Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Canada (https://www.fodors.com/community/canada/)

- - quebec (https://www.fodors.com/community/canada/quebec-1020415/)

We are spending 5 days in Quebec City during Christmas 2014. We are a family with a 3 year old and 5 year old. Is it recommended to have a car? Is it recommended to spend the whole time in/ near the Old City or are there day trips or other recommendations? Thank you

Very vague post so hard to advise. Why are you in Quebec City at that time of year ? Staying with friends or a hotel? Do you ski? What are your interests?

We live in Florida. Never quite feels like Christmas in the tropics. We are going to Quebec City for some Yuletide cheer and have heard that it is a magical place during the holiday season. We are staying in a hotel. We would enjoy any activities that would delight young children- sledding or tobogganing, maybe skiing, child-friendly shows or concerts, child-friendly museums, indoor play places, hot chocolate, baking cookies, that sort of thing.

http://www.quebecregion.com/en/what-...oliday-season/, I would suggest start with this web site to see activites in the city. Check with your hotel as most big hotels usually have childrens' Christmas events or suggestions too. Be prepared for super cold- Quebec City is on the St Lawrence and it can be bone chilling. Perhaps someone who lives there can comment.

Wow... I went to QC in March once, and found snow drifts two or three cars tall on occasional side streets.

While I'm sure much of the area would be FUN in extreme snow, there are significant hills involved in a very touristy part of the area, so I wonder whether it is best/better to have a car. (still unsure)

Were it ME, and if someone told me "you are required to go to Quebec City with a 3- and 5-year-old, during the Christmas season, to make what you can of it".

I would try to position myself, lodging-wise, near to an older part of the city, with narrow, cobblestone streets (note: this is NOT the walled-off Old Quebec up on the hill)... where the tunnel to underground subway and shopping is/WAS nearby, and where lots of little shops line some of the narrow, old streets. For such a trip I would NOT rent a car.

(the area I have in mind, compliments of a distant memory, and of Google Street View, is somewhere near to "Rue Saint-Joseph" and "Rue Saint-Dominique") there could be a million places in QC more ideal, perhaps especially for kids, AND a lot may have changed in that area during the past decade, but it's the vibe I got back then)

Then, at some point, during parts of a day or two, I would travel up the hill, to see the views from Old Quebec, do the shopping there and see the big hotel, etc.

Envisioning that, for a family from Florida not used to snow/winter, seems very reasonable and do-able.

Hopefully you need not DO very much, if indeed you find the QC climate not to your liking.

Oh, yeah, it dropped to about 7 degrees (F) overnight when I was there.

I think you would be best without a car in Québec City. When you add winter driving conditions to narrow, hilly streets, it's a complication that you don't need. Use taxis, public transport (especially the Écolobus in the old city) and walking to get around. If you want to take a trip outside the city such as to Montmorency Falls and Sainte Anne de Beaupré, there are plenty of tours to take you there and back.

You might want to consider splitting your time between the city and one of the nearby resorts, Stoneham and Mont Sainte Anne. They are primarily ski resorts but do offer other activities, such as dog-sledding at MSA. Check the websites for details to see if they might appeal. With slope side accommodation you won't need a car there and there will be shuttles or other transport to and from the city.

Where to stay in Québec? My choice is certainly the Upper Town inside the walls--you are looking for a magical experience and you should find it there. I don't know why NorthwestMale advised avoiding it (his suggestion, I think, is the Saint Roch district, an old working class area which has recently been transformed into a district of trendy bars, restaurants and shops. Certainly interesting, but not my first choice to stay in. His reference to the subway and underground shopping is also puzzling as Québec doesn't have a subway--I expect he is thinking of Montréal.)

With young children I think a hotel with an indoor pool is essential. In the Upper Town, my first choice would be the iconic and historic Chateau Frontenac. They should also have lots of special activities for Christmas--it's not cheap and you should book soon for the Christmas period. Another in the Upper Town with a pool is the Manoir Victoria. Friends stayed there for Christmas and quite enjoyed it. There are modern chain hotels outside the walls, but I don't think that is what you are looking for.

Be prepared for cold and snow so have warm clothing and boots. Coming from Florida, you may need a day or two to acclimatize, but I'm sure you will enjoy it.

LOL - I never even went IN the doors I saw... but I could see shopping in there... and my sense OF some of the signage, was that transportation was to be found (on whatever level) through and beyond those doors. It was in fact on street level, but inside, and under cover, which seems significant in Quebec winters.

And why in the world do people from Florida, looking for Christmas away from (the tropics) need a pool?

People who stay at the Chateau Frontenac probably aren't the ones planning so carefully on Fodors... it's a fine place to visit, but if you want a sense of winter in the north, then perhaps some glitzy hotel perched atop a big hill, surrounded by narrow, hilly streets, with a view that you can't fathom being realistic, just might not be the truest representation of winter in the north. (although it might qualify under the "magical" heading?)

You can go to the South Pole too, but you don't get the full effect until you have to go outside.

And the Upper Town, inside the walls, is just overrun with overpriced tourist traps and plenty of slipping and sliding aggravated by your being on a hill.

You visit those spots for a day or two, and then cease to impede yourself with their remote locale.

Just now I googled winter time in Quebec, and when enticed by a pretty picture, I read the following: "...In recent years world-class boutique hotels have cropped up all over town (see Hôtel Dominion 1912; Auberge Saint Antoine; and the newly opened Hotel 71), while the St Roch area, away from the tourist-trap old town, has been made over by the city's young entrepreneurs and artists, who have installed stylish cocktail bars and sushi restaurants."

Now while I can understand that people with 3- and 5-year-olds in no way want or need a cocktail bar... it isn't a bad idea to stay down in the real world in order so that you can experience winter in the north.

Next, I went to the website linked by someone above, and clicked on "Kids' Activities", and it listed three things:

"Toy Parade" (November 16, 2013)

"Quebec City Lights Festival" (Dec. 21 to 31, 2013)

and

"Festi Lumière at Aquarium du Québec" (during a few different windows of time, all after Christmas).

While the lights might be fun on a night or two, surrounding yourself with overpriced touristy stuff just for that, seems excessive. The other two listed events probably won't be in the right window of time for the O.P.

The O.P. should at least do considerable research into just where to place their family, for what, all in all, could be a very effective experience.

Well, á chacun son gôut. NorthwestMale has his perspectives and I have mine based on many visits to la Vieille Capitale winter and summer.

The only comment that I will make is that from experience travelling with young children, a pool while not an absolute necessity is a welcome diversion for kids while at a hotel. This would particularly be the case when things are cold and blustery outside. It doesn't matter where they happen to be from.

Enjoy your trip.

I appreciate the varied perspectives and ideas!