I would recommend having a drink at the bar at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
For a fine old world dining experience, I recommend Le Continental, a venerable restaurant across the street form the Chateau Frontenac with old-world charm, outstanding service, fine dining.
For a more modern relaxed fine dining experience, there is Le Hobbit Bistro but this on Rue St Jean, outside the Old City, street many restaurants and the oldest grocery shop in Canada, maybe North America.
There are many fine restaurants. Check TripAdvisor and you can make reservations at Open Table. We had dinner at another restaurant on the corner right near Le Continental that was casual and fine. We were checking places and it started to rain so we ducked in and had a nice meal there also.
In Quebec City, in addition to seeing the Plains of Abraham and changing of the guard and walking around and seeing the quaint streets and wall murals and the churches, we enjoyed the Museum of Quebec History, designed by Moshe Safdie, good overview and especially good rainy day attraction
In Montreal, in addition to Vieux Montreal, there is the biodome and the botanical gardens and the Olympic stadium tower as well as the view overlooking the city from the park atop Mont Royal. We have been to the Museum of Fine Arts. We did not get to see the Archeogolical History Museum when we were there last because of provincial holiday but there is a nice park and walk along the waterfront and you can get a good view of Habitat the housing from Expo 67, I think also designed by Safdie.
A lot of our travel is spent looking at specific buildings from DH’ s past life as an architect
For dining in Montreal, many fine restaurants. Among them is L’Express but this is not in Vieux Montreal. It is in an area that has lots of dining, shops, older Jewish delis and bagel places called the Plateau. I would describe it as between the Biodome/Gardens and downhill from Mont Royal. There is metered parking on the streets and also you can take the subway.
Will try to recommend some other places but I keep coming up with restaurants in Toronto. I know we stumbled on a restaurant that looked nice last time and they could accomodate us and when I looked it up later I found out it was the hottest, newest, farm to table restaurant in Montreal.
Just thought I’d drop this hear for anyone who needs help pronouncing Quebec correctly. Living in a place with many French Canadians, it grates a little when folks mispronounce it.
This thread got me interested in Quebec City and I’m excited to say I booked flights yesterday and we are staying at the Auberge Saint-Antoine. We are going in late April because we want the colder weather since we are in FL. I can’t wait to reread all the comments to get restaurant recommendations. Open to any other suggestions and an update from the OP.
@rom828, your hotel has one of the best restaurants in the city! Go ahead and make your reservation for dinner at Panache restaurant. It’s beautiful-stone walls, cozy ambiance, great food. We LOVED it. Pricey, of course.
@rom828 You’ll love the Auberge! We have stayed there several times and it’s our favorite in QC. Panache is excellent and should definitely be experienced. Make a reservation early, though, as it is very popular. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner are all very good there. And the ambiance is wonderful in such a beautiful space. You are in for a lovely visit!
The hubby and I went to Montreal and Quebec City for the first time last October, and absolutely loved both places! We are returning this summer for a longer stay with the kids. I am a big fan of taking a tour with a local the first morning of a trip (usually found via TripAdvisor recommendations). In my experience, this is a great way to get an overview of a city, and then we revisit the places that piqued our interest on the tour in our remaining days. Also, I’le d’Orleans is a terrific day trip from QC.
I’m grateful for the Panache recommendation. I will definitely make brunch reservations!
We did a family trip to Montreal and Quebec City last August. Quebec City was a huge hit! Thanks for bringing this thread to the front again. Maybe hubby and I can plan a getaway to Quebec City as a way to escape.
