Planning to travel in Canada this year? Summer in the capital of La Belle Province celebrates the essence of joie de vivre.
BY CLAUDIA LAROYE
Pedalling my rented e-bike along Quebec City’s scenic Port area, I press the brakes to a sharp standstill at the sight of a large, Olympic-sized swimming pool arranged in the St. Lawrence River.
My eyes are not playing tricks on me. I’ve arrived at the L’Oasis du Port de Quebec. Sadly, without a bathing suit. The gleaming water of this free, public aquatic facility in the Louise Basin at the Port of Quebec looks positively delicious on this hot July day.
This happy, accidental discovery is one of many I’m to encounter on this summer city sojourn in La Belle Province.
For some, the cosmopolitan urban lights of Montreal may eclipse Quebec City. But in quintessential je ne sais quoi style, the provincial capital just shrugs its elegant Gallic shoulders and keeps busy doing what it does best, welcoming the curious and gastronomically inclined to discover what they’ve been missing. It turns out, it’s a lot.
It’s About Time
History is inescapable in Quebec, and it isn’t just the provincial licence plate that remembers. Wandering around this walled, fortified city, founded in 1608 by French explorer and soldier Samuel de Champlain, is like taking a fascinating journey through time.
The Place Royale district square, where de Champlain reportedly founded the city, was rebuilt and renovated in the early 2000s, including the oldest rock church in North America, the 17th-century Église Notre-Dames-des-Victoires.
The summer breeze in the adjacent Petit Champlain district, the oldest commercial street in North America, is sweet with the smell of old stone, freshly brewed coffee and tempting pastries. The narrow cobblestone streets are framed by quaint stone buildings, some dating back to the early 17th century. Petit Champlain’s Old Town Cooperative ensures the commercial spaces are leased to local artists and independent merchants — no chain stores allowed.
It’s an ideal spot to find authentic arts and crafts made by local Québécois and First Nations artists. In summer, the streets are festooned in colourful umbrellas and, during my visit, giant Mr. Pink (Monsieur Rose) figures peeking from building rooftops and windows. The rosy rogues are part of Le Mignonisme, a temporary public artwork installed by French artist Philippe Katerine.
From here, the most photographed hotel in the world, the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac photo-bombs selfies from its hilltop perch. A swift, scenic ride up the funicular in Old Quebec to Dufferin Terrace affords commanding views of the historic hotel, the St. Lawrence River and the impressive Citadelle of Quebec, an active fort and museum.
By the time I stop for a baguette and refreshing lemonade at the Station de la Plage — a riverside sandy beach and pool area overlooking the St. Lawrence — I’ve only done a quarter of Quebec City’s 100 kilometres of cycling trails.
I could spend my entire trip pedalling and wandering the city’s narrow streets, but between arts, culture, gastronomic and wellness experiences, my to-do list is running long.
Over the next few days, I take the waters at Strøm Nordic Spa. The blissful thermotherapy experience at the popular facility adjacent to the St. Lawrence is an oasis of infinity whirlpools, lazy rivers, saunas, cold plunges and relaxation areas.
I pass an afternoon at the museum, wandering the airy white halls and large collection of Riopelle works in the Musée national des beaux-arts du Quebec. I ride a cable car and cross the bridge over thundering Montmorency Falls, appreciating its cooling mist in the July heat.
Opting to leave the city walls for a guided field trip with Conciergerie du Terroir, our group heads 30 minutes east towards the Île d’Orléans, an Eden-like landscape of rolling green hills and strawberry fields in the middle of the St. Lawrence River.
Among the island’s lush farmland, chocolate shops and six charming villages, I fall under the spell of a twinkled-eyed sorcerer at the Maison de Thé. Owner Vincent Paris, a bearded, self-described mischievous “farm wizard,” is a successful businessman and founder of Tigidouland.
“Tigidou” is a familiar Québécois expression meaning “it’s all good” and, as a master jam maker for the past decade, Paris has been utilizing all the good produce the island has to offer in his delicious concoctions of blueberry-lemon, apple-maple-cream and strawberry-basil jams and syrups.
The House of Tea, located in a charming wooden barn in his “sorcerer’s garden,” opened in June 2024, offering daily high-tea service with tisanes, fresh fruit and baked treats from his fields and farms, all served in a slow-food style befitting the island’s laid-back spirit and summer warmth.
Star-powered Dining
Rumour has it that the Michelin Guide’s next stop this year will be in the province of Quebec. The guide’s apportioning of stars has already transformed the Toronto and Vancouver dining scenes, but Quebec City restaurants have been producing Michelin-level dining experiences for quite some time.
At Le Clan, I enjoy a six-course tasting menu of exquisite hyper-local dishes from land and sea prepared by Chef Stephane Modat. The restaurant’s logo of a rabbit morphing into a deer, pheasant and fish alludes as much to Quebec’s hunting and fishing heritage as to the cuisine served by Le Clan’s professional and courteous staff.
Executive chef Sabrina Lemay helms Bistro L’Orygine, owned by the same restaurant group that operates the Relais and Châteaux Tanière3 Experience in the stone building’s dining room cellar. Lemay’s creative, organic-vegetable-forward and vegan dishes exude an elevated simplicity and delectable freshness.
With suitable, selective French wine pairings with every dish, I can imagine myself in Lyon or Nice. But I’m happily ensconced in Quebec City, paying the pleasingly small bill with Canadian dollars instead of costly euros.
How good is that? Travelling to New France in Old Quebec is surely this year’s song of summer.
If You Go …
Note that there are no direct flights from Victoria to Quebec City, but both Air Canada and WestJet will get you there with connections. Alternatively, you could fly into Toronto or Montreal and enjoy a more scenic journey to the provincial capital by Via Rail.
For more information: bonjourquebec.com or quebec-cite.com
