Québec CITY |
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images: getty; la buche |
Clockwise from top: A view of Le Château Frontenac; La Buche restaurant; Québec City Old Town Previous pages clockwise from top left: View of Québec City; Boulevard Champlain, bikers and wall mural; a house in the Old Town; Rue du Sault-au-Matelot, Vieux Port( Old Port); lobster dish at Tanière ³; Coronation Hall, Cider Mill; the Old Town; a platter at La Buche; Bar 1608 at Le Fairmont Château Frontenac; an espresso martini at Le Clan restaurant; the Petit Champlain district in Québec City; a server at La Monnaguette |
tourtiere croquettes( a breaded version of a Québecois meat pie).
It’ s now time to get some steps in. The Upper Town is encircled by centuries-old defensive walls that once protected it from marauders, making it the only fortified city north of Mexico that’ s still standing. Join the ramparts near the Porte St. Louis gate, following their length for uninterrupted views of Old Québec’ s fairytale jumble of narrow lanes and castle-like buildings. The walls eventually transition into Dufferin Terrace, a broad wooden promenade with views of the vast St. Lawrence River hugging the city’ s shoreline. End your journey at Rue Saint-Jean, a lively street where buskers perform and a steady stream of customers trickle in and out of its cafes and bookshops. For an afternoon
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treat, stop at Érico, a fourdecade-old stalwart that’ s part patisserie, part chocolate museum. If there’ s time, duck into the Maison de la Littérature— a library housed in the city’ s first neo-gothic church, built in 1848. Books are almost entirely from Québec’ s literary canon, and a roster of events includes readings and exhibitions.
EVENING After freshening up at the hotel, head back through the city’ s medieval walls, where 1608 Bar beckons at the top of the Fairmont. Go before sunset for panoramic sweeps of the river set below a pink-tinged sky, taking it all in over a charcuterie board of regional meats and cheeses. Creative mixologists blend signature drinks such as the warming‘ Operation
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Neptune’, made from bourbon, Calvados, maple and cinnamon.
For dinner, it’ s rich pickings in Québec City. There are six Michelin-starred restaurants in town, plus newfangled spots helmed by ambitious young chefs as well as super old-school spots that have been around for decades. Such is the case at Le Continental, a classic French restaurant opened in 1956 and still at its original spot at the heart of the old town. It’ s all white tablecloths and bow-tied waiters here— an adherence to tradition that impressed the late Anthony Bourdain when he visited. Go for the famous Caesar salad, tossed tableside, and a steak that’ s lit aflame as it’ s carried out. The wine cellar is 5,000 bottles strong and stocked with France’ s, Italy’ s and America’ s finest.
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fall 2026 • 21 |