Quebec City information

[miketoronto]

I will be visiting Quebec City, and I was just wondering if any of the suburbs are worth a trip to on the Metrobus? Is Charlesbourg worth seeing? Do they have an old town, etc? What about Beauport??

Any info you guys have would be great, including places right in Quebec City. Thanks.

[digitboy]

If you love biking, rent a bike and go to the new promenade samuel de champlain along the st-lawrence river and then take the ferry with your bike and visit Old Lévis and don't forget to use the bike path on the south shore. That's the best place to enjoy Quebec's skyline and Levis is probably the only suburb that's worth visiting in my opinion. I don't recommand the Metrobus at all, you will not enjoy it, except if you are a bus Lover.... ?

Quebec is not really a cosmopolitan town, but if you want to visit a less touristic place where it feels less homogeneous, go to Limoilou (using the Metrobus).

Ste-Foy is the commercial town and new "business district" along with le quartier St-Rock that is located downtown. Ste-Foy is a typical suburb : shopping centers, row houses and parking lots. However if you want to see the only cranes in the sky around Quebec City, take the metrobus and on the Laurier Boulevard you will see some buildings going up (3 or 4 I think). I don't see what else you can do outside of downtown Quebec? Beauport ?

Anyone else have suggestions?

[elsonic]

I don't know if qualifies as a suburb, but rue Maguire in Sillery is very nice.

[Freud]

I will be visiting Quebec City, and I was just wondering if any of the suburbs are worth a trip to on the Metrobus? Is Charlesbourg worth seeing? Do they have an old town, etc? What about Beauport??

Any info you guys have would be great, including places right in Quebec City. Thanks.

Charlesbourg's "trait-Carré" can be interesting on the historical side (http://www.trait-carre.org/Accueil.aspx?page=1178), but if you don't have a lot of time, you can skip it. Beside that, forget the suburbs.

In St-Roch, don't miss St-Joseph street:
http://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/2008/08/09/la-rue-st-joseph-en-vedette-dans-le-globe-and-mail/

[The Trooper]

I will be visiting Quebec City, and I was just wondering if any of the suburbs are worth a trip to on the Metrobus? Is Charlesbourg worth seeing? Do they have an old town, etc? What about Beauport??

Any info you guys have would be great, including places right in Quebec City. Thanks.

Hey Mike,

Obviously you have to visit the Old Quebec City and the Lower town which are the historic districts but I'm sure you know that already. My fellow forumers have made good suggestions as well. If you like urban parks, I suggest you visit Domaine des Maizerets which is a bit the equivalent of High Park. You may also visit the Huron village in Wendake if you like the first nations culture.

By the way, I know that you are apssionnate about urban deverlopement. In my opinion, Quebec City is a nightmare of urban sprawl. There is a municipal bylaw that prevent building higher than 12 floors in the downtown. Overall, I think Quebec City is poor example of urban development. Let us know your impression when you return from your trip.

[miketoronto]

Thanks for the info. I have been to Quebec City in the winter for the carnaval, but it was so cold(I am not joking, it is colder than Toronto) that we only got to walk around the old town for a very short time. So I basically did not see much. So I am hoping to see much more and branch out in this trip now(lets hope it does not rain).

The only reason I was thinking of checking out some of the suburbs, is because I heard they are also old towns with old quarters, etc.

Anyway good info. I think we are going to be staying in St. Foy, because the hotels in downtown Quebec are just so super expensive compared to when we stayed for Carnaval.

Any local places I should check out that the locals would go and not the tourists? Any good restaurants for a nice real Quebecois meal???????

Overall, I think Quebec City is poor example of urban development. Let us know your impression when you return from your trip.

Even in the freezing cold, I love Quebec City. It is a great city. You got lots of highways for a city the size it is. I also found St Foy very interesting as it is like this new midtown or uptown section you could say, and it is sort of a mix of suburban and urban style to it. We only drove down Blvd Laurier and I did not walk around but it is a weird mix like I said of the urban and suburban.

I want to the ride the METROBUS. I have heard so much about it and how it is a model for bus rapid transit service, and how it helped stop the ridership declines in Quebec City.

[The Trooper]

HI Mike,

For a typical Québécois meal, you can definitely try " Les Anciens Canadiens " on Rue St-Louis in the Old Québec City, just past the St-Louis Gate near the National Assembly. It's overprice but the food is good.

I guess I sounded negative when I mentionned that in my opinion Quebec City was a poor example of urban development. Don't get me wrong, I love Quebec City. It's just that for an urban agglomeration of 750,000 people, I don't understand the rational of building a satellite downtown in Ste-Foy on Boul. Laurier instead of concentrating the new office buildings development in the existing downtown. To me it's simply a non-sense. Basically in Quebec City, they don't densify the existing downtown and because of that it's not that lively.

For a urban agglomeration the size of the GTA, it makes sense to have satellite downtown like in yonge/sheppard for instance but in QUebec City ? Shouldn't we focus to develop a real downtown instead of two separate D/T that are 9 km apart ? I mean that's my opinion and I think many forumers from Quebec City on SSP more or less share my opinion on that matter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip in Quebec City and we look forward to hear from you and see your pics.

Regards

[MaThQc]

Thanks for the info. I have been to Quebec City in the winter for the carnaval, but it was so cold(I am not joking, it is colder than Toronto) that we only got to walk around the old town for a very short time. So I basically did not see much. So I am hoping to see much more and branch out in this trip now(lets hope it does not rain).

The only reason I was thinking of checking out some of the suburbs, is because I heard they are also old towns with old quarters, etc.

Anyway good info. I think we are going to be staying in St. Foy, because the hotels in downtown Quebec are just so super expensive compared to when we stayed for Carnaval.

