Quebec city excursions

[McFins]

Hi.  We missed out on booking excursions for Quebec City on an upcoming Sept cruise.  we would like to tour the city and from what I understand we should visit Montmorency Falls. Does anyone have experience doing this on their own or booking with a company outside of the cruise line?  Any advice is greatly appreciated. 
Thanks

[BklynBoy8]

4 minutes ago, McFins said:

Hi.  We missed out on booking excursions for Quebec City on an upcoming Sept cruise.  we would like to tour the city and from what I understand we should visit Montmorency Falls. Does anyone have experience doing this on their own or booking with a company outside of the cruise line?  Any advice is greatly appreciated. 
Thanks

 

Visiting Quebec last September was a thrill.

 

You do have to visit Montmorency Falls, the Niagara Falls of Quebec. You can view it from the observation deck below. Or if have time, you can walk up to the top of the falls.

 

We did a tour of the city with the ship and Quebec is a marvelous city to tour during the day but especially at Night all lite up. If possible, do find time to grab a meal in one of the many restaurants. Dinner Time should be a memorable experience.

 

And of course please visit the Chateau Frontenac Hotel and walk the Board Walk in front of the Hotel.

A beautiful view of the Harbor and Waterway.

 

Enjoy Quebec.

[Cali Viajera]

We are going to take the city bus line to the falls since in October we arrive too late for a morning walking tour.

[GTJ]

52 minutes ago, McFins said:

we would like to tour the city and from what I understand we should visit Montmorency Falls. Does anyone have experience doing this on their own or booking with a company outside of the cruise line?

Are you looking only to visit Chute Montmorency, or are you seeking a tour of the entire city that also includes a stop thereat? If the former, then use use route 800 of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale ("RTC"), www.rtcquebec.ca, for a very inexpensive excursion: 3.75 CAD per person each way, plus admission to the falls, 3.78 CAD for Québec residents, 7.57 CAD for others (all rates discounted for seniors). If the latter, then the "Countryside" tour inclusive of the falls is offered by Unitours, www.toursvieuxquebec.com: 74.70 CAD per person. Unitours also offers a round-trip bus to the falls only, admission included, for 29.90 CAD per person, as an alternative to using the RTC bus (but note this Bus operates much less frequently than the RTC bus, notwithstanding that the total cost is twice the price).

 

Note that the central city, including Vieux-Québec, is quite walkable, and paying for a tour is necessary only if one has mobility issues or if one wants to have sights pointed out and listen to commentary.

[McFins]

Thank you very much GTJ.  That could be workable since we can tour the city itself on our own…was just wondering how to get to Montmorency Falls and back with reliable transportation.   

[McFins]

3 hours ago, Cali Viajera said:

We are going to take the city bus line to the falls since in October we arrive too late for a morning walking tour.

That sounds like a good idea, perhaps we will do the same.
 

 

[GTJ]

4 hours ago, McFins said:

That could be workable since we can tour the city itself on our own…was just wondering how to get to Montmorency Falls and back with reliable transportation.   

RTC route 800 does not go to the cruise terminal itself, but does stop on the periphery of Vieux-Québec, so you can make a plan to do both. Below is a general map of the Québec city centre. You can see the cruise vessel port in the lower right hand corner. You will also see the funicular railway, number 14 on the map, that connects the lower city to the upper city. The upper (walled) city is focused on the Château Frontenac, number 7 on the map. This map is useful because it does show the city's walls, the outlines of which define Vieux-Québec and its tourist attractions. The route 800 bus to the falls picks up passengers just west of the wall, at the Place d'Youville stop, which is located on the east side of boulevard Honoré-Mercier, immediately south of rue Saint-Jean (a bit northwest of number 39 on the map). Buses come by about every ten minutes (you can see a detailed timetable here: http://www.rtcquebec.ca/horaires-et-trajets/horaires-des-bus/tous-les-parcours/800/terminus-chute-montmorency/2664-dyouville). The bus will be marked as being destined for Terminus Chute-Montmorency. Be prepared to pay $3.75 per person, exact fare. The last stop is at the falls. You can ride the same bus route back to the city centre, from the same terminal bus stop. On the way back you could, optionally, alight on boulevard Jean-Lesage at  rue de la Gare-du-Palais, a bit west of number 15 on the map, and then walk over to the beautiful Gare du Palais (number 15 on the map), and walk along rue Saint-Paul back towards the port.

