Québec City
On Wednesday, April 3, we took the train to Québec City. At three hours each way, it was a long ride for a short visit, but the train was clean and comfortable, and we were able to see some of the landscape outside of Montréal. We planned to spend just a few hours strolling around Old Town before returning to Montréal that evening.
Inside Gare du Palais, the Québec train station
Gare du Palais
We embarked on a short walking tour around Old Town. We saw a lot of charming old buildings, including the Italian restaurant pictured here. There were lots of restaurants and shops with souvenirs and other bric-a-brac on offer.
The temperature was 45°F, but a steady 15-25 mph wind made it seem much colder. We walked from Gare de Palais to Le Château Frontenac, a magnificent hotel built in 1893. The interior was posh, featuring marble floors, hardwood-paneled walls, and luxurious furnishings. They have a gourmet bistro in there, along with some upscale shops, but the experience was marred by lots of faux-candle light fixtures casting a horrid glare that made it really hard to look around.
Le Château Frontenac
The lobby of Le Château Frontenac
Like Montréal, Québec has a Basilique Notre Dame, although the one in Québec is not as impressive as the one in Montréal.
Basilique-Cathedrale Notre-Dame-de Québec