It’s hard to visit Quebec City and not fall in love with it. Our last stop on the Crystal Serenity was Quebec City and it almost felt like some of the river cruises we’ve been on in Europe. Why?
First, we docked right at the foot of the city. Within 2 blocks walk you’re right in the middle of the Lower City which houses lots of galleries, restaurants, a major city museum and lots of historical buildings.
Second, the city itself has a clear European feel. Even though we’re firmly in North America, you’re speaking French, you’re walking through a walled city complete with armaments and you have the opportunity to visit cathedrals as well as iconic and historical structures.
Third, the atmosphere is touristy, but there’s clearly a Quebec City culture. This is a working town, not just a tourist town. Shopkeepers were friendly and helpful and signage easy to follow regardless of the language.
Since it felt like a river cruise we felt right at home since we’ve done many European river cruises. Unlike a river cruise, excursions were not included so we decided to make the day of it ourselves. We visited the tourist information booth (handily located within the ship) and found a nice walking tour / map. We decided to follow the walking tour very loosely and mapped out our strategy: go directly to the upper old city first, walk across the old city through the back gates, then loop around to end back at the iconic Fairmont hotel.
We walked up on the wall a bit then. Skimming the recommended sites on the map we found a maple syrup museum and decided to check it out. Turns out it was really more of a store; in the back on the second floor was a very nice display showing the history and information on Canadian Maple syrup. They even had some tastings which the very helpful attendant gave us additional information about – maple flavored mustard, maple flavored vinegar and several grades of syrup. Honestly, I’m not a big maple syrup fan but this was clearly the best syrup I’ve ever had. Definitely not your grocery store maple syrup.
Next we walked outside the city walls to the lower city to find a place to eat. We had a recommendation but there was a wait. We continued on until we found a cafeteria style version of the same restaurant and enjoyed very French style ham and cheese sandwiches and carrot and leek soup. Perfect.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon looking at the various shops and art galleries.
Quebec, Canada a true gem.