Bill Carte OTQ 2020 20_5x16_5_CO-sans marque de coupe.pdf

[McFins]

Thank you very much GTJ 

[marys350]

You might want to check out Quebec Bus Tours, which offers several different tours at reasonable prices.

https://quebecbustour.com/home/

We have booked a tour with them online for our upcoming cruise in September.

[McFins]

5 hours ago, marys350 said:

You might want to check out Quebec Bus Tours, which offers several different tours at reasonable prices.

https://quebecbustour.com/home/

We have booked a tour with them online for our upcoming cruise in September.

Thank you so much!!

 

 

[Cali Viajera]

GTJ, thank you! I copied your post to use when we get there. Always learn so much from seasoned cruisers 🛳

[Cali Viajera]

On 7/14/2023 at 11:30 AM, GTJ said:

Are you looking only to visit Chute Montmorency, or are you seeking a tour of the entire city that also includes a stop thereat? If the former, then use use route 800 of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale ("RTC"), www.rtcquebec.ca, for a very inexpensive excursion: 3.75 CAD per person each way, plus admission to the falls, 3.78 CAD for Québec residents, 7.57 CAD for others (all rates discounted for seniors). If the latter, then the "Countryside" tour inclusive of the falls is offered by Unitours, www.toursvieuxquebec.com: 74.70 CAD per person. Unitours also offers a round-trip bus to the falls only, admission included, for 29.90 CAD per person, as an alternative to using the RTC bus (but note this Bus operates much less frequently than the RTC bus, notwithstanding that the total cost is twice the price).

 

Note that the central city, including Vieux-Québec, is quite walkable, and paying for a tour is necessary only if one has mobility issues or if one wants to have sights pointed out and listen to commentary.

Is there a map available to do a walking tour by ourselves?

[GTJ]

2 hours ago, Cali Viajera said:

Is there a map available to do a walking tour by ourselves?

It has become more challenging to find good edited maps that can be downloaded as a PDF. Google maps is good for what it is, but not entirely satisfactory. I find that OpenStreetMap is more satisfactory for printing out maps to use for walking, and I have downloaded a PDF that shows the relevant area for seeing the walled city, and attached it to this message; this map does not really highlight the funicular railway very well, so I have a second, more detailed map, of that area. The map for which I posted a link above is okay, but I have not found anything else that is substantially better (I am certain there are, but I just have not found them). It is always useful to keep track of where one is at any given moment, but the streets of Vieux-Québec do lend themselves to just walking about. A few resources that I think are useful for planning a walking tour, and basic interpretation of some sites, are the following.

 

Ville de Québec, Old Québec and the surrounding neighbourhoods, http://www.fliphtml5.com/ftqw/ofuu

Ville de Québec, Walking Tours in Québec City, http://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/walking-tours

Urban Guide Québec, Self-guided walking tour of old Québec city, http://www.urbanguidequebec.com/self-guided-walking-tour-quebec-city

GPSMyCity, Old Quebec Walk (Self Guided), http://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/old-quebec-walk-3031.html

Lonely Planet, A walking tour of Québec City, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/free-walking-tour-quebec-city

 

Vieux-Québec map.pdf Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec map.pdf

[GTJ]

On 7/15/2023 at 1:50 PM, marys350 said:

You might want to check out Quebec Bus Tours, which offers several different tours at reasonable prices.

The company appears to be legitimate and affiliated with a hostel, Auberge le P'tit Bonheur, http://www.leptitbonheur.com. I have not verified through the Commission de transports Québec their license to operate.

[Cali Viajera]

Thank-you so much GTJ for taking the time to research my question!🗺️🍁

[WisCruiser2]

Just came across this thread. Thanks, GTJ, for the maps!

[marys350]

On 7/15/2023 at 1:50 PM, marys350 said:

You might want to check out Quebec Bus Tours, which offers several different tours at reasonable prices.

https://quebecbustour.com/home/

We have booked a tour with them online for our upcoming cruise in September.

We enjoyed our Quebec Bus Tour (Tasting Tour on the Isle of Orleans), in September. The bus meeting point was beside the Hotel Frontenac and walking distance from the cruise terminal if you take the funicular. We took a taxi ($15 CAD one-way) from terminal to meeting point and walked back to ship via funicular ($5 CAD per person).