“Canada is the homeland of equality, justice, and tolerance.” Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
CAROL WRITES: We were determined to have as much of a European city experience as we could in both Montreal and Québec City. As such, we had no plans to rent a car and were confident excellent public transportation in both cities would take us anywhere we wanted to visit.
Likewise, transportation between both cities, a distance of 160 miles, was easy by means of VIA Rail, a popular passenger rail service all across Canada. And we were able to reserve our seats!
For our train journey to Québec City, we arrived at the Montreal train station well ahead of time,
which left us lots of time for scouting out lunch options to bring aboard the train,
in addition to chatting with fellow passengers, which is always an interesting aspect of travel.
We had a 4-hour train ride and arrived in Québec City just in time to check into our Airbnb rental that was located very close to Old Québec City, where we would spend the entire next day visiting its main historical sites.
Québec City was notably different than the rest of Canada that we have visited, and that was largely due to the quite pervasive French-speaking culture and history. After all, Old Québec City is where the first permanent French settlement in the Americas was established in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. To this day, many Québec residents retain a strong sense of their proud Québécois identity. And that is largely what made our visit there something very special and unique.
From the outside, our Airbnb looked very modern. Our home for the next 3 nights had a very French-sounding name—Les Immeubles Charlevoix—which I never attempted to pronounce.
Our rental on the sixth floor looked exactly like the pictures online; in person the unit was even more impressive! Dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows looked out onto the street below and into the distance.
The well-equipped kitchen and living room were modern and comfortable.
Just like our rental in Montreal, the bedroom was a separate room walled off from the rest of the unit by means of glass partitions with blackout drapes for sleeping.
The bathroom was modern with a walk-in shower.
The next day rainy weather was still holding off for us, so we decided a slow stroll through Old Québec City and its many famous sites was going to be the plan for the first full day.
Old Québec City has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the only remaining walled city north of Mexico.
We entered through unphotogenic St John’s Gate and were immediately transported to an era long ago.
As we huddled studying our map trying to decide how to get uphill to the Château Frontenac, a delightful quirky gentleman, who did not speak a word of English, proceeded to inform us which streets to take and how to plan our route. Somehow we made communication work, and I think he left us feeling quite satisfied that he had been a big help to us.
I have an additional comment about the Canadians we interacted with in general. To a person every one of them was as nice and helpful as they could be, whether they spoke English or not! No one made us feel embarrassed at our poor attempt to speak French. Many went out of their way to help us:
—the two young guys at the Montreal Airport who came back and led us to a quicker Uber line,
—the lady in the grocery store who took me to the aisle with coffee,
—the homeless man who offered to call us a taxi in a torrential downpour,
—Metro passengers who gave up seats for us, plus other passengers who made sure we were on the right path.
The streets to the Château Frontenac up on the hill were loaded with old world charm, such as the reconstructed homes of a bygone era,
and a nicely done full-building mural of city life,
Due to its renowned château-style architecture and dramatic setting perched on a promontory overlooking the St Lawrence River, the Château Frontenac holds the distinction of being the most photographed hotel in the world. Our plan was to take the funicular 177 feet above ground level to the Château Frontenac. That seemed like a great plan to save lots of stairsteps… until it didn’t work.
Just as we were congratulating ourselves that we had found our way to the entrance of the funicular, we spotted a sign that said the funicular would be closed until noon for maintenance! Right in the middle of a summer day with many, many tourists! It was only 10:30 and we did not want to waste an hour and a half waiting for the funicular to reopen, so we slowly huffed it up many flights.
Actually, that just made our first glimpse of the grand old hotel along the wooden boardwalk of the Dufferin Terrace all the more dramatic.
The St Lawrence River down below was calm and wide.
The hotel itself was so impressive we waited for our turn to get my prized selfie on the boardwalk.
Now, I was more eager than ever to get a look inside and hopefully secure a table for a cup of coffee. Not so fast! After a bit of meandering, we finally found the entrance
and were soon met with a sign stating that access to the hotel was restricted to guests only. I have seen various online sites that state it is possible for non-guests to visit the hotel; however, that was not our experience…
Next stop was the Notre Dame Basilica Cathedral, which was worth only a quick peak. The over-the-top gold embellishments just seemed glaring.
Just as the noon hour was about to strike, we spotted a great empty booth next to a very large open window at a charming pub. As the 12 o’clock bells of Notre Dame rang out, we had the best drinks and meal of our entire stay in Canada. The pub’s lobster roll was scrumptious!
The rest of our self-guided Old Québec City walking tour led us to the Citadelle de Québec, where we were satisfied just to walk along the ramparts of this immense star-shaped defensive structure which is home to the Royal 22e Régiment. Colorful gate guards stood watch.
There was an irresistible view of the Château Frontenac from the ramparts.
After leaving the ramparts, we had just a short walk to the Plains of Abraham, the site of the famous 1759 battle in the Seven Years’ War between British troops under General James Wolfe and the French troops under General Montcalm. A British victory led by General Wolfe resulted in the British takeover of New France. General Wolfe executed a very daring and unexpected battle plan which resulted in victory, but he paid a high price with the loss of his life on the Plains of Abraham.
All of our Canadian experiences so far had been in an urban setting. For our last and final full day in Québec City we decided to brave the excellent bus system and catch the 800 bus to Montmorency Falls. The bus stop was just across the street from our apartment.
Montmorency Falls was another one of those attractions that far exceeded expectations.
At 272 feet, the falls are taller than Niagara Falls by 98 feet, although not near as wide. After being reassured by our waiter the previous night that the suspension bridge is quite safe and does not move at all, I surprised myself at how unafraid I was to cross above the falls on the bridge.
We took the cable car down to the best viewpoint at the foot of the falls. Only in hindsight, when viewing the falls from below, does the tiny suspension bridge seem so fragile over such a mighty thunderous waterfall.
We both agreed that Montmorency Falls certainly lived up to its hype.
The morning we left for the airport for the flight back home, Mother Nature decided to show us how a fierce torrential downpour can make crossing our very hilly street nearly impossible. It took us two tries to get an Uber driver to pick us up on our side of the street. Outside of a 2-hour delay during our connection in Philadelphia, we had no further problems.
As we looked back on our 10-day summer escape north, we felt that Montreal and Québec City had surprised us in many pleasant ways. Maybe next summer on a future visit to Canada, perhaps including family, we will venture much further north, but that’s a story for another day.
“I believe the world needs more Canada.” Bono
Carol Galus
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