5 Places to go in Québec City: Check out the most photographed hotel in history!

Out of the places I’ve visited in Ontario and Québec, Québec City is definitely my favourite place in Canada. I haven’t travelled to British Columbia, Alberta and other provinces, but some people told me Vancouver is their favourite city in Canada because their weather is so much tolerable as compared to Ontario and Québec. I can’t say for now, but meanwhile, let’s go back to Québec City for awhile and you be the judge. 🙂

The main attractions to see in Québec City are all congregated in their downtown, so you’ll probably find yourself walking back the same route as you did for at least 2 days to cover everything in that area. Here are the 5 (+1) places you have to check out:

1. FAIRMONT LE CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC

View of the half frozen St Lawrence River

This is a grand hotel that costs about CAD$379/night, situated on a cliff in Old Québec and overlooking the St Lawrence River. This hotel is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and is also known to be the most photographed hotel in the world. That’s another record in Canada. 😉 If you can’t afford this luxurious stay like me, then you’ll too, find yourself snapping photo of this castle hotel from the outside, and adding on to the record of the number of photographs taken of this beauty.

2. QUARTIER PETIT CHAMPLAIN

A neighbourhood in the district of Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–colline Parlementaire, the Petit Champlain is the oldest commercial district in North America. Here you’ll find many boutique stores, restaurants and souvenir shops. The architecture here blew me away, I was in love with this place immediately! You can’t miss out this place in Québec City, it’s full of history and beauty. Drop by for lunch or a snack! Beaver tails can be found here too. 😉

The Breakneck Stairs/Steps, Escalier Casse-cou, is Québec City’s oldest stairway built since 1635.

The Rue du Petit-Champlain Mural; it represents the history of the district, the bombardments of 1759, the landslides, and the fires that occurred. This building is at the end of the lane, at the opposite side of the Breakneck Stairs.

3. VIEUX QUÉBEC (OLD QUÉBEC)

Apart from the two attractions above that are within Old Québec per se, there are still so many things to explore in this area. It’s quite a walk and you’ll constantly find yourself wanting to go into those quaint little boutique shops to take a look. The entire place is magical.

Awww I love horses!

A saxophonist busker in winter #nowyouknowhowcolditwas

You’d be able to find another Notre Dame Cathedral here. Entrance is free so you can pop in to take a look like the one in Ottawa.

This is the Bibliothèque Saint-Jean-Baptiste (a library) that we chanced upon. I really like how the library’s in the cathedral, and there was even an art exhibition when we were there. A cosy little space that could be a hideout when you get too cold. 🙂

4. QUÉBEC PARLIAMENT BUILDING

image credit

I didn’t manage to get a decent photo of it but this is how it looks like in summer. C’est magnifique!

5. MONTMORENCY FALLS

I’m not sure if we were unfortunate or not, because the snowstorm happened while we were on our way to the falls. But I have to say the snowstorm made up a picturesque falls and I really liked it. Way too many photo opportunities I would say. 😉 You’ll see why below. (and more on my Flickr)

However, it’s a little far and requires a 30-40min bus ride from downtown area. You could purchase a day pass from their drugstores easily!

6. VIA RAIL STATION

Can someone tell me, where else in the world would you find a domestic train station looking like a castle?! Ahhh I loveeeeee this place! Je t’aime je t’aime je t’aime!

This place is optional, preferably for people who are taking the train to Montréal or elsewhere (which I highly recommend). If you’re in Canada, please do take viarail at least once. The scenery is pretty amazing, and you get comfortable seats like those on airplanes + you have free wifi. It’s not cheap though, but definitely worth the money.

Hope this post inspired you enough to head to Québec City soon! 😀

keep travelling,
J

Stay at the BEST hostel in North America #HOSCARS

In a span of 4 months and a week in North America, I’ve stayed in a few hostels during my travels – London, Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco (half hostel). But I have to say, this particular one in Montréal is the best of them all. Unless you’re travelling with your family (read: accompanied by parents and young children), you should really consider staying here when visiting Montréal, solo or not. Like any other hostels, they have events catered to every day of the week in case you just wanna chill in there. I’m not sure if it’s an angmoh (European/Caucasian/American) thing, but they really love to stay in hostels. And when they do, they could stay there all day, as if they came to this city just to stay and mingle at the hostel. No I’m serious.

After a quick check-in, we were greeted by a huge hotel room kinda hostel room, if you get what I mean. The room was spacious for a 8-beds mixed dorm, with tables, chairs, lockers, a mirror, a TV and a refrigerator. I mean, I haven’t seen a TV and refrigerator in a hostel room until this one. I’m amazed. If that’s not enough, even the in-room toilet is HUGE with a freaking bathtub. Yes, an in-room bathtub in a hostel. Pretty awesome huh? (They have other types of rooms, I’m not sure if the toilets are the same in their case)

And then there’s a basement that looks this cool. I love the interior design; it just makes you want to hang out a little there, though you could also hide in your room watching some TV with your room mates.

Lastly, they have free breakfast like any other hostels. This is also the only hostel that I’ve stayed in that served only croissants and no bagels in Canada. Well, I guess they either wanna cater to the French (since it’s in Québec) or they, are just different from others. Either way, that croissant still tasted delicious and I’ve guiltily packed it in case I’ll be hungry on the road. 😉

Oh sorry, how can I forget? It’s called M Montréal!

Find them at
1245 Rue Saint-André Montreal
Quebec Canada, H2L 3T1

It’s about 5-10 minutes of walking distance to the metro station Berri-UQAM, one of the major stations in Montréal where the green and orange line intersects.

