Some great ideas for a mini-holiday in Quebec!!! - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

localady · 09-02-2007, 04:21 PM

I had asked a question about what alternatives I should look at for a driving tour from Quebec and this is a response I received....I had to share it as it is chock full of good information!

If you are not in a hurry, I guess you could even consider spending one night or two in Québec city area, may be visit Montmorency Falls (smaller but actually higher than Niagara Falls), and Ile d'Orléans not far from it - the island litself is located less than 45 minutes away from Québec city. Typical French Canadian villages and farming - famous strawberries. When I was young, we used to say that to make a pie with strawberries of this island, we only needed ONE (les fraises de l'ile, everybody knows it !!!!). The island is now a protected area and all new constructions must respect the character of the old French style housing. It takes about 3 hours to go around the island (the villages are St-Laurent, Ste Famille, St Pétronille, St-François, St-Pierre etc.) If you stop only a few places, count a little more. Then coming back towards Quebec city and going North a few miles towards the Laurentians, there is also Onhoüa Chetek8e - no spelling mistake -an arborigene Huron village, located in Wendake. There are interesting little inns to stay there... and Huron specialty traditional dishes to try. The area is really not far and it is actually part of the Greater Quebec city agglomeration.

Then to reach Montréal, you can either take the 'highway but it is just another highway' ie Highway 20 or go via the North Shore on road 138 and see many little ancestral villages along the legendary 'chemin du roy' *kings' road* i.e. the oldest road in North America. 3 centuries of history as the Quebec tourism website labels it. You travel along the St-Lawrence river with wonderful vistas and picturesque villages.

The best idea would be to go to Tourism Quebec website www.bonjourquebec.com

In the website options click on 'to do and see', there is a 'kings' road' icon, and you will see all the info. It is quite an attractive side trip.

You can also contact 'Tourisme Québec' (see their contact us icon) or call them. The 1-800 should be good from the USA. Ask them to mail you something on Quebec city area and the 'chemin du roy' as mentionned above. Another option is to get the info you need while in Quebec city but that leaves it to the last minute !

canarymoon · 10-19-2007, 08:09 AM

Thank you for this!

Does anyone who has been there have anything to add?

cruiseshmooz · 10-22-2007, 10:49 PM

If you have a few days, you can drive from Quebec City to the Charlevoix region. It is GORGEOUS. First, you can stop in Baie St. Paul, a lovely town favoured by artists. Good restaurants and art galeries galore. Then you can continue on. There are many beautiful auberges to stay and/or dine in. The famous Fairmont Manoir Richelieu Hotel and Casino is in the area. Then, of course, there is Tadoussac and the Saguenay fjords (which you probably will sail on your cruise) So many whales! What fun! We drove to one of the nearby parks and saw bears at the side of the road.

The salmon is to die for! A road trip here is as good as one in France!

kcurrin · 02-29-2008, 03:04 PM

You really gave some great ideas for visiting Quebec. Thank you for posting this!

Cruise Planner · 02-29-2008, 05:44 PM

We did a Canada/New England cruise last year and it was absolutely wonderful!! I highly recommend it as a great alternative. Of course, the kids prefer the beach and the warmer weather of the Caribbean, but for us, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We've now thought about doing a one-way cruise from Boston or New York up to the interior of Canada.

The people are wonderful, the sites are awesome, the food is great, and the overall experience is one not to be missed.

Pete