Quebec City Travel Guide
Day Trips from Québec City
The four essential escapes within half an hour of the walls — Montmorency Falls, Île d’Orléans, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Wendake — how to combine them, how to get there with or without a car, and when each is at its best.
One of Québec City’s great advantages is how quickly the city gives way to waterfalls, farmland and history. Within about half an hour of the walls you can stand above a waterfall taller than Niagara, drive a loop of farm stands and seventeenth-century villages, visit North America’s oldest pilgrimage shrine and spend an afternoon with the Huron-Wendat Nation. Here is how to plan each trip and how to combine them.
Montmorency Falls: the big splash. Just fifteen minutes east of the city, the Montmorency River plunges 83 metres into the St. Lawrence, about thirty metres more than Niagara. Sépaq’s park lets you see it from every angle: a cable car up the cliff to the Manoir Montmorency, a suspension bridge directly over the brink, a 487-step panoramic staircase down the cliff face in summer, and a 300-metre zipline and via ferrata routes