Quebec City in 4 Days: Budget Itinerary

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4 days: 2 in the walled city, 2 on the Route 138 day trips

Two days cover Old Québec’s core, then two day trips along the same Route 138 corridor: Montmorency Falls and Île d’Orléans on Day 3, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Canyon Sainte-Anne on Day 4. A car makes the pairing easier, though a half-day tour covers the same ground without one. Budget $75-110 a person per day shoestring or $150-250 mid-range, plus the 14.975% tax. Only have 2 days? See the 2-day itinerary , which drops all four day trips. There’s no 3-day version, only 2, 4, and up.

Book these before you go

  • A rental car or a combined Montmorency/Île d’Orléans/Sainte-Anne tour, this corridor isn’t on public transit
  • The Citadelle guided-tour slot for Day 2 if you want the Changing of the Guard (verify current schedule)
  • A room ahead for Festival d’été de Québec (Jul 9-19, 2026) if your dates overlap

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. 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), dinner plus 14.975% tax.

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 (verify current schedule). Afternoon at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec or the Musée de la civilisation. Evening poutine at Chez Ashton.

Day 2 real costs: Québec City Pass 24h tier ~$55-65 (verify).

Day 3: Montmorency Falls and Île d’Orléans

Rent a car or book a tour, this route runs along Route 138 outside the city. Montmorency Falls, 15 minutes out, is 83m tall, about 30m taller than Niagara, with a cable car and suspension bridge (verify current price). Continue to Île d’Orléans, another 15-20 minutes, for cider tastings and orchard produce depending on season.

Day 3 real costs: rental car or tour cost, Montmorency cable car (verify), cider tastings vary by producer.

Day 4: Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Canyon Sainte-Anne

Continue further along Route 138 to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, 30-40 minutes out, one of North America’s most-visited pilgrimage sites, free to enter. Canyon Sainte-Anne, just past it, adds a 74m waterfall and three suspension bridges, including the 60m-high McNicoll Bridge, open roughly May-October (verify).

Day 4 real costs: Canyon Sainte-Anne admission (verify), basilica free to enter.

Book the rental car or combined tour for Days 3 and 4 together, same corridor either way, well ahead of summer weekends.