soon enough.

UNESCO World Heritage Monument

More so than the more modern Montreal, Quebecers also speak French. You will hear a Bonjour, Hello! to say hello and to determine your language of choice. But unlike the French, Quebecers love to share their language so if you are brave and speak just a little bit of French, use it.

We are in for a treat, we are staying at the Chateau Frontenac, a National Historic Site of Canada and one of the most photographed hotels in the world because it's perched on top of the hill in Old Quebec. Opened in 1893, it was built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to lure tourists to travel across Canada; today it is managed by Fairmont Hotels.

Old Quebec is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was founded by the French explorer Samuel Champlain in 1608 after he discovered Port Royal, Acadia, now Nova Scotia. Champlain explored the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes region and governed New France until his death; he is considered the Father of this area.

Champlain established and built the Saint-Louis Fort and  the Ramparts of Quebec starting in 1620. The fortified walls are still intact and also a National Historic Site of Canada.

After we check into our room at the Chateau Frontenac, we head out for a walk around the hotel, Old Quebec is a great walking city. Outside the hotel doors along the Dufferin Terrace is the Saint-Louis Forts and Chateaux National Historic Site (open daily in the summer from 10 to 6, $3.90 CAN/adults, $1.90 CAN/youth).

The tour starts under the boardwalk and you walk through the excavations of the old forts and chateaux that were the official fortifications and residences for the French colony until it was conquered by the British in 1759. This is a quick tour and a great introduction to the history of Old Quebec.

After returning to the boardwalk, we walk by the statue of Champlain and the UNESCO World Heritage Monument on our way to visit the Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral.  We dart down the Artists Alley, or Rue du Tresor, looking for a souvenir.

Notre-Dame 

Holy Door

Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic basilica that has been on this site since 1664 and is the oldest parish outside of Mexico in North America. It has been destroyed by fire twice and in celebration of its 350th year, it installed and opened a Holy Door.

Notre-Dame's Holy Door is the first one outside of Europe but closed in December 2014 and will remain closed until 2025. Notre-Dame is a National Historic Site of Canada and is free and open to the public during daylight hours.

We decide to walk back a different route to the Chateau Frontenac enjoying the centuries old stone buildings along the cobblestone streets covered with  flowerpots dripping with color.

After an amazing dinner at the hotel, we decide to walk along the Dufferin Terrace to look at the lights of the city and share an ice cream cone. A fabulous end to our first day in Quebec City.

Up next: a guided walking tour of Old Quebec