The Past Is Always Present in Québec City

There’s a gaggle of historical re-enactors dressed in 19th-century Québec period garb in the lobby of my hotel. There must be some kind of field trip happening today, I think to myself, as I make my way—bleary-eyed—toward the Place Dufferin where the hotel is serving its buffet breakfast at one of its four different restaurants, located on the Dufferin Terrace. 

On the second day I come down to the hotel’s lobby, the period-dressed re-enactors are there again, and then again on the third day. Okay, I’m starting to get the gist of this. 

People are dressed in bonnets and long skirts, waistcoats and wool coats and, against the old-world décor, the gold and brass-edged details, the stained glass that lets light stream through the lobby and fill the stone-walled château with coloured light, I’m starting to feel rather out of place in my modern yoga pants and hoodie. I’m not just in a different time zone, thousands of kilometres from my home on the West Coast—I’m in an entirely different era. 

The hotel—I might add—is the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Old Québec, Québec City, said to be the most photographed hotel in the world. 

And it’s easy to see why: its turrets, towers and oxidized copper roof are a sight to behold—and you’d find it hard to count all 611 rooms throughout 18 floors, some of which were built in entirely different decades, as you circle the castle walls. 

Built in 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a grand luxury railway hotel, it was designed in the château style by architect Bruce Price, whose vision helped give Québec City (a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, by the way) its most recognizable landmark. 

The historic château sits high atop Cap Diamant in Old Québec. A steep drop below is Le Petit-Champlain, a quaint, cobblestoned neighbourhood on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. 

History is serious business here. I learn that as I take the public ferry over to Lévis, a 12-minute ride across the St. Lawrence. I’ve taken the trip because I, like the hundreds of thousands of other folks who visit here each year, want to get yet another photo of the most photographed hotel in the world—this time from the other side. 

Perhaps in my all-too-obvious, tourist-holding-a-camera manner, I’m approached by a ferry worker asking where I’ve come from, and whether he can offer me any suggestions on where to eat tonight. “You should be a tour guide!” I exclaim, for him to tell me that such business would entail yet another post-secondary certificate. “Really?” I ask, somewhat gob-smacked that one would have to go back to college just to recommend a few tourist attractions and a handful of restaurants to eat at here. 

But alas, this cements it: History is serious business in Québec.  There’s a stunning reverence for convention and institutions, even if that means re-inventing within the guardrails of such things. 

Take, for example, the young chef at the city’s two-Michelin star restaurant La Tanière³. Helmed by Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol, the mysterious restaurant (you need to get buzzed in with a secret code, given only to you after you’ve secured your reservation, behind a non-descript opening inside an historic stone building) who was instrumental in getting the local local government to bring the Michelin Guide to to the city. 

A reservation at La Tanière³  begins in a cavernous, underground bar where inventive drinks are made and stone walls meet the ceiling in a curved formation. It’s just room one of a four-room dining experience that’s been exceptionally curated by Nicol and his team, all set inside a former fur trading den. Even the hottest, most nascent experiences in Old Québec cannot escape historical context. 

Back at my digs at the chateau, its own three restaurants (in addition to Place Dufferin) also prove a reverence for history and local ingredients. 

There’s the Bistro Le Sam, a “casual” concept which serves up a signature Gaspésie Lobster roll; beside it, Bar 1608, the hotel’s wine and cheese bar where one can order from the restaurant’s large variety of Québec-based cheeses (for which it has its very own cheese room), and the decidedly top-tier, upscale Champlain restaurant, serving up modern gastronomy by its young chef Stephane Modat. 

Though the vibes are distinct in each of the restaurants, there’s a throughline that runs through them all: they all nod to the colonial conception of Québec. The year that Québec was founded is the bar (1608)’s namesake, which separates Bistro Le Sam and Champlain—both of which nod to Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer and cartographer who founded Québec City and established the colony of “New France.”  

At Champlain, a river of gold (literally) hangs high on the ceiling, the bottom of the sculpture mirroring the cartography of the bottom of the St. Lawrence, where the restaurant sources some of its bounty. It’s here I sip on a refreshingly briney Codex mocktail, feast on a walleye fish dish (the “catch of the day”) and try  galets du Saint-Laurent en trompe-l’œil for dessert. The trompe l’oiel is that the pebble-like dessert (buckwheat ice cream wrapped in chocolate) looks exactly like little rocks that would be smoothed and tumbled by the rushing river.  

By the time I’ve eaten my way through the city’s cuisine, walked through the local forests and witnessed multiple tour groups wandering the streets after three days here, there’s one thing that becomes clear: Québec City is sincerely focused on its own lore.  

I wake up a fourth morning, this time knowing well the lobby of the Frontenac will be filled with historic re-enactment tour groups and guides, feeling a bit in on the secret of what’s behind the doors of Canada’s most photographed hotel. It’s a serious business. 

An Itinerary for a day well-spent in Québec City 

Photograph the Château Frontenac  

Start with Québec City’s grande dame: the Fairmont Château Frontenac. Sitting high above the St. Lawrence on Cap Diamant, it’s one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks (and said to be the most photographed hotel in the world).  

Catch a show on Dufferin Terrace  

While at Fairmont Château Frontenac, waste no time wandering onto Dufferin Terrace for views of the river. There are often outdoor performances staged along the terrace (like the two-man juggling and acrobatic show I happened upon in mid-June).  

Ride the Funicular into Le Petit-Champlain  

Take the funicular down into Le Petit-Champlain ($6 each way) to wander through the European-like cobblestoned streets and peruse the boutiques. In the shops, you’ll find Québec-made goods, local food products and souvenirs in some of the wonderfully kitschy tourist shops (such as mini magnetic licence plates emblazoned with “Tabarnak” and the like).  

Grab a cone at Fromagerie Ferme Audet  

For another unusual dessert (see above for the St. Lawrence river rocks at Champlain), stop at Fromagerie Ferme Audet for a cone of goat’s-milk soft serve. The fromagerie specializes in goat-milk products, so while you’re there, sample some of the cheeses, too.   

Stop for a glass of wine by the river  

Head to Bistro Pape-Georges for a glass of wine and watch the ferries float between Québec City and Lévis on the St. Lawrence. For a bit of culinary history, the spot is known as the first wine bar in the province of Québec to serve wine by the glass.   

Feeling touristy? Take a walking tour (or a ghost tour) 

As evidenced by the historical re-enactors that flood the Château Frontenac lobby each morning, there’s no shortage of tours to take here (there’s an information desk where you can book one). A historical walking tour is a good way to make sense of Old Québec’s centuries of French, British and military history. Those more inclined to the occult can join an evening ghost tour through the old city.  

Drive out to Forêt Montmorency  

If chateaus, stone fortresses and cobblestone streets are making you tired, drive north to Forêt Montmorency, the research forest operated by Université Laval in collaboration with the Huron-Wendat Nation. Well-plotted educational trails run through the boreal forest, where the university’s research and teaching work intersect with Indigenous knowledge. Close to the parking lot, the forest’s museum and interpretation centre is open to the public.