Quebec City in 7 Days: Budget Itinerary
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7 days: the city, 4 day trips, Wendake, and a final morning
The fullest version of this itinerary: 2 days in Old Québec, the Route 138 day trips over Days 3-4, Wendake on Day 5, the seasonal Hôtel de Glace or a free day on Day 6, and a final morning before departure on Day 7. Budget $75-110 a person per day shoestring or $150-250 mid-range, plus the 14.975% tax. Only have 6 days? See the 6-day itinerary , which ends after Day 6.
Book these before you go
- A rental car or combined tour for Days 3 and 4
- Transportation or a guided tour to Wendake for Day 5
- A VIA Rail ticket for Day 7 if you’re continuing on to Montreal, about 3-3.5 hours away
Day 1: Upper Town and the ramparts
Walk the 4.6km of ramparts, then the Dufferin Terrace in front of the Château Frontenac. Drop into Lower Town via the Breakneck Stairs or the Funiculaire (about $3.50-7, verify) for 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, 83m tall and about 30m taller than Niagara, is 15 minutes out, with a cable car and suspension bridge (verify current price). Continue to Île d’Orléans 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. 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
Visit Wendake’s Onhoüa Chetek8e traditional site for a longhouse tour and canoeing, then head back for dinner in Saint-Roch’s craft-brewery district.
Day 5 real costs: Onhoüa Chetek8e admission (verify), dinner plus 14.975% tax.
Day 6: the Hôtel de Glace, or a free day
If your dates fall in Ice Hotel season, roughly January through late March, spend Day 6 at the Hôtel de Glace, about 35km from the city, rebuilt every year from roughly 500 tons of ice. Outside that window, use the day for the Old Port waterfront and the Marché du Vieux-Port, both free to walk.
Day 6 real costs: Hôtel de Glace day-visit fee (verify) in season, otherwise free.
Day 7: last morning and departure
Spend a final morning back in Petit-Champlain, North America’s oldest commercial shopping district, for souvenirs, or the Marché du Vieux-Port for maple products and local cheese to take home. Head to YQB, about 15km and 25 minutes from downtown (RTC Route 80 to the airport, about $4, verify, or a flat-rate taxi around $41.40, verify), or to Gare du Palais if you’re continuing on to Montreal by VIA Rail, about 3-3.5 hours away.
Day 7 real costs: airport RTC bus ~$4 (verify) or taxi ~$41.40 (verify), VIA Rail to Montreal from about $32-40 economy (verify) if continuing on.
Book the VIA Rail leg to Montreal ahead if that’s the plan, economy fares climb the closer you get to departure.