July 5-8, 2026
We had an amazing four-day stay in Quebec City. I nicknamed it the “City of Stairs”! I loved the ambience and genuine character of the city and the graciousness of the locals.
My friend, Dean Weldon flew out to explore Quebec city with us! Barry and I arrived the same day as Dean, but about 8 hours earlier. We drove from Montreal and arrived in the afternoon, while Dean, had a long day of multiple flights with long layovers in between..
Barry & I rode our bikes UP the hills to a main area of Old Quebec City near the Frontenac Hotel. Sure glad we had electric bikes on these old hilly streets! But even still, we had to be very careful with uneven pavement/bricks, vehicles and pedestrians.
In the Place d’Armes (park area) across from the Frontenac, I saw this really cool statue – “Carrying Dreams to the Edge of Heaven”.
“Carrying Dreams to the Edge of Heaven” takes the form of a plant-like woman emerging from a tree trunk. While hosting the projectile at the base of the trunk, the art piece pays homage to women—mothers, grandmothers, nuns, teachers, and caregivers.
Three birds, symbols of messengers, perch on the treetops, crafted from women’s hands. The figure is barefoot, an evocation of the interdependence between humanity and nature so dear to First Nations cultures.
At the time I took this picture, I had no idea about the cannonball exposed at the base of the trunk. I just thought the art piece was cool.
Later, I discovered that it was long believed that this projectile was a cannonball fired by the British in 1759, and brought to the surface as the tree grew. That belief gave the tree its nickname, “the cannonball tree”, but this was disproved when the photo below was discovered.
Since the 1908 photo shows the multiple cannonballs that were retrofitted with an affixed metal rod that is inserted into the ground for the balls to function as carriage wheel guard, it is now believed that an American Elm tree simply sprouted next to one. Then over a period of 100 years the tree grew over the ball encapsulating it. This transformed this retrofitted bomb-wheel guard into Quebec folklore. 🙂
Disease caused the elm tree severe rot, and the tree had to be brought down in 2021 for public safety. The famous projectile, however, was preserved and reintegrated into this artwork. The piece is temporarily displayed in a container here in the Place d’Armes park. When construction work in the Rue du Corps-de-Garde area is completed, it will then be permanently installed at the exact location of elm tree.
The artwork incorporates fragments of the elm, while its base is faithfully reproduced in bronze. A knot in the bark, reminiscent of a heart, along with branches of the majestic tree, enrich this vibrant artwork.
We had dinner out on the Bistro patio at the hotel Auberge Du Tressor. The red Le Trou du Diable umbrellas were provided, but was not the name of the bistro. (It means “The Devil’s Hole” which is a famous craft brewery and pub in Shawinigan-wherever that is!)
The visitor information building was right next door, so I went in. I spoke in French as the gentleman helping me was patient. I got it out correctly + follow-up answers. He smiled a big smile as he complimented me– Trés bien! I got information regarding the HopOn-HopOff initial arrival times for the stops near where we are staying.
Looking down on the lower area called Petit Champlain I felt momentarily transported – like we were looking into a storybook setting from above!
We began to make our way back on our bikes. We came by this next area -Parc Montmorency. We had to stop before continuing further down the hill.
Louis Hébert and Marie Rollet with their children are remembered as the first family of French Canada. They were the first permanent European farming family to settle in Canada.
We saw this chair out all by itself. Hmmm. Where is it from? What does it represent? I sat in it. There was no sign anywhere around identifying the chair and its purpose being out here.
Googling it I discovered that this metal chair represents the Speaker’s Chair once occupied by Louis-Joseph Papineau. He served as the Speaker of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada. It is positioned as a precise archaeological marker to show exactly where the Speaker’s dais and Papineau’s chair stood inside the historic assembly room before the building burned down.
Jacques Cartier- the 16th century French explorer who mapped the St. Lawrence River and helped name Canada.
Loved this whimsical art piece! “First Kiss At Last Light” (Hotel Frontenac looms in the background.)
Petit Champlain…I LOVED this section of Old Quebec City!! It was my favorite area! Fun to leisurely walk around, shop, and just soak-in the quaint ambience.
Great place for morning coffee and pastry – YUM
Whimsical and fun seating-relaxing area.
Love the charm of the businesses on these streets!
I thought this was the cutest display for the Cochon (pig) Dingue (crazy). (Crazy Pig Restaurant)
Several people took a picture of the pig looking into the restaurant, but I’m really glad I thought to go inside the entrance to get this perspective of the pig looking in the window. It’s my favorite.
