Quebec in early June

We visited Quebec City twice, love it there. For fabulous bakery items go to Paillard on rue Saint-Jean in old Quebec. Best croissant and napoleon we ever ate. They also serve lunch cafeteria style. It is always crowded. We also so a walking tour with Les Promenades Fantomes also located in old Quebec. We loved it so much when we returned for another trip we took another tour with them. Even though people may say it is cheesy because of the costumes, it was so interesting to learn about the history of Quebec through the eyes of people on the lower rung of society. All characters portrayed are real and info can be found about them in the internet. I would put it in the same category as the Nightwatchman’s tour In Rothenburg that Rick recommends.

We did a wonderful cruise of New England and Canada from Boston to Quebec City a few years ago.

We spent three days in Quebec City after the cruise and loved the city.

We did a city walking tour that met at the top of the old walled area that was good. Otherwise, we explored on our own. Yes, the dining was great.

Stay in the heart of the old city and go from there. The Château Frontenac is a great old hotel.

Thank you to all who replied. Would 3-4 days be enough/too much to see the sites?

Also, is Chateau Frontenac walkable to see the Old Quebec sites?

The hotel is in the old city, smack set in the center. They used to have a tour in the hotel, ask if it is ongoing. It is where D-Day was planned. Roosevelt didn’t stay at the hotel though, he stayed at the citidel with the enlisted men. Another great tour. There are many nice museums in the city, you just have to research which ones interest you. 4 days is not too many in my opinion. Just enough.

having lived in Montreal some years ago, and Montreal is quite a lot further south than Quebec City I'll suggest that if the winter has been cold and/or snowy it is often the case that in May and early June some of the ground can still be quite "soft".

Um, the first time we visited Quebec was during Easter break, April. No one told us it was still winter there. It was COLD, but not snowy. That is why we went again, during the month of August. Wanted to see the city in the sunshine.

Thank you. We may have to think about Aug or Sept. as it turns out, June will not work for us.

The Château Frontenac is conveniently located for walking. A 3-4 day trip will make for a nice visit. Enjoy!

Thank you everyone for your replies and information!

Old Quebec is split-level. The Frontenac sits atop the steep river bank cliff and from its windows you can look down on the narrow beach strip or in the other direction to the Citadel and Plains of Abraham. It is one building that justifies the word "iconic". Be aware that word affects the price per night.
www.restoquebec.com books restaurants and also provides feedback advice. It classifies according to cuisine, locale, price and even indicates which places are AVV -- the French equivalent of BYOB for wine.
There are plenty of activities worth searching out in the area, somewhat dependent on the season. The Citadel itself has a stirring flag ceremony each morning in the summer (except when raining) and a museum for the distinguished Royal 22nd regiment, Les Vandoos. It is still a functioning military base, dating back to the pivotal battle between the French and English. One historian has argued that event influenced all of North America's history (yes, the US too.)
Here is one officially sponsored tourism information site, among several: https://www.quebec-cite.com/en

Great information-Thank you!

L’Echaude, an atmospheric French bistro in Old Quebec. has incredible food at incredibly reasonable prices.
Bon appetit!

hey hey carol
few years back we took a fall colors cruise, quebec city to new york. it was the day after their thanksgiving day first week of october.
it was absolutely gorgeous and decorated in fall colors, scarecrows, pumpkins and other gourds, haystacks, crows, etc.
did a tour of chateau frontenac and stopped at the 1608 bar for a cocktail and views of the river and city after our tour:
cicerone.ca/ tours check if any tours you're interested in
legrandmarchedequebec.com
stop at a tourist info center in front of chateau frontenac and see what they have
everything under the roof of this marketplace with hundreds of artisans, produce, bakers, chefs, etc. take a bus, or a taxi cab.
walked the lower city along the river, stopping in shops, or window shopping, having a bite to eat with glass of wine to people watch,
had late breakfast at restaurant l'omelette for yummy crepes
stopped at d'orsay pub for some hard apple cider, went to a hole in the wall to eat poutines, wear a bib.
met a couple from charleston SC on another fall cruise at our hotel, overheard us talking about renting car for one day and asked to join. next day got our car and off we went to ile-d'orleans, about half an hour, an island over the bridge with 6 villages. farmers, wineries, vineyards, barns, chocolate makers, cheese making shops, small stores, old old houses, artists. french speaking island, bought picnic goodies, bottle of wine, baguette and stopped at picnic table at a closed shop and enjoy ourselves and the view. lots of places were closed on island for the holiday, so so worth it. (iledorleans.com)
took a ride further down to canyonsa.qc.ca
took a walk around the trails and suspension bridges over the deep gorges, sometimes quesy walking them. absolutely a sight to see (justinandlauren.com/ canyon ste anne)
stop at sainte anne de beaupre basilica, huge church, lit some candles for my family on way back to quebec city. returned car that evening. we are still friends with this couple from charleston, he was part owner of a restaurant and she is a great artist. went to charleston for an overnighter from hilton head, they had a nice brunch at their big/gorgeous property out on the island. fun times
enjoy your time there, you'll love it
aloha