Tips:

• If you’re an overseas student coming to Montréal or any other places for a short trip, apply for the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) beforehand, you’d get discounts in hostels like M Montréal. You can check with them before you book.
• Always bring your own extra locks for the lockers. You’d be staying with some strangers in your dorms, so it’s always good to take care of your things by locking them up in the lockers. If not you’ll have to rent it from the hostels by paying a small fee.

P/S The results of #HOSCARS (Hostelworld.com Customer Annual Ratings) are based solely on Hostelworld.com customers’ ratings. More information here!

keep travelling,
J

Hanging out in Montréal: a guide to the 6 (+2) main attractions

I’ve been to Montreal on two separate occasions, the first in early January 2014, and the second time during my reading week in February. It was all during winter so my perspective of these attractions would be based on that. Other than the food places that you cannot miss out, here’s a guide to the tourist attractions in this second largest Canadian city! And with regards to places to visit, I would say that Montréal is definitely a place for families. Kids would love this city, with the crazy amount of attractions made learning fun for them i.e. Science Centre, BioDome, Zoo Ecomuseum etc. But being the young adult I am, I wasn’t too interested in these, so to each of his own! So here’s my version of 6 (+2) tourist attractions to go:

1. MONT ROYAL

This place is huge, and there are a few entrances to this place. There’s the hiking side, and a recreational site. The first time I went was purely to hike up to the top to see the view. We didn’t had proper shoes and it was -26 degree celsius that day so it was pretty tough. Girls, Ugg shoes aren’t meant for the snow in Canada. They’re cute and they’re so soft and comfy, but really, they killed me during my first month in Canada.

I was sweating with 2 layers of down jacket by the time I reached the peak. But the harsh winter killed both my camera’s and iPhone’s batteries. Sadly, the batteries weren’t made to withstand the cold. 😥 So please prepare spare batteries for your camera during Winter! They’ll work again after they’re warmed up. Still love the snow though! :’)

My second return brought me to the other side for some cheap virgin skiing experience. Ski rental was affordable and it wasn’t too bad for a beginner! (The ski is way lighter than a professional one, so it wasn’t a serious kinda ski like those at skiing resorts) I’d recommend this to anyone on a budget but wanna try some skiing. There wasn’t a need for proper attire too, but I guess if your winter clothes weren’t limiting your movements then you would be safe! There is a ice-skating rink, and really steep slopes for serious skiing and snowboarding.

A kid is too young to understand what a selfie is.

2. OLD PORT + OLD MONTRÉAL

I have to say Old Port and Old Montréal are the main attractions of Montréal, no matter your age. I especially love the historical buildings, both day and night views are pretty spectacular. There are many good eateries to choose from, and my favourite maple syrup ice-cream from Les Délices de l’Érable is here too. 🙂 Postcards and souvenirs are everywhere, and there are a few good crepe shops too.

3. NOTRE DAME BASILICA CATHEDRAL

Unlike the ones in Ottawa and Quebec City, this Notre Dame Basilica has an audio screening show inside which costs CAD$10 each. It’s also famous because Celine Dion got married in this particular one. Montréal is a place of many Cathedrals like how Kyoto is a place of many shrines. But this particular one stands out and is worth your time, even if you aren’t someone of this faith.

4. PLACE DES ARTS

Place des Arts is a place promoting artistic and cultural life in Québec, by showcasing various performing arts and holding many art festivals. If you’re into arts and culture like myself, or just want to immerse in Québec’s culture, be sure to check out their event calendars! We were lucky enough to go during this festival, where I tried my maple taffy on ice and had the chance to barbeque a sausage in the fire!

5. MCGILL UNIVERSITY

The oldest university in Montréal, this school boasts of its rich history and world ranking among others. I wanted to do my exchange programme in this school initially, but didn’t succeed. 😦 Nevertheless, as a tourist, I thought the school looked beautiful in Winter. Also, this was the first school in Canada I’ve seen, and it already look more beautiful than the ones in Singapore.

6. BIODÔME DE MONTRÉAL

Originally constructed for the 1976 Olympic games as a velodrome, the Biodôme allows you to walk through replicas of the four ecosystems found in the Americas. The tropical one brought us back to Singapore’s hot and humid weather for awhile and… it wasn’t pleasant when we started sweating. There were a lot of animals and birds to see, so it was pretty worth the money. Definitely recommended for families! (Students please bring your student cards for discount!)

spotted in Biodôme 

Below are some additional places you may want to go, but you may leave out if you don’t have enough time!

7. UNDERGROUND CITY (RÉSO or La Ville Souterraine)

If you’re there during the harsh winter, this “underground world” is your solution to stay warm. It’s basically interconnected complexes within downtown Montréal, spreading across 12 km² (4.6 sq mi), connected areas include shopping malls, museums, hotels, 7 metro stations, train stations, bus terminal and etc. However, this is recommended if only outside is really cold, like:

If not, stay outside and enjoy Montréal, you’d be able to bump into at least 10 picturesque Cathedrals and some nice bridges along the way like the Jacques Cartier Bridge:

8. BOTANICAL GARDENS

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Other than the Biodôme, the Jardin Botanique (Botanical Garden) is another facility operated by the Montréal Nature Museum that tourists and locals raved about, especially during summer. They have 75 hectares of thematic gardens and greenhouses, and regarded as one of the world’s most important botanical gardens due to its extent of its collections and facilities. The above photo is during a 2013 event “Mosaïcultures” which attracted over 1 million visitors!

keep travelling,
J