Interesting store…Yes, it really says that! Means “F### fashion”
This was a cool store that makes a closeup shot of your iris into art. It was pretty cool to see all the colors in your eye like this. It is uniquely yours!
Pinocchio standing outside caught my attention enough to lure me inside the store. Below are some fun pieces that I enjoyed.
I enjoyed shopping with Dean, although it ended up an expensive day. I found two dresses that I liked that were both made locally here in Canada NOT in China! The black and white one I got at La Pomme. I got a bright floral, but more casual one at ZAZOU. Dean also found a nice shirt and dress.
Place Royale– GREAT area in Petite Champlain:
There was a set of four colorful giant statues temporarily placed around the city. The Câlins obviously appeal to the young ones. They certainly are easy to spot. They will disappear from Quebec City on August 3. These are giant forms of plush ones designed during Covid by Montreal artist Pony when isolation was difficult as social beings.
This pink one is “Kinzu“. He was located in the heart of Place Royale. Cute and simple, Kinzu also has scars/cracks from past and present struggles and things that hurt, just as we all have. Message from Pony: Give a little love. Have some fun in life. Be present and embrace your own child-like joy.
Loved this fresco mural that encompasses the entire end of a building (behind “Mr. Pink”). The more you look at the mural the more you see!
Then I came across this that made the mural even more unique!
Place Royale is the heart of the storybook-like area! So nice to just sit for a while and take it all in. :).
La Maison Smith is a great place to get a coffee and a pastry and sit outside to enjoy where you are and those with you.
We liked Smith and the outdoor ambience there that we came another day for our start to the day.
Follow the outer edge of the corner building/home in the foreground below. You would expect it to go straight down to the ground, but something happens before passing by the bottom window!
Horse drawn carriages had a hard time making the tight turn and the stone edge of the house kept getting chipped, so after a few repairs the person decided “If you can’t beat ’em; Join ’em!” So he ROUNDED the lower portion of the of the house and had no more problems.
I made the change that was made easier to see with a hot-pink border in the picture below.
The people started putting a smooth, rounded thick metal post out on other corners to protect the corner edge of their buildings from getting hit by carriages or anything else.
Yes, that’s another Calin monster at the bottom of the street (above). Anxiété is ready to give a hug.
Rue Cul-de-Sac:
Cool pass through…
Another 3-d building mural. I love these!
BUT taking time to really take in each panel, we discovered many humorous antics occurring and various animals invading the spaces.
“Break-neck Stairs”
View down the “Break-neck Stairs” to Petit Champlain.
Quebec City’s “Break-neck Stairs”. These 59 stairs are the oldest set of stairs in Quebec City! They were built in 1635 to connect the lower rue du Petit Champlain town area to the upper town area’s cote de la Montagne. Early in the 19th century they were given the “Break-neck” nickname due to their steepness. Over our time here we went up and/or down quite a few times.
I got a call from Barry to come up to the plaza at the Frontenac…HE was in the aerial performance taking place. WHAT!?!? We had the “break-neck stairs” and an additional set of stairs to go up to get to him in Upper Town.
Upper Town:
We made it in time to watch this brave volunteer – a young boy who was amazing! I wonder what went through his mind as he was being lifted up higher and higher. And what about his mom seeing her baby lifted up like this with no training, and hard pavement all around!!?!!
Next up was Barry’s critical participation. Not sure I’d want to trust my life to complete strangers! This show went on for about 45 minutes. Dean and I missed the first half. Barry said earlier he was at the top of the pole and just went straight down head first to about 6 inches off the pavement! WHY!?!? I can’t imagine doing something that dangerous on a regular basis by choice.
The start of his finale…
Summer brings out some amazing street performers on the main area of the terrace. They are not PAID performers, but only make what spectators choose to put in the container! Two small bleachers are even provided for spectators.
His finale continued:
The Funicular (Fr. Funiculaire)- an “inclined elevator” that directly connects a point in Petit Champlain and the Dufferin Terrace (shown below) that wraps around the Frontenac Hotel.
View of the Funicular from Petit Champlain…
The Funicular originated in 1879 as the Funicular Railway, and has evolved over the years to the one we see today.
We rode up once to experience it and yes, to save us from climbing the stairs yet again.
