My husband and I just returned from Montreal and Quebec City. We had traveled to Montreal in the past. This was our first visit to Quebec City. In Montreal we stayed at Auberge du Vieux-Port. This is a romantic, small inn located in Vieux Port. We have stayed here in the past and were not disappointed. If you are fortunate to travel to Montreal prior to Oct. 8 I highly recommend a visit to the Mosaic Culture Int'l exhibit. This is a Millennium exhibit. The floral displays are magnificent. Great for all ages and well worth the $10 admission. Our first and last night of this vacation was spent in Montreal. We dined at Restaurant Juliene and Chez L'Epicier (which has just opened and was the best dinner of our entire trip). We took Via Rail Montreal/QC (roundtrip). This is a nice mode of travel as we were very relaxed upon reaching our destinations. In Quebec City, we stayed at Hotel Dominion 1912 for 4 nights. The location of this hotel is in Lower Town, which appears less hectic (than Upper Town). The decor and staff were great. We would definitely stay here again. We enjoyed a walking tour that took approximately 3 hours. Our tour guide was a history major and very knowledgeable. I recommend seeing the Changing of the Guard at The Citadel. We strolled the boardwalk in front of Hotel Frontenac and climbed 310 steps to the Plains of Abraham. The panorama was worth the climb. Upper Town was not terribly crowded during the week. It was very crowded during the weekend. The streets are charming. We enjoyed all aspects of Quebec City - both Upper and Lower Town. We dined in different restaurants and bistros. Petit Champlain and Place Royal offers many small shops and bistros. In the evening, there was always a muscician playing an instrument in Place Royal. Upper and Lower Town are immaculate...the locals are kind and very helpful. We had varied weather and temps fluctuated 20 degrees within 24 hrs. A goretex jacket may be helpful if visiting late summer and fall. Restaurants we enjoyed were: Le Lapin Saute (located in Petit Champlain), Le Marie Carisse (Lower Town - at base of Funicular), St. Malo (Lower Town), L'Echaude (fabulous dinner - Lower Town), Aux Anciens Canadiens ('til 6pm a fixe price meal @13.75/p/p (CD) and Moss in Lower Town. We dined at Laurie Raphael. I hesitate to endorse. We live in a metropolitan area and thought this restaurant not worthy the accolades.
If shopping, one may enjoy Place Royal. There is a shop there which carries only Quebec artisans - prices are excellent.
We walked more on this vacation than our recent vacations in Wyoming and Ireland.
We look forward to returning.