Christmas in Québec City
My family made the trip over from N. Ireland to spend the holiday season with Rita and myself. Being our first family Christmas abroad, Mum treated us to several nights at 5* hotel Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, arguably the most photographed hotel in the world. Sitting atop the hill overlooking Québec City, this hotel was the site of many iconic moments, from the planning of D-Day to the filming of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Catch Me if You Can, as we learnt in our walking tours.
For an extra $60 per night, your pet can stay with you on one of the pet-friendly floors. Rita received a Fairmont-branded bed and poo-bag holder, along with bowls and treats. She was allowed everywhere in the hotel apart from the restaurants and bars. The hotel even has a canine ambassador, Jasper, but unfortunately we didn’t get to meet him. The only downside was that pets were not allowed to stay in rooms unaccompanied, even in a crate, and so we had to operate on shifts for breakfast and availed of a pet-sitter from Rover during dinner times. Our pet sitter Sara lived a 15 minute drive away and took the utmost care of Rita – she is highly recommended.
We availed of the hotel spa – Mum and I had the best massages ever - and enjoyed our black-tie Christmas dinner in the ballroom with live music. The location of the hotel was also very convenient – most places were walkable. It was especially cold at this time of year, so we layered up and Rita got some handwarmers slipped inside her coat!
The Christmas decor at the Fairmont
Being Christmas time, there was a large German Christmas Market dotted around the Old Town, with some of the huts right next to the hotel. However, we arrived in Québec on the eve of a bomb cyclone, the worst storm to hit Eastern Canada in a decade, and on the morning of the 23rd went outside to see the huts being blown away. This was a bit disappointing, as the market was to be one of the highlights of our trip, and there was even a vendor for cats and dogs, Pilouf & Milouf, but as you’ll find out, we found lots of other activities to fill our time!
We experienced two tours with Cicerone Tours, complete with costumed tour guides from the 1800s! On Christmas Eve, we joined Christmas Magic in Québec, which took us around Old Town, included some history of Noel, and pointed out the best Christmas lights and historical sites including Notre-Dame-de-Québec Basilica-Cathedral, the Petit Champlain neighbourhood and Place Royale. On Christmas Day, we had a tour of the Fairmont Hotel itself, were educated on its history and taken into parts not open to the public. Rita was welcome on both tours.
After the Old Town tour, we spent some time further exploring the area. Rita was permitted in most of the shops. Our favourites were La Cinquieme Saison, La Petite Maison Bleue and Place Royale Souvenirs, some of which were stocked with doggy items, and year-round Christmas shop Boutique de Noël.
Linking the upper and lower parts of Petit Champlain is the Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec, the Old Québec Funicular, which has been in operation since 1879. At only 64m long, you can easily walk it, but it’s a fun piece of history to experience and, best of all, dogs are allowed on-board!
Despite being around -10 degrees, patio season never stops in Québec! The Nouvelle France Café has a year-round patio with heated flooring, gas fires and blankets. They are extremely pet friendly and even have a dog menu. Rita had some burger bites and I had a Baileys hot chocolate.
One of the key features of Québec is its fortification walls; in fact, it’s the only city in N. America north of Mexico with such walls. We took a walk along Dufferin Terrace, and climbed the 310 steps up to the Plains of Abraham, scene of a famous battle of the same name in 1759 and named after Abraham Martin, one of the first settlers of Québec City in the 1600s. This walk took us alongside the walls for a close-up view, and also an elevated view of the gradually freezing St. Lawrence River, after which Québec is named (it translates to “narrowing of the river”).
A short drive from Québec City is the Place de la Cité mall and the adjoining Laurier Québec mall. Here, you can find pet boutique Chien Mondain. The best feature was they offer a dog-sitting service while you shop! Rita was taken care of by Nathalie and made a friend named Bloom. This was a really useful service and cost just $5/hr, for a maximum of 2 hours. The shop sells its own branded coats and accessories, and Rita got a branded biscuit.
On our last day, we visited Parc de Chute Montmorency. This is home to a spectacular waterfall, 30 m taller than the Horseshoe Falls, and is located only a 15 minute drive from Old Québec. Dogs are allowed in the outdoor sites, station and cable car. I had booked our admission, parking and cable car ticket in advance (recommended, as it was extremely packed even in the winter months!) and received a phonecall a few days prior telling me the cable car had been shut for essential maintenance. Therefore we parked in the upper car park, next to the Manoir Montmorency, and took a short walk to the top of the falls. There was an observation deck along the picturesque walk, and at the top is a suspension bridge right over the tip of the falls - not for the faint hearted! I walked the whole way across and back, but Rita only managed a little bit and stayed with Granny Susan. The park has recently received a large investment to expand and update the facilities, including a semi-submerged walkway across the bottom, so will surely be even more impressive in the future.
Some non-dog friendly activities to mention: The toboggan run outside the Chateau is a must! Restaurants we went to were: Bistro le Sam (at the Chateau), Sapristi, Restaurant La Buche (great brunch!), Cochon Dingue and Bistro Hortus. And pop-up Christmas Bar Miracle au Maelstrom was very festive!