If you haven't already discovered them, do check out Louise Penny's mystery series. Almost all of them are set in Quebec and one is even set in Quebec City. Excellent writer and the books really whet the appetite for a visit to Quebec.

3-4 full days is enough to see Quebec City, but not the province of Quebec. There is much to see outside the Old City if you had more time, but if it's all you have then just stick to Quebec City. Last time I went, we rented a car at the Hitlon (or someother brand hotel) right outside the walls and drove around Île d'Orléans and some other towns north along the St. Lawrence river - it was lovely and relaxing to see those places.

There is a very helpful tourist office in Old Quebec which can help with any itinerary, I would stop by there. They also have lots of maps/ pamphlets, etc.

I have read all of Louise Penny's books-I think that's what made me want to visit Quebec City so badly!
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'm learning more and more from all the responses!

We stayed at the Hotel le Germain, located in the Basse Ville of the old city. Lovely boutique hotel with very good breakfast and service. I believe it was under USD 200/night. Besides the Citadel and other places mentioned we also enjoyed the Museum of Civilization. Cirque du Soleil - based in Quebec - was putting on free performances (we were there in August) and there was a lovely and extensive crafts fair where I bought very comfortable shoes.

My wife and I have been to Quebec City at least 8 times, it's our favorite place (we live in New England, so it's not a long ride). Having stayed in several hotels (incl. the Frontenac), by far our favorite is the Hotel du Vieux Quebec, which is right in the old city, a 7 or so minute walk from the Chateau Frontenac. Each morning, they leave a basket on your door for breakfast - typically a few pastries (which are awesome), some fruit, yogurt, juice, etc. The rooms are very nice and the location truly cannot be beat.

Understanding that you won't have a car, if you could do a one day rental or tour, something along those lines, in June, I'd recommend spending a day driving around Ile d'Orleans, which has tons of farms and is beautiful. On your way to or from, you could stop and see Montmorency waterfall (Les Chutes Montmorency).

The city itself has a ton to do. From right behind the Frontenac, I would highly recommend the Promenade des Gouverneurs, a beautiful walk at the top of the cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence, which hooks up with additional paths at the Plains of Abraham, a huge park. You could stop in the art museum if that was interesting to you, it's a nice enough collection.

Obviously you'll spend time in the walled-in old-city. On one of our more recent trips, we toured Parliament, which is a beautiful building and I thought was interesting, but perhaps I'm a little nerdy. That was free as of a few years ago, but we did need a reservation.

The Marche du Vieux-Port is a must in my opinion, and it'll be really getting much more produce in during June. One of our favorite things to do is go there late morning and grab a baguette, some cheese, produce, etc., and make a picnic lunch. If the weather is good, we just eat along the river or in a park. Sometimes we take the food to La Barberie, a brewery not far from the Marche (as of a few years ago, they didn't serve their own food, so they allow folks to bring in outside food).

As far as dining is concerned, it's hard to find a bad meal there. My two personal favorites, that we eat at every time we go, are Le Lapin Saute (in the lower part of the old city) and L'Affaire Est Ketchup (on St. Joseph-Est, outside of the old city). The former is a cozy little bistro with incredible, rich Franco-Quebecois dishes (their cassoulet is my absolute favorite), and a big focus on local products (you'll see that is a theme in Quebec). The latter is a trendier place, but totally no frills - they are alums of five star restaurants in Montreal and QC who wanted to do their own thing, and the result is a stripped down restaurant where they cook everything on electric stoves. The food is fine dining, but the atmosphere is like someone's kitchen. It became much more popular after it was featured on one of Anthony Bourdain's programs. I could rattle off another 20 restaurants that we've loved, but that would overwhelm. Two areas outside of the old city though that have a ton of great restaurants though are on Rue St. Jean, but west of Rte. 175, and along Rue St. Paul, "below" the old city near the Marche.

I love Quebec. If I can answer any questions, just shoot me a message. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for this wonderful information. We have booked our trip in early June and will hope for good weather. With all of the great replies we have gotten, we have a lot to work with and a lot of ideas!