Any local places I should check out that the locals would go and not the tourists? Any good restaurants for a nice real Quebecois meal???????



Even in the freezing cold, I love Quebec City. It is a great city. You got lots of highways for a city the size it is. I also found St Foy very interesting as it is like this new midtown or uptown section you could say, and it is sort of a mix of suburban and urban style to it. We only drove down Blvd Laurier and I did not walk around but it is a weird mix like I said of the urban and suburban.

I want to the ride the METROBUS. I have heard so much about it and how it is a model for bus rapid transit service, and how it helped stop the ridership declines in Quebec City.

well :

800 : You will see in Beauport the Vieux-Bourg District, who is the Beauport Historic Borough, and at the end of the line, take the line 50, and go to the Montmorency Falls. (usually, u dont need to take off the bus, it changes by itself, but not all the time) Also, if u want to see little falls, take off at Francois-de-Laval and at the south side, you have an entry to the park, it's the Beauport River.

801 : you have the Trait-Carré as someone else said. It's the Charlesbourg historic district... after, there's not so much to see.

802 : If u ever want to go at the ExpoCité..

400 : Quebec City's beach (Baie de Beauport), Old Port, Promenade Samuel-De Champlain and the aquarium.

[MaThQc]

And if you want to stay somewhere I usually go myself is the Hostel.... there're 2 in old Quebec City

- HI Quebec City (very nice)
- Auberge de la Paix

[Jon Dalton]

92% of the new city's geographical area is sprawl but if you're anything like me you may find it interesting to ride to the end of the line and see what's there. I don't only stick to the 'good' areas when I travel, I like to see the shitty ones too. Sprawl can have a distinct regional flavour. Levis is pretty cool, at least the old town part of it, and you can take the boat there. If you have a car or bikes, go down 'Route de la Nouvelle France', it's #138 I believe, east along the St. Lawrence. There's some killer sights to be seen along that road. The residential side streets outside of downtown - Limoilou across the St. Charles river and west alond St. Vallier come to mind - are awesome and must be seen.

Oh yeah, and TAKE THE TRAIN!

[miketoronto]

I just got back in from Quebec City. We had a great time. I did not see as much as I thought I would, as it took us a while to see some things, but it was great and would love to go back.

We even had to take a trip out to St Foy, which we were not planning on doing. However the Simons in Old Quebec had such a limited selection, that a trip to St Foy was a must.

The RTC Metrobus system I have to say is very impressive. I know it is a very very simple system, however it works great, and the bus lanes really keep things moving. It was amazing seeing nothing but bumber to bumber traffic all weekend, and just sitting on the RTC and speeding by the traffic. Very good system. Only thing I did not understand was why the METROBUS STOPS were so close together if it is suppose to be rapid transit. But anyway it was still pretty rapid.

The Promendate along the St Lawrence River with the Station Des Quais, etc was amazing.

Only problem we had was finding a Quebec meal :) Everyone kept going on how they just eat like everyone else, which we know. But Quebec does have some regional food that is not present in Ontario as much, etc. But no one could tell us where to find it, except for that Tourist Trap on St Louis Street :)

Anyway great time, and can't wait to explore Quebec City more.
And why are Quebec people so hot??? Ship some of them to Ontario please.

[The Trooper]

And why are Quebec people so hot??? Ship some of them to Ontario please.

Because they're a pain in the ass!!! Nice and low maintenance girls are usually not so hot.:)

[lio45]

Only problem we had was finding a Quebec meal :) Everyone kept going on how they just eat like everyone else, which we know. But Quebec does have some regional food that is not present in Ontario as much, etc. But no one could tell us where to find it, except for that Tourist Trap on St Louis Street :)

Easy!!!

Poutine @ Ashton (corner of St-Jean/Côte du Palais... I assume you were nearby at some point!). The crown jewel of "regional food".

Too bad I didn't see that thread earlier...

[lio45]

And why are Quebec people so hot??? Ship some of them to Ontario please.

You know what's funny? Every time I met Ontario girls (exchange students, etc.) over the years I would usually wonder the same thing... why aren't our girls that hot?

Probably a case of greener grass in the neighbor's lawn, as we say.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear you liked Quebec (City).

[The Trooper]

You know what's funny? Every time I met Ontario girls (exchange students, etc.) over the years I would usually wonder the same thing... why aren't our girls that hot?

Probably a case of greener grass in the neighbor's lawn, as we say.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear you liked Quebec (City).

Lio45, Quebec girls are definitely hotter than Ontario's girls. This is not even close, we win handsdown!!! Apparently, Toronto's strip clubs have imported a lot of Quebec girls as well. Our reputation is very well known. You would be hard pressed to find any girl gone wild in Ontario.

[elsonic]

we're not hotter, it's just the accent.

[lio45]

Lio45, Quebec girls are definitely hotter than Ontario's girls. This is not even close, we win handsdown!!! Apparently, Toronto's strip clubs have imported a lot of Quebec girls as well. Our reputation is very well known. You would be hard pressed to find any girl gone wild in Ontario.

How can you say "definitely"? It's a matter of taste. Plus, you don't need to tell me about Quebec girls, it's not like I haven't met or dated any in my lifetime.

Besides, girls gone wild aren't really the type I'll ever be interested in.

[The Trooper]

we're not hotter, it's just the accent.

Maybe you're right. When You say accent, I guess you meant that speaking french gives us an exotic touch or something like that. Anyway, to each their own tastes. I once travelled to Scandinavia and I can really say that it's the place where I founded the highest concentration of good looking women. I fell in love many times during this trip!!! Conversely, when I travalled to Detroit for an NFL game, I've never seen such a high concentration of fat people.