Family Road Trip- GTA to Quebec City

On the way to Quebec City, we had to drive through Montréal

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I packed up the kids in the car, as well as 5 days worth of clothes, snacks, and baby gear, to make the 9 hour drive to Quebec City.  We were prepared to make plenty of rest stops to accommodate our young children's needs, and planned accordingly.

We started our journey near 6:30 am, and by 4:00 pm, we checked into the Four Points Hotel in Lévis, across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City.

Four Points by Sheraton Lévis Convention Centre

After we had settled into our room, we checked out the local sights.  We used the free shuttle service from the hotel to the marina, and enjoyed the short drive.  We walked a path in the park near the marina and watched the sun set over the Quebec City skyline from across the St. Lawrence River.

End of day one in Quebec

The next day, we visited the St. Anne de Beaupré Shrine.  Finding our way there was a little tricky, because many of the road signs we needed to find were not visible from the direction we were heading in, or only visible after we passed it (ie covered by a tree).

The building itself is stunning, built in 1923, after a fire had destroyed the first church structure a year before.   Religious pilgrimages take place here, and there are other things to see as well; such as a museum, chapel, and various pieces of artwork depicting Christianity.

St. Anne de Beaupré  Shrine

Memorial Chapel, built in 1876

inside St. Anne de Beaupré

Our next destination was Montmorency Falls Park. It was busy, since it was prime summer vacation time, and a well known tourist spot.  Nevertheless, we still walked around and enjoyed the scenery with our two kids. Some of the paths were not stroller accessible, so we made our stay short.

Montmorency Falls Park

the clouds moved over briefly, for this dramatic photo

We headed back to our hotel, just in time to catch the shuttle to take us to the marina again. We boarded the ferry, and got out on the other side of the St.Lawrence River. In lower Quebec City, we spotted horse-drawn carriages giving tours, which was kind of neat. We walked around  lower Quebec city, and took the Funicular  to the upper part. 

the Funicular -looking up from the bottom

the Funicular- looking down from the top

the Chateau Frontenac greets you when you get out from the funicular

Next, our goal was to find an appropriate place to enjoy local cuisine.  There are many restaurants in the historic/tourist area of Quebec City that serve up all types of cuisine from local specialties to Thai food.  Really, any restaurant in this area will have great food based on the menus visible outside and the luring aromas of each eatery as you pass by.  We wanted to try authentic Quebec poutine, so that influenced where we chose to stop and eat. We found a nice little restaurant, called Café Buade, adjoining an art gallery.

I got excited when I saw pea soup on the menu, so I ordered that to start. My husband ordered the French Onion soup, and there was a kids menu to satisfy our three-year old.  The soups and poutine were delicious, and the poutine was very filling.  

We realized the evening was quickly approaching, and we needed to return to the ferry before the last shuttle pick up for the hotel, so, we expedited our sightseeing through upper Quebec and took the stairs down to lower Quebec. There, we returned to the ferry, and then took the shuttle back to our hotel.  What a busy day!  

I'll be continuing this post about our Quebec adventures in my next post: 

Family Road Trip- Quebec City to Montreal.  

Thanks for reading!