Bonjour! Bienvenue a Quebec!
This week my partner and I decided to road trip it to Quebec City because it’s roughly a seven-hour drive north of us, it wouldn’t be any hotter than Connecticut and it would feel like a whole new country…well it is, but Canada doesn’t really count. All I knew about Quebec City was that it was a major city and they speak French, so it would feel European without the flight. Two weeks before our trip was just enough time for me to learn to massacre the language of love, thanks to Duolingo. I also created a cheat sheet with Google Translate’s help to have in my back pocket (literally) with words and phrases I might need to know like “Please”, “Thank you” and “Where’s the bathroom?”
When I was in Paris, the people didn’t have patience for my attempts at murdering their language. However, the people in Quebec City are much friendlier. As long as I gave it a try, they were willing to meet me halfway and most people spoke English. I went into one ice cream parlor, where in my horrible attempt at French I asked if the woman behind the counter spoke English. She gave me the universal hand signal of so-so and said “not well”. Between her “not well” English and my worse French, we figured it out.
When it comes to vacationing, I am all about walking all over major cities, which I call urban hiking. I want to be somewhere that is completely walkable, has public transportation if I need it, and where I won’t get bored. Quebec City totally fits that bill. We stayed at the Palace Royal (775 Avenue Honore-Mercier) which couldn’t be more convenient and we paid extra for the convenience of being just outside Old Quebec’s city walls. The room was clean, spacious and even had a view. the hotel also has an underground parking garage that allows you to come and go freely for a daily fee of $26. My partner parked his car without incident, maneuvering the narrow turns and cramped parking spots. I’d of taken out at least one or two cement pillars in the process. We left the car there for the duration of our stay and walked everywhere instead.
There are parts of Quebec City that draw a lot of tourists but other parts had me questioning where all the people were but a waitress explained that most people escaped the city for a few weeks this time of year. Old City was the exception, the shops and restaurants were always packed when we walked through. We wandered the cobblestone streets, swung by Chateau Frontenac the “world’s most photographed hotel” (if you believe everything you read on the internet, which of course I do), and strolled the Terrasse Dufferin with it’s boardwalk and street performers. We passed on a juggler with flaming pins but did stop to listen to a couple busking until their set was over.
Just up the hill (everything in Quebec is uphill or downhill and some streets have steep cliffside staircases to assist your assent or descent) from our hotel was the Plains Of Abraham, which is kind of the Quebec City version of New York City’s Central Park. I love that one minute you can be in a bustling city and the next your hiking a nature trail or on a sprawling lawn picnicing and sunbathing…or cruising sunbathers having picnics.
Also up hill on the other side was the Citadelle de Quebec, which is a walled military fortress that has a path you can walk around. If you’re a history buff, you can pay to get inside, but I didn’t see any soldiers inside so I saved my cash for the singers on the boardwalk. The path is completely exposed to the sun so I was thankful for sunblock and it gets hot, especially when the the buffed guys walking in front of us took off their shirts…I bet you don’t get views like that with the $22 entrance fee.
Quebec City has a lot of history, at least that’s what all the plaques around town seem to suggest. However, I was just there to look at pretty things. We did go inside the Parliament Building, since it was free which is my price point for knowledge. You just need your ID and to go through security. You can make reservations online for guided tours but we just did the self-guided tour by following the booklets that are available just inside the entrance. The booklets are perfect because they give a gist of what you’re looking at without going into much detail, perfect for people like me with a short attention span and certain level of disinterest.
There’s a bunch of theaters, venues and public areas that were in states of construction or deconstruction for different rotating festivals that Quebec City hosts. There’s also a lot of museums and the arts district has these amazing large designed lamp shades which I had never seen anywhere else but is totally my kind of art, as well as other public art all over the city.
We spent three days and nights and felt like that was the perfect amount of time to fully explore the city. It’s also a good destination if you have a festival or event there that you want to check out. Just pack sunblock in bulk and comfortable sneakers with good treads for all the inclines or do research into the public transportation system to be able to get around. No matter what your thing, in my gay opinion, Quebec City has plenty to offer and a lot can be packed into a short amount of time.
