In reading about our hotel in the review comments section of Google Maps (great easy resource as lots of folks like to share their experiences there), several posters mentioned the breakfast basket delivered to your door. We awoke to this…
The door has a special hook just for the basket!Contents included two plain croissants, two blueberry croissants, OJ, yogurts, cheese, and jam. Yum!Truly breakfast in bed!
The view of town earlier this morning. Not much was happening yet but this area will be bustling soon enough.
Today, we headed out on two different self-guided walking tours that the owner of our hotel, Chris Keating, had put together for guests’ use.
In the morning, we did the longer Upper Town and Plains of Abraham tour while after lunch we followed the Lower Town guide.
Any comments below in quotation marks are attributable to Chris Keating’s guides.
The Upper Town route we followed.Our hotel with the Hortus Bistro on the ground floor.Heading up the hill from the hotel and along this block is Simons Department Store. “At the top of the hill, on the left is Simons Department Store which is popular with Quebecers. Its history dates to 1812 with the arrival of Peter Simons, who arrived in Quebec from Scotland. Peter had a small farm outside of the city to bring up his 5 children. In 1840 his son John opened a little store in Quebec to sell imported products. To insure the quality of his products he travelled across the Atlantic 70 times. In 1870, Simons opened on this site at 20 Cote de la Fabrique.”The Notre-Dame de Quebec cathedral. “Continue along rue Buade and visit the Notre Dame de Québec Basilique-Cathédrale, 20 rue de Buade, the original of which was built in 1643. The Church is the oldest parish in North America. Québec’s most historically influential people are buried here including Francois de Laval, Quebec’s first bishop of New France and the founder of Laval University.”The ceiling of the cathedral.Above the altar is very ornate.
There’s tons of retail shops and restaurants throughout Old Town. This one in particular seemed to get a lot of interest.
La Boutique De Noel.
Many businesses were decorated with a Fall theme including pumpkins, corn stalks, flowers, gourds and more.
The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.
“As you continue going up, rue des Jardins you’ll pass the Anglican Cathedral Holy Trinity on your left and the Clarendon Hotel on your right. Built in 1804, the church was the first Anglican cathedral outside the British Isles. Its architecture is inspired by St. Martin in the Fields in London. The interior is simple, but spacious and bright, with pews of solid English oak from the Royal Windsor forest and a latticed ceiling with a gilded-chain motif.”
As we made our way further up the hill, we came across this business with my name. Couldn’t resist snapping some pics. Guess what they were offering for sale?😜
Some interesting architectural details along the tour.
Metal dome on this one.“The extended hand” in front of you at Place des Tourangelles is a monument to the memory of the women who contributed to the teaching of the young girls in the colony. This work was unveiled in 1997 at the time of the 325th anniversary of the death of Marie Incarnation, founder of the community of the Ursuline nuns and the first school in North America in 1639.”
We walked through Governor’s Garden. “On rue Haldimand you’ll pass on the left a park, the Governor’s Garden, with an obelisk to the two protagonists in the September 13, 1759, Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Generals Wolfe and Montcalm who fought for what would be the ultimate destiny of Québec and of all of North America. The French were defeated and both generals died. Wolfe, wounded in the fighting, lived only long enough to hear of England’s victory. Montcalm died hours after Wolfe. Told that he was mortally wounded, Montcalm replied, “All the better. I will not see the English in Québec.” It’s a beautiful park now.
We made our way up to the Plains of Abraham which affords incredible views of Quebec City and the St. Charles River below.
“From here, you overlook much of what makes Québec so beloved… Upper Town (Haute-Ville) of Old Québec…surrounded by fortress walls. You are walking along part of the 4 kilometers of stone walls which surround much of the older city and gives a view of the City of Levis, across the river; the Island of Orleans in the distance to the east and the Laurentian Mountains to the north.”
Map of the parkUs with the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel in the background.The entrance to the fortress with the walls surrounding. Watch where you walk along the ramparts as there are no guardrails and it’s a long way down! 😳“Turn left on rue Saint-Louis and walk through the St-Louis Gate built in 1873. As far back as 1692 there was a gate here. Across the street- is the Esplanade powder magazine, part of the old fortifications and in front of it a monument that commemorates the August 1944 meeting of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss how to proceed with WWII. They met in Quebec to negotiate the Quebec Agreement, that reestablished that they would coordinate efforts to build a nuclear bomb among the respective scientists of the three countries; United States, United Kingdom and Canada.”The Parliament building. A statue in front of the Parliament building. The Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel. My sister told me that the minimum room rate is $779 Canadian which is about $570 US. The entrance to the hotel.Holiday decorationsThe bar insideStarbucks!Even though we weren’t in Montreal, that’s all they had available in Quebec City. Retail everywhere!Christmas store madness!
Our hotel’s host recommended this place and we went there for lunch. A stone’s throw away.
Shared a goat cheese salad. This probably would’ve been enough after the basket breakfast.But we also ordered this cheese plate. Yummy Quebec options!Restaurant decorations above us.
After lunch, we started our hotel owner’s lower old town tour…
Very Euro…“Arret” is my new favorite word! The crow is a guardian of the ramparts. 😋Protecting the ramparts.Interesting architecture along these parts.I have no idea what this is for!This was a place with an interesting read! A young Horacio Nelson stayed here long before he became famous.This street has been claimed as the oldest in North America!Shops../Cool stuff.We saw these eyes in various parts of the city.Notre Dame des Victoires. “In front of the Church there is a green circle on the pavement. Preserved underneath is the authentic site of the original, sparse habitation/settlement founded by Samuel Champlain in 1608. The two storied “Habitation” was a group of buildings; an Inn, a fort and the military headquarters. It was the chief French settlement in North America. Of the 24 people who wintered in that first winter in 1608 in Québec City only 8 were alive in April.”Some of the buildings here were adorned with these reflective silver stripes.Lots of fall displays.A popular spot – Rue du Petit-ChamplainA popular restaurant along the Rue serving sautéed rabbit.Looking back up the stairway entering the Rue.Folks who don’t want to walk back up the hill can take this funicular for $5. We chose to walk.Many buskers played throughout popular areas of the city.Odd “sculpture” near our hotel.
Returning to the solitude of the hotel, after a day mixing with the crowds, I told the friendly gentleman behind the front desk: “Ahhh, this is bliss”. (Or something like that)
We’d made reservations for the bistro downstairs and had a very good meal. The restaurant tends a garden upstairs on the roof which supplies a lot of the produce.
East Coast Road Trip: From Clemson to Montreal 
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