Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - Day 1

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Our day began in Val-David, Quebec at the home of a traveling homeschooling family. As odd as it sounds, we connected with this family on a RV travel app called Boondockers Welcome where locals invite travelers to stay on their private property for free. Last night, we parked our RV on this family’s driveway and then left this morning around 9:30am.

I’ve been dreading this morning’s drive all week as today we had to drive through the big city of Montreal to get to Quebec City. Every Canadian we’ve spoken with about our travel route has “wished us luck” navigating through the congested city of Montreal, plagued with traffic and construction. RV travel forums simply recommend to AVOID MONTREAL altogether. There’s really no eastern route that avoids the city completely, though. The best Andi and I could do was plan our drive and try to stay as far north of the city center as possible. We chose to keep the Jeep attached to the RV vs. driving the two vehicles separately so I could help Andi navigate.

Andi purposefully picked the window of 10am - 1pm as our travel time to avoid the morning and evening rush hours. The first hour of our drive was fairly rural without much traffic. So far, so good. Closer to the city, we followed Route 640 along the northern edge of the city and honestly, the traffic wasn’t terrible. I expected bumper-to-bumper cars or having to cross three lanes of traffic, but our route was a pretty straight shot. On the eastern side of Montreal, we stopped to refuel the RV and were both relieved to have made it through the city without any trouble. The last hour of our drive was more suburban following the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City.

Andi broke one of our unwritten rules of RV travel and booked us a campsite at the KOA in Levis, Quebec for the night. Typically, we hate camping at KOAs because they’re crowded and expensive. However, this KOA just outside Quebec City had really good reviews. We arrived there around 2:00pm.

As soon as we set up the RV, I warmed up some pre-made meals for lunch. Andi and I ate beef stroganoff, Tory had shepherd’s pie, and Aden ate pasta with sausage and bell peppers. Then, we hopped in the Jeep and drove into Quebec City’s Old Town. There, we joined into a group of travelers for a city walking tour.

A guided city walking tour is the perfect way to learn about a new city. Andi and I like to hire a guide when we visit big cities so we can see the top sightseeing spots, learn about the city’s history, and get a lay of the land. Afterwards, we can revisit some of those areas on our own already having some knowledge about what we’re seeing and their significance. Typically, we hire a private guide to tour us around but today decided to join a group tour. Andi was a little hesitant about being stuck with a bunch of people, but our group was relatively small (12 people total).

I booked today’s city tour through TripAdvisor. Robert was our guide representing the tour company called Tour Voir Quebec. He was born and raised in Quebec City, and was full of facts and information about his city. We started in the “upper” section of Old Town which is perched on a hill overlooking the St. Lawrence River.

Within minutes the four of us were oohing & ahhing over the lovely cobblestone streets and tin-roofed buildings. Old Town Quebec City almost felt fake it was so picturesque. Andi couldn’t get over how much it felt like being in Europe.

It was interesting to hear about the British and French influences on Quebec City. Buildings constructed right next to each other show architectural design from each of those two countries. Religion played a huge part as well, with churches, monasteries, and statues constructed throughout Old Town.

We learned about Samuel Champlain, the father of Quebec City, who established the French settlement in 1608. Champlain was also the first European to discover the Great Lakes.

There’s a beautiful view of the mighty St. Lawrence River from the upper section of Old Quebec, and also preserved ruins of Champlain’s house built at this site. The St. Lawrence River is a vital part of the economic commerce that happens through the Great Lakes. It was the perfect place for a military fort to be built to control access to the city via the waterway. Northeast of Quebec City, the river expands in width and eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

Of course, the most iconic building in Old Town Quebec City is Chateau Frontenac, a castle that was actually developed by an American architect. The castle was never a castle at all; it’s a hotel open to the public with 600 rooms. Outside the hotel is a boardwalk filled with musicians performing, treat shops, cafes, and in the wintertime — a toboggan sled run.

Andi and I always task Tory and Aden with learning three facts during these tours so they’re actively listening and behaving. They did really well today as we walked around the city with the tour guide for 2 1/2 hours. One of Aden’s fact was that the Canadian fact is relatively young — adopted in 1965.

The tour group ended in Quebec City’s Lower Town, closer to the port of the St. Lawrence, and the original residences of Quebec City. Here, we learned interesting facts about the ships coming into the port and saw the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires which was built in 1687.

Our tour concluded on the Petit-Champlain, a busy pedestrian shopping street in Lower Town. In fact, this is the oldest shopping quarter on the entire continent! Robert shared so many interesting facts during our tour, I honestly wish I would have had a paper and pencil with me to record them all.

Unfortunately, by this point, both Tory and Aden were ready to be done walking. I would have loved to walk around this area of Lower Town for another few hours. It seriously looked magical all light up with twinkling lights. That clearly wasn’t going to happen though… at least without some complaining.

The four of us paid $5 each and rode the Funicular from Lower Town to Upper Town. There, we searched for a restaurant to have dinner that was close to where the Jeep was parked. Oddly, the first restaurant we tried refused to seat us because we had children. Our second choice was a French bistro called Chez Jules.

The menu at Chez Jules was a little fancier than the kids would have liked, but we were all able to find something that suited our tastes. Tory ordered pasta, Andi ordered a shrimp dish with rice, and I ordered beef bourguignon. We asked for an extra plate and all shared portions of our meals with Aden.

Andi ordered chocolate molten lava cake and chocolate mousse for dessert, and the kids were big fans.

The weather looks great tomorrow for Quebec City, so Andi and I decided to stick around for another day. We considered moving to another campground higher up the St. Lawrence River, but for ease decided to stay at KOA one more night. We’ve driven 2-3 hours every day since we left Wisconsin last week and have made a lot of ground already! It’ll feel good to stay put and enjoy our surroundings tomorrow in Quebec City.