3 Best Sights in Quebec City, Quebec

The mix of reasonably priced restaurants and bars, groceries and specialty food shops, and boutiques makes avenue Cartier a favorite lunchtime and after-work stop for many local residents. After business hours the street hums with locals running errands or soaking up the sun on patios. When darkness falls, the avenue's patrons get noticeably younger. The attraction? A half-dozen nightclubs and pubs that offer everything from wine and quiet conversation to Latin music and earsplitting dance tunes.

One of the city's oldest streets, the Grande Allée was the route people took from outlying areas to come sell their furs in town. In the 19th century, the wealthy built neo-Gothic and Queen Anne–style mansions here, which now house trendy cafés, clubs, and restaurants. The street actually has four names: inside the city walls it's rue St-Louis; outside the walls, Grande Allée Est; farther west, Grande Allée Ouest; then finally, boulevard Laurier.

Nestled between the historic Château Frontenac and the majestic Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec, Rue du Trésor exudes an undeniable allure. During the French Regime, settlers flocked to this very street to pay their taxes at the royal treasury, which is how Rue du Trésor ("Treasury Street") earned its name. Today, this charming cobblestoned lane, affectionately known as "Artists' Street," transforms into a vibrant open-air art gallery particularly in summer and on long weekends, During the quieter shoulder seasons, the street takes on a more tranquil, yet equally enchanting, ambiance.