The Frontenac Hotel has become a main icon or symbol for the city of Quebec, Unfortunately, anyone not staying at the hotel cannot step foot inside to check it out. Rooms are extremely expensive. It is officially the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. It opened in 1893, and was the first luxury hotel built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to entice more upscale tourism. The Frontenac sits on the former grounds of the historic Château St Louis, which served as the residence for French and British colonial governors. The Frontenac hosted Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt as they with other world leaders met here and planned Allied WWII strategy.
A view from Rue Notre Dame (Petit Champlain area)
The Frontenac was not always as big as it is today. It expanded three times. The first major addition of the Citadel Wing came in 1899 – just six years after the hotel’s opening. Nine years later the hotel expanded down the street with the Mont-Carmel Wing. The Central Tower and Saint-Louis Wing were added 1920-1924. This has all culminated into the iconic profile that makes the hotel visible all across Quebec City. It’s no wonder that it has become the most recognizable icon for the city.
The Dufferin Terrace wraps around the base of the Frontenac. It is up high on Cap-Diamant and overlooks the St. Lawrence River and Lower Town. The boardwalk portion sits directly above the archaeological remains of Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux National Historic Site. There are a few raised plexiglass “windows” to see remains below, but photographing them with the sun out just didn’t work.
This was a surprise to see… an ice toboggan run! (mid-Dec to mid-March)
This large boardwalk area connects to the Promenade des Gouverneurs, an elevated walkway that leads toward the Citadelle of Québec and the Plains of Abraham.
Stairs and inclines to The Plains Of Abraham…
We walked the Plains d’Abraham–and it was HOT!
Artwork…more meaningful when you read the information plaque!
“Remembering Through Beads”. These are meant to represent wampum beads, and is tribute to First Nations’ ancestors who, have forever been guardians of the land and waters.
I was surprised to see bust of Gandhi just walking around.
More of UpperTown
Artisans de la Cathédrale. (June-Sept 10am-6pm)
More Street scenes
We met Stefan who was outside greeting people and of course inviting visitors in. We enjoyed not only a nice chat with him as he shared their lobster menu as well as their regular one that is posted. He definitely sold me that this is the place to have a lobster roll, but we weren’t ready to eat yet.
It is prime lobster season, so he shared their special lobster menu.
He gave us a tour inside. The more formal dining area for dinner was really nice!
It was funny how many times our paths brought us back by the Conti…almost embarrassing since we hadn’t stopped yet, I laughed and said to Stefan, “All roads lead to The Conti!” (It is on Rue Saint-Louis, a Main Street in Upper Town)
We did eat here the next day. All three of us ordered the lobster roll. It did not disappoint!
Dean introduced me to Aperol. 🙂
Iconic restaurant…La Bûche
It was quite unique inside as well! A toboggan room, and a snowshoe room.
The Antler section that opens to the street.
We ate out in the courtyard.
My Caesar came with a maple-bacon wrapped sausage. Dang was it good!
The most unique part of La Bûche was the bathroom!!
ONE bathroom for everyone! NOT a problem! EVERYONE has their privacy as it should be. AND real cotton hand towels to dry your hands!
Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur…
Across from the Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur is the Chalmers-Wesley United Church (originally the Free Presbyterian Church of Canada). It has a beautiful pipe organ. The church offers free one-hour concerts featuring various local musicians every Wednesday from 12pm-1pm during July and August.
Two days later, when I thought about the concert, we were too far away to get there in time. It would not have included the pipe organ.
Another church
Interesting… Although I thought the dog looked really cool.
I first thought this lady was out with big curlers in her hair, but no…still not sure what the statement or “Fuck La Mode” this was. Asking to be mugged–grab and go?
Of course we had to find our way to PUB ST-PATRICK
It was hot today. Great a fountain…
We introduced Dean to the Canadian BeaverTail -Pistach-OH!
The HopOn/Hop Off tour bus wasn’t the value to us we expected. We have really enjoyed it in other cities where it really helped us cover much more of those cities more efficiently where there were stops worth spending time. Not so much here.
HopOn/HopOff Quebec City was convenient for Dean to board near her AirBnb and the next stop was where Barry and I got on. It was nice to ride the complete loop that went out beyond the main areas of Old Quebec’s Petit Champlain and Upper Town to get a view of more than just Old Quebec. We rode through the Sillery and Macguire neighborhoods and through the Plains of Abraham (although we had already walked the Plains the day before). Throughout the ride we, of course, had an informative audio earbuds for the entire loop. We really wanted to concentrate our main time within the hills of Old Quebec City. Using the bus would waste more time for us. When we did try to ride back out one morning to have breakfast in the Sillery or Macguire area, nothing was open!
