Quebec City For Families

Check in to your hotel and explore

Once you’ve settled in, if you have the energy, head out to explore Old Quebec. It’s reminiscent of the streets of Paris. Go ahead and get lost walking around the streets and going in and out of shops. 

For an afternoon snack, grab poutine, a local snack that Quebec is known for – it is french fries, gravy and cheese curds. A lot of the restaurants will add some little flavor that makes it a little bit more unique depending on where you go. 

Dinner at Bello Restaurant

Have dinner at Bello Restaurant. It’s a great family-friendly spot for families, and the menu is Italian with kid-friendly options like pizza and pasta.

Breakfast and then out for snow activities

Have breakfast at the hotel – it’s always the easiest option with kids. 

Head to Chenil La Poursuite to try dog sledding and snowshoeing as a family. Grab some snowshoes and go walking in the woods in the snow. Snowshoeing is a fun way to walk and hike on snow that could be as deep as your shoulders. Without snowshoes, you’d sink into the snow up to your waist. 

Dog sledding is another thing to do that feels very Canadian. You're on this little toboggan-type sled with blankets, and the dogs bring you around into the woods. It’s such a fun experience for kids. Make sure to do your research when booking with a company (I can help you) so that you know you’re going on an ethical experience. 

Have lunch at Restaurant La Buche

Head back into Quebec City for lunch at La Buche. It’s a very rustic spot with wooden picnic tables outside in the sugar bush serving typical Quebec cuisine. It's very family-friendly. 

Toboggan sledding 

Next, go toboggan sledding in front of Chateau Frontenac on Dufferin Terrace. Tobogganing is something we did as kids and we’d always just think, ‘wow these mountains and hills are so gigantic’ – and then you go back as an adult and they're not as big as you thought! 

At Dufferin Terrace, they've created this hill for tobogganing. You walk up these stairs to the top of the hill and then toboggan down the hill at great speeds. You can just keep going up and down. You’re at the top of the city and have beautiful views.

Burgers for dinner 

Go to Chez Victor for the best burgers in Quebec City. There are lots of options, so everyone is sure to find a burger they’ll like. It's a super family-friendly place that’s very rustic and loud. No one is going to mind if the kids are having fun and laughing.

Breakfast at Chez Muffy

Chez Muffy makes an amazing breakfast – it's all about plates of bacon, eggs and potatoes. It's a very basic breakfast, but they have delicious muffins, pastries and coffees. 

Head to the Quebec Circus School

Take your kids to the three-hour lesson for kids at the Quebec Circus School (ÉCQ). They’ll learn how to do all kinds of fun circus stuff that they’ll be able to show off to their friends back home.

Visit Marché du Vieux Port

Marché du Vieux Port has an all-day indoor-outdoor farmers market. There are a lot of boutiques to walk around and little souvenir shops, and this is such a fun spot to explore with your family. 

Lunch at Cafe du Monde

In the port, have lunch at Cafe Du Monde, a great local spot that serves up beignets like the restaurant of the same name in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Head to Érablière du Lac Beauport

On the drive to Érablière du Lac Beauport, you can make a stop to admire the beautiful St. Anne's Basilica which looks like the type of church you’d see in France. 

You can also stop by the Montmorency Falls. It’s particularly amazing to see in the winter as the waterfall is frozen. The bottom is called sugarloaf because at the bottom of the falls, the water is frozen in the shape of how the water would’ve fallen and looks like a sugarloaf!

Sugar Shack Experience at Érablier du Lac Beauport

During the sugar shack experience at Érablier du Lac Beauport, you’ll walk into the woods for a mile or so, and you see the whole process of how maple syrup is made. Souvenirs are especially fun – you’ll get your own maple syrup to take home.

Dinner at Érablière du Lac Beauport

Stay at Érablier du Lac Beauport for dinner. It’s very rustic on these tables outdoors – if it's too cold, you can go inside. They usually have live music with a violin player. People get in on the fun by stamping their feet, playing spoons on their legs and dancing. It’s a great old-school experience!

Chill out

Have breakfast at the hotel then tour the Hôtel de Glace, the only ice hotel in North America.  

Hit the snowpark

Village Vacances Valcartier is one of the largest snow parks in North America. The whole place is like a snow theme park; you can go rafting up and down the hills, as well as go tubing, sledding and tobogganing. 

Have a quick lunch at the park before leaving, or if the kids aren’t exhausted go to La Souche Stoneman nearby for lunch.

Head back to the city 

Go back to Quebec City for some downtime after a day of snow adventures. Grab a quick dinner near the hotel and relax before your flight home.