I must say, there is a twinge of jealousy in providing you with suggestions for a potential visit to perhaps my favourite Canadian city to visit. There must be something magical about a city named after it's larger political territory. Quebec City, Quebec. New York City, New York. Classics. Haven't tried it out on Oklahoma City yet, but Carson City certainly lacks the same attraction that either New York or Quebec have for me.
The back story starts in my youth, where I travelled to Quebec chasing bike racing dreams. Because Quebec quite simply had the best racing in Canada, I was afforded a multitude of opportunities to travel throughout the Province. However given that Quebec is roughly 86% the size of Queensland, there was heaps of it I haven't seen and probably won't.
As fate would have it, I met some friends who hailed from a suburb of Quebec City (the locals just call it "Quebec", you should too so they know you know...) called Ste. Foy (pronounced saint foi) so while I have been in Montreal a few times, it was never the same experience as being in Quebec. Perhaps the difference was having local knowledge to guide me around, but perhaps Quebec is just more my speed.
Years after I quit racing, my wife and I spent an extra long weekend there. We flew into Montreal, because we had easy tickets and then rented a car and drove to Quebec. Very reminiscent of my cycling days, where I seemed to spend more time in a vehicle than I did on the bike. So the decision was made to drive on one side of the river on the way to Quebec and then return on the other and it provided to be a lovely drive of roughly 3 hours.
As for Quebec itself, we had a great time. Our days consisted of wandering lazily around looking at the various art shops and historic sites. As you probably know, Quebec was originally New France, settled by Napoleon and then conquered by the British. You will see the battlements, the wall surrounding the "Old City" and you can see the Plains of Abraham (www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/_en/index.
The battle was fought 13 September 1759, in seasonably foul weather. So if you can imagine the British soldiers struggling up the river banks in the rain, with their kit and artillery pieces, all the while with the noble French soldiers awaiting their arrival, so that they could all commence battle as civilised folks. Astonishing. More astonishing is that the conflict seems to have endured to this day manifesting itself in a odd tension between the two linguistic groups that plays out in forums ranging from ice hockey to National politics and has included acts of terrorism perpetuated by a separatist group known as the FLQ.
http://www.
We took a horse carriage ride through the area and had a lovely time. However, even by Canadian standards we found the chill uncomfortable and we needed to be fortified by wine, coffee and food. Copious quantities of each. This of course is where the trip really became great....
Cassee- Crepe Breton www.cassecrepebreton.com.
This is a cafe, and really a cafe run by kids that are shirking their responsibilities. If Peter Pan waited tables he'd work here, so lower your expectations. But having said that if you want good food, cheap and easy this is the place. We found it to be a great lunch reprieve from the cold damp air and also tided us over so that we could over indulge at dinner.
What do they serve? Great question. Crepes. Oh, yeah and coffee, what else do you need? I think that Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke could have probably made it in Reality Bites if they had coffee and crepes to see them through their days. Certainly for my wife and I it seemed to be enough.
Ashton (Chez) www.chez-ashton.com
So if you call something “Chez” it makes it classy right? Wrong. We’re still not at the highbrow part of the list. Ashton is legendary all the same as Quebec fast food. They keep late hours and it is said that most of their business is done after the bars close (also typically late). This is where you get the poutine (hot chips, gravy and cheese curds). Soooo good. My wife and I actually dummied up some last weekend here. It’s not the same. You’ll see.
If you go to Quebec and don’t have poutine it would be the same as being in Australia without having a BBQ, Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower or Germany and not having a beer. You can do, but it just isn’t right.
Le Lapin Saute http://www.lapinsaute.com/
Great food, great ambiance. We over indulged and had a bottle of wine before we wend out for dinner so we would have had a great time anywhere. Having said that it was opulent and a close walk to where we were staying
Laurie Raphael http://www.laurieraphael.com/
Things would have changed significantly since we dined here, but it was lovely. Comfortable and well appointed. Also close to the river and the Naval Museum.
Pub Saint-Alexander http://www.pubstalexandre.com/
An English style pub that I have spent many a night at, as one of the guys I knew married into the biz. One evening a patron, who was later revealed as a separatist, attempted to pay his tab with fake cash. It was my buddy that caught him in the act. So here is a guy that bike raced for the Canadian National team, who’s over 6 feet tall and working hard to impress his wife’s family in their bar. He looks at the currency and immediately notices there is a problem. The colour looks good. The size of the bill, feel of the paper and font all seem right, but what is noticed, is that instead of saying “Canada” on the bill it says “Republic of Quebec” and has a picture of a frog on one side and the famous separatist Premier, Rene Levesque on the other. The response was, “I can’t accept part payment of Canadian currency mixed with that of Quebec, I need the full bill paid with “Frog Notes””. Classic. I’ve always loved that the man on the street in Quebec could laugh about the history. In Montreal there is a real linguistic tension that you see at every retail transaction, it gets so tiring.
Lots of fun times at the pub.
Walking
This is a great city to walk through.
Along Rue Saint Paul there are a number of local art galleries that you can wander through. This area is between the river (the St. Lawrence Seaway, which allows marine vessels to travel past Toronto into the Great Lakes) and the wall protecting the Old City.
There is a “Funiculaire” which is really a hybrid between an escalator and a glass lift, that takes you between the Old City and the river.
Rue du Marche-Champlain has loads of shops but will feel like a French speaking Gold Coast. Spin through it long enough to say “right” and then leave.
There are loads of Forts, there is the Citadel (Citadelle de Quebec), the fortifications and a walk through the classic Hotel Frontenac, which maybe not the place to stay for you guys, is good bit of Canadian history and worth checking out.
If you look between the Hotel Frontenac and the Seminaire (or there abouts) there is a little laneway that sets up little sales booths with an assortment of wares and crafts.
Quebec is also well known in Canada for it’s artisanal cheeses, so if you get a chance you should give some of the local stock a try.
The hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Dominion 1912
http://www.germaindominion.
Take warm clothes. Fleece and layers, and probably something to cut the wind are recommended as are warm footwear.
If you're looking for local / Canadian sport, the University of Laval may have a hockey game running. If you can skate there is typically outdoor ice across from Crepe Breton to try out.
Bon chance (good luck) and bon voyage (good trip).
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