Back towards town.
Parliament building pictures from the bus
This was pretty cool… They aren’t the most obvious, but there are six ship masts that rise up within the median strip on Avenue Honoré-Mercier. They represent Jacques Cartier’s ships that arrived at the Saint-Charles River in 1535. At the top is a gold metal sculptures that at first appears to be a typical weather vane, but they are unique bell-tower motifs! They are meant to honor the role of the Church in Quebec City’s development and in sustaining the French history in North America.
I couldn’t help notice the “interesting” hillside! Those are some stairs and hillside reinforcement.
It was interesting to see the variety of architectural materials and facades.
More from the bus…
An unfortunate drawback to using the HopOn/HopOff bus this week was that the Quebec Summer Festival would begin within a couple days. Therefore, streets bordering Old Quebec City and into the Plains of Abraham were especially bogged down with structures going up for such a big event. It looked to be quite the festival with amazing musicians scheduled, but we were all glad it wouldn’t begin till after we were gone! TOO many people to maneuver through, and eating would be a wait. We already lucked out that there was no cruise ship in port, so we felt we had “perfect timing”. 🙂 We got a table wherever we went!
Some art in Old Quebec City:
Walking back to Sadie in the RV parking lot at the marina, Barry and I came across some art.
This pig art reminded me of Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Another evening we came across this little plaza that was so cool. How do people walk on it without losing their balance? Luckily, for anyone who has an equilibrium issue they could go around. We thought it was really cool!
AND it was perfectly FLAT!! Love the illusions!
While going between Petit Champlain and Upper Town we discovered a most unusual art gallery. Bad Art Gallery! And YES, the pieces were bad!! A couple paintings made us laugh with the “description” but mostly we just shook our heads. A few were just too creepy to include in my blog.
Below: “Baby of the Rock – The dominant feature of this image is the juxtaposition between the smooth skin of the baby’s face and the coarse terrain from which it emerges. The bright star in the sky gives the scene an element of religiosity, varying significantly from traditional depiction of the birth of the Messiah.”
Above: The girl in the flannel shirt is titled “Sonnet 18”. Description: “While painting a portrait of his girlfriend, this artist may have been inspired by William Shakespeare to compare her to a summer’s day.”
The following piece, “Earth Mother”, was three-dimensional. Look at her face and you can see how it it built out from the background.
The textures for the leaves and bark were directly from nature. Still overall, it was weird, and not sure what it would be “rated”.
Our last day we had a reservation for a river boat tour. We ate dinner prior to heading to the boat. We ate at Savini. We ordered two pizzas. OMG. These were amazing pizzas!! I make a BBQ pizza at home, but Savini’s BBQ pizza was incredible!! Definitely, the best pizza I’ve had.
First time we’ve ever ordered a pizza in a restaurant and it came UNCUT!! Trying to cut it, we understood why they bring it whole. Dang it was good, though!!
BOAT TOUR
We had beautiful weather for the boat ride, but could not hear much of any of the information provided by the boat guide. We just enjoyed the ride down the river. The highlight was seeing the Montmorency Falls since we were not going to get out that way. However, Dean did a bike tour to it the next day that included walking over the falls. Pretty cool!
Now there’s a set of stairs!
Thank you, Dean for joining us to explore Old Quebec City!
Overall logistics:
We boondocked at Louise Basin RV Parking near the marina. Location was ideal! You pay every 24 hr! So I set an alarm to remind me each day when our time was about to expire. Renewing online was easy- just a pain to do each day.
View from out walking the path around the marina area.
Walking back to Sadie our last evening after our boat ride, we walked more along the river and the marina. It was a beautiful walk.
A swimming area caught me by surprise! There was even a section specific for lap swimming!!
There was live music also happening a couple places on the marina along the way. The first we came near was not our music preference, the other was country, but we were ready to just put our feet up and chill. Tomorrow we head out.
Riding to UpperTown the afternoon we arrived was challenging and not very practical. The next morning we rode our bikes along the “perimeter” roads with a bike lane and locked them up for the day at the Museum of Civilization. Then we walked a bit further to Petit Champlain. This was a much smarter choice. It was an easier ride, and we didn’t have to hassle with the bikes and helmets while exploring throughout Old Quebec City. The next two mornings we used the Hop On/Hop Off Bus. We caught the bus on at Old Port which was really close to our dry-camping spot.
