Quebec City Travel Guide
Quebec City is the walled capital of the province of Quebec, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain on a cliff above the St. Lawrence River. Old Quebec, the historic core, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and remains the only fortified city north of Mexico with its ramparts still standing, roughly 4.6 km of wall and four surviving gates ringing the Upper and Lower Towns.
Old Quebec: Upper Town and Lower Town
Upper Town (Haute-Ville) sits inside the walls around the Chateau Frontenac, a working Fairmont hotel built in 1893 that hosted the 1943 and 1944 Quebec Conferences between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mackenzie King. In front of it, the Dufferin Terrace boardwalk leads toward the Citadelle, the star-shaped fort home to the Royal 22e Regiment, known as the Van Doos, whose summer changing-of-the-guard ceremony includes a goat mascot always named Batisse.
Down the cliff via the 1879 Funiculaire or the steep Breakneck Stairs, Lower Town (Basse-Ville) holds Quartier Petit-Champlain, billed as the oldest commercial district in North America, and Place Royale, the exact spot where Champlain built his first habitation in 1608. Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church stands on that same footprint and is the oldest stone church in North America.
History and museums
The Plains of Abraham, now Battlefields Park, is where British and French forces fought the 20-minute Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, the battle that ended New France. The Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec sits on the park grounds with more than 42,500 Quebecois works, and the Musee de la civilisation in Lower Town covers 400 years of the province’s history.
Winter is the real draw
Unlike most cities, winter here is a selling point rather than something to endure. The Carnaval de Quebec, the largest winter carnival in the Western Hemisphere, runs February 6-15, 2026, led by the snowman mascot Bonhomme. The Hotel de Glace, an ice hotel rebuilt from scratch each year with roughly 500 tons of ice, operates from January into March about 35 km from downtown. Expect real cold, -10 to -25°C, so layer up and watch your footing on the icy hills.
Day trips
Montmorency Falls, 83 meters and taller than Niagara, is 15 minutes away with a cable car and suspension bridge. Ile d’Orleans, the rural “garden of Quebec,” and the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre basilica are each a short drive further along Route 138.
Practical notes
Quebec is French-first, more so than Montreal, though the tourist core is bilingual. Sales tax runs about 14.975% (GST 5% plus QST 9.975%), added at checkout, and locals typically tip 15-20% on the pre-tax total. US citizens need only a passport; other visa-exempt visitors flying in need a CAD $7 eTA.
Read more: check the things to do in Quebec City guide for a fuller sightseeing list, or start planning with the 2-day Quebec City itinerary .