Things to Do in Quebec City

Looking out across the St Lawrence River from its clifftop location on Cap Diamant, Quebec City’s Upper Town (Haute-Ville) is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Vieux Quebec. Famous for its French and British-built fortifications, many of Upper Town’s perfectly preserved buildings date back to 19th century, and some even go as far back as the 1600s.

The jewel in Upper Town’s crown has to be the iconic Château Frontenac hotel. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company in 1893 as a way of enticing railway passengers to Quebec City, today the chateau is a National Historic Site of Canada that’s said to be one of the world’s most photographed hotels. If you’re not staying overnight, you can always enjoy a drink at one of hotel bars which look out to the Laurentian Mountains in the distance. Stuffed with boutiques, restaurants and hotels, Upper Town’s narrow cobblestone streets are where most visitors spend the majority of their time while in Quebec City.

Wedged between the St Lawrence River and Cap Diamant, Quebec City’s Lower Town (Basse-Ville) is part of the Vieux Quebec UNESCO World Heritage site. Home to the city’s oldest buildings, there’s plenty to see in Basse-Ville, including the oldest shopping street in North America (Rue du Petit Champlain), and one of Canada’s narrowest streets (Sous-Les-Cap).

A popular place for a wander, and Quebec City’s oldest residential area, Lower Town’s century-old dwellings play host to boutiques and bistros, antique stores and galleries. In summer, street performers entertain outside bustling sidewalk cafes, while in winter the snowy streets are decked with fairy lights and ice statues. Place Royale is a popular visit while in Basse-Ville. This square is where the Father of New France, Samuel de Champlain, first built a French colony on the shores of St Lawrence.

At the foot of Cap Diamant in the historic Lower Town (Basse-Ville) of Quebec City, the Petit-Champlain quartier is one of the oldest spots in the city and said to be home to the oldest commercial street in North America; Rue du Petit-Champlain.

In the beginning of Quebec’s history, Petit-Champlain was little more than portside village made up of just a few homes and fur trading posts. Today, after a huge urban restoration project, the quartier is bursting with sidewalk cafes, galleries, restaurants, and boutiques hidden down narrow cobblestone streets. The area is also well-known as an artists’ enclave, and nearly fifty of its stores are run by a local artists’ co-op. On the side of 102 Rue du Petit-Champlain, look out for a huge trompe-l'œil. Designed by Murale Création, the famous mural shows different stages of Quebec’s history, from the bombardments to the landslides to the people who set down their roots here by the shores of St Lawrence.

A working-class area and shipbuilding site since the early 1800s, up until a decade ago the Saint-Roch district of Quebec City was an industrial wasteland. Today, it’s the hippest district in the city that’s full of 19th-century factories-turned-nightlife hangouts, alternative stores, tech startups, and bistros. Even the 150-year-old Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier church has been given a second life as Espace Hypérion, a creative performance center.

Most of the action in Saint-Roch takes places on the main commercial street, rue Saint-Joseph, where hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into renovations over the past 10 years. Spanning 15 square blocks, even the quarter’s new name is up-to-the-minute: the “Nouvo” in Nouvo Saint-Roch is text speak for “nouveau.” And in the east streets of Saint-Roch, on the pillars beneath the Dufferin-Montmorency expressway, look out for giant, colorful murals featuring everything from oversized church doors to chess boards.

Built in 1687, in the historic Lower Town of Quebec City, Notre-Dame-des-Victoires is one of the oldest churches in North America. Lying atop the ruins of the city’s first outpost, which was built by the Father of New France, Samuel de Champlain, in 1608, Notre-Dame-des-Victoires dominates Place Royale square. Over the centuries, this Roman Catholic church has seen its fair share of battles between the French and British. And after the Battle of Quebec in 1690, the church was given its Notre Dame moniker in recognition of the Virgin Mary protecting the city from danger. However, Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church was almost completely destroyed by a later British bombardment during the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

Restored in 1816, the church was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988 because of its beauty and history. A working church with regular Sunday services, a particularly special time to visit is on January 3.

Often regarded as the premier reference in terms of Quebec art, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec City has amassed over a whopping 38,000 works of art. It acts as a testament to art history in the province, spanning every major movement from the seventeenth century to today including everything from modernism to surrealism. The museum consists of four pavillions: the Charles Baillairgé pavilion, which concentrates on modern art, the Gérard Morisset pavilion, where the historical works are housed, and the central pavilion, home to the Family Gallery, and, last but not least, the brand new Pierre Lassonde pavilion, which is entirely dedicated to contemporary art. The latter has just been extensively renovated and is now a marvel of modern-day architecture.

Rising as a beacon of modernity in historic Old Quebec, the Musée de la Civilisation looks at humanity across the world as well as the history of Quebec through an extensive lens. Surrounded by glass panes and greenery, the museum is impressive from the exterior alone. Pre-existing buildings were incorporated into the completed design, which finished construction in 1998. Inside, both its permanent and rotating exhibits are highly interactive and educational, ranging from Quebec’s Aboriginal roots to contemporary culture.

The museum has become known for its fresh and original designs and perspectives, and is thought to be a leading cultural hub of Quebec. It has hundreds of unique and original historic art and artifacts, many of which collectively tell the story of Quebec. There are often family workshops as well as guided tours (in both English and French) available for those looking to take a deeper dive into the museum.

With its strategic view of the plateau west of the city and the St Charles River, Artillery Park National Historic Site is a complex of defensive buildings constructed by the French in the 17th and 18th centuries. The site also functioned as an ammunition factory, which employed thousands of Canadians as recently as the early 1960s.

Inside the structure, you can visit the officers' quarters, the mess hall, an iron foundry, and the Dauphine Redoubt, where guides greet you in period character (such as the garrison's cook) and give you the scoop on life in the barracks. There's also a huge model of Québec City in the old Arsenal Foundry. In the interpretive center, you can take a fascinating multimedia journey through the history of the site and Quebec City itself. In summer, gunfire demonstrations are held three times a day.