Honeymoon in Quebec City
 

Okay, my fiancee and I were originally planning a honeymoon to Greece or Italy, but our costs have overrun on our wedding (common thing I hear) and so I figured to cut back on the price of our honeymoon but still visit someplace that feels European.

After much research, I decided that Quebec City is probably the best value for your money as far as getting a bit of Europe without paying those astronomical overseas flight prices.

So today I booked the flight and the hotel.

We are going to Quebec City from July 1 to 6. During our time there, both the Montreal Jazz Fest and the Quebec Music Festival are going on, so we will partake in both.

Right now we don't have a rental car but I think we may need one. We plan to go to Montreal for the Jazz Fest one day (is that doable in a day, it looks to be a 2.5 hour drive, so leave QC at 8, get to Montreal at 10:30, leave Montreal around 6:30 PM, return 9:00PM?) That would give us 8 hours to partake in the festival.

We also want to visit the Jacques Cartier National Park north of Quebec City one day.

I know you can take a train to Montreal, but is there a bus to get to the National Park? I was trying to find one but it seems the park is a bit remote.

Also, would a drive out to Gaspe, Sept-Iles, or Chibougamau be warranted? How far is this? I want to see the rural undeveloped areas. I love to drive and take in the scenery.

I also would like information on the Quebec Festival going on when we'll be there. It appears to be like some kind of Lollapalooza like we have in the states?

Any information is appreciated.

ttt

ttt

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<I>/accept</I> the idea of going to Montreal as stated, but then picking somewhere to stay in/near-to Montreal for that one night, <I>if only</I> so that you can take a more leisurely return path to QC. (I really like the path along hwy #138 from <I>Trois Rivieres</I> 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<I> small towns situated along an important and scenic RIVER</I>, and not <I>"farms, etc."</I>

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

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

If at a <I>Starbucks</I> 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/prog...ted=2013-06-28

My wife and I chose Quebec City for our honeymoon as well (it was 1986 - a fine year!) and took a train from Toronto to fully enjoy the event. We did not rent a car as we intended to fully experience the city as pedestrians. Also time was short - only 4 days - but there is a lot to experience in town.

I agree that if you go to MTL for the music, you may be too bagged to make the drive back to your hotel in QC - and if you do drink while enjoying the festival, driving back becomes more problematic. We have similar large jazz fests in Toronto and the music is generally free - i never thought of paying to attend.

One thing about Quebec City - the food is legendary - try Le Petit Chateau at the base of the chateau for tasty if pricey crepes.

my favourite restaurant there was Aux Anciens Canadiens ( http://www.auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca/en/index.htm ) in the old part of the city. Very good old Quebec cuisine - my favourite at the time was smoked pickerel.

As for language experience - I went armed with my 7 years of public school French and failed miserably, if not valiantly, in making it work. The people there are very accommodating and often took pity on me if they were able and switched to English.

If you are driving around the country side, do try and take in some of the cheeses. Quebec is famous for its artisan cheese production.

Hope this helps

did you by chance choose the Auberge St. Antoine in lower city Quebec..great hotel for honeymoon.

tower, no I didn't. Please see my trip report for full details.