Quebec City in 5 Days: Budget Itinerary

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5 days: the city, 2 Route 138 day trips, and Wendake

Two days cover Old Québec, two more run the Route 138 corridor (Montmorency Falls, Île d’Orléans, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Canyon Sainte-Anne), and a fifth heads the other direction to Wendake’s Huron-Wendat community. Budget $75-110 a person per day shoestring or $150-250 mid-range, plus the 14.975% tax. Only have 4 days? See the 4-day itinerary , which drops Wendake.

Book these before you go

  • A rental car or combined tour for Days 3 and 4, the Route 138 day trips aren’t on public transit
  • The Citadelle guided-tour slot for Day 2 if you want the Changing of the Guard (verify current schedule)
  • Transportation or a guided tour to Wendake for Day 5, it isn’t on the same corridor as the other stops

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. 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 the Changing of the Guard in summer (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

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.

Day 3 real costs: rental car or tour cost, Montmorency cable car (verify).

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

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

Day 4 real costs: Canyon Sainte-Anne admission (verify).

Day 5: Wendake and Saint-Roch

Wendake, home to Canada’s only recognized Huron-Wendat community, is a short trip from the city. Visit the Onhoüa Chetek8e traditional site for a longhouse tour, canoeing, or tomahawk throwing, then head back into the city for dinner in Saint-Roch, the district’s craft breweries and trendy dining most day-trippers skip.

Day 5 real costs: Onhoüa Chetek8e admission (verify), dinner plus 14.975% tax.

Book the Wendake tour or transportation ahead if you don’t have a car, it isn’t on the same Route 138 corridor as the other three day trips.