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Hello out there? I guess there's not many Quebec City afficionadas?

Quebec City is as close to Europe as you can get on this side of the Atlantic. If you are spending all 6 nights in Quebec City, you will probably want a car, at least for a few days to explore the rural landscape just outside the city. If you are doing day trips from QC, places like Gaspe would be much to far. A drive up to Baie St. Paul and Tadoussac would be as far as you would want to go for a day, but these are both very scenic, fun destinations. If you like rural countryside, Ile D'Orleans just outside the city is very unspoiled and agricultural. I don't know anything about the Quebec music festival, but the Montreal Jazz fest is pretty amazing, with lots of free music on the street. Realize that most of the serious music starts around 6:00 pm, before that it's mostly marching dixieland bands, perhaps a small jazz combo, etc. You might want to consider spending a night in Montreal (you could easily spend a week there and not be bored).
Have you been to the bonjourquebec.com website? You should also call them and request the free guidebooks for Quebec City, Montreal, and the surrounding countryside.

Hi bkluvsnola,

Actually, Nova Scotia and (if you count nearby isles) St. John's, Newfoundland are a good bit closer to Europe . This said, I live in nearby Montreal and yes am a Quebec City aficionado.

Gaspe, Sept-Iles, Chibougamou are all way too far to consider in your short time frame. Don't assume roads are fast-moving north of Quebec City like they are on Interstates. The Charlevoix region and Ile d'Orleans are good ideas for day trips. Even Tadoussac I think would be going unnecessarily far when there's so much beauty in the Charlevoix in between. I remember that the ferry and gravelly areas of the road between Quebec City and Tadoussac slowed things down. Jacques Cartier National Park is lovely, pristine boreal wilderness and a good idea, but you may not find it quite as scenic as the Charlevoix region. Watch for moose there.

Day trip to Montreal? Well, yes, do-able but I'd never advise that; I agree with zootsi that overnighting would be better and really necessary if you want to enjoy the highlights of the Jazz Festival. Do be aware that traffic in Montreal, construction and finding parking can slow you down more than what you might think; it's typically taken me 3 hours between the two cities. When my brother was in town, we did a day trip to Quebec City on a hot summer day and frankly we were all tired-out, hot and anxious about the drive home due to construction so weren't able to enjoy things as much as we should have. I've always overnighted in Quebec City since.

Have a great trip. Quebec City can be a lot of fun! Daniel

Regarding the Montreal side-trip, I would indeed suggest/accept the idea of going to Montreal as stated, but then picking somewhere to stay in/near-to Montreal for that one night, if only so that you can take a more leisurely return path to QC. (I really like the path along hwy #138 from Trois Rivieres to QC) (the big highway is right nearby in case you become impatient, but it is sad to think of going between QC and MTL twice and not having time to take it slow).

Aside from that, I think QC is a very nice destination for a honeymoon.

Ok, thanks.

I'm not as interested in seeing the Quebec countryside (i.e. farms, etc...) as I am the wilderness of the wild north. That's why I was thinking Jacques Cartie but it sounds like that is just kind of so-so (national parks in the US are a big deal). What about a drive north up route 175 to Saguenay then east on 170 to St-Simeon, then south on 138 back to Quebec?

I can't speak personally as to those newly mentioned routes. With regard to "countryside", I think you should visualize in my mentioned path small towns situated along an important and scenic RIVER, and not "farms, etc."

Furthermore, rural Quebec comes with the curious/interesting/challenging endeavor which can be communicating effectively with French-speakers.

Having now looked at a map of the route you asked about, IT would indeed offer the same rural-ish experiences I think would be so neat.

If at a Starbucks in Montreal, it just won't be demanded of you to communicate in ways beyond the English language. Smaller, outlying townships don't make things as easy. (you'll never be in deeply concerning situations as you're going to be a tank of gas away at any point from the comfort of English surroundings)

For a honeymoon, it seems that small features such as those can help to make it unique.

Your proposed route sounds great - you'll see plenty of 'northwoodsy' landscape and St Laurent coastal scenery. It may be a very long day trip however.
If you take rte 362 and the ferry to Ile Aux Caudres, you can rent bikes and explore this little island.

Ok, so everything is booked and all. Now I need to figure out if we should rent a car to go to Montreal for the Jazz Festival and which day is best to go?

Should we prepay tickets or is it like the New Orleans Jazz Fest where you can walk right up and buy tickets?

If you are going to a ticketed performance, I would advise you to pre buy them at their web site. As usual,lots of great artists. However, we have gone to about a half dozen of the fests and never paid - there is so much good, free music on the outdoor stages it is sometimes hard to decide which venue to go to - everything from blues to jazz to world music, non stop till midnight. Just bring a blanket. You can scoot from one to another, thay are all within a few blocks.
Here's the website:
http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/program/concerts-day.aspx?progType=complete&dateselected=2013-06-28