Quebec City in 2 Days: Budget Itinerary

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2 days: the walled city, Upper and Lower Town

Two days is enough to cover Old Québec’s core on foot without a car: ramparts and Upper Town the first day, the Citadelle and Lower Town’s museums the second. Budget roughly $75-110 a person per day shoestring or $150-250 mid-range, plus Quebec’s 14.975% sales tax at the register. Want the fuller list this itinerary draws from? See the things-to-do guide . There’s no 3-day version of this itinerary, only 2, 4, and up.

Book these before you go

  • A timed Citadelle guided-tour slot if you want the Changing of the Guard included (verify current schedule)
  • A table at Aux Anciens Canadiens for Day 1 dinner, it’s small (five dining rooms) and popular
  • A room well ahead if your dates land inside Festival d’été de Québec (Jul 9-19, 2026)

Day 1: Upper Town and the ramparts

Walk the 4.6km of ramparts and through Porte Saint-Louis, free, then the Dufferin Terrace in front of the Château Frontenac (a working Fairmont hotel, not a museum). Drop into Lower Town via the free Breakneck Stairs or the Funiculaire (about $3.50-7, verify) to see Petit-Champlain and Place Royale, where Champlain founded the city in 1608. Dinner at Aux Anciens Canadiens, in a house built 1675-76.

Day 1 real costs: Funiculaire ~$3.50-7 (verify), transit ~$4 if you bus back up, dinner plus 14.975% tax at the register.

Day 2: the Citadelle and the museums

Morning at the Citadelle of Québec for a guided tour and, in summer, the Changing of the Guard with Batisse the regimental goat (verify current schedule). Afternoon at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec on the Plains of Abraham, or the Musée de la civilisation in Lower Town if art isn’t the priority. Evening poutine at Chez Ashton, the city’s own poutine chain since 1969.

Day 2 real costs: a 24-hour Québec City Pass covering both museums plus the Citadelle runs about $55-65 (verify), cheaper than paying each admission separately.

Book the Citadelle tour slot before you land, same-day availability thins out in summer when the Changing of the Guard draws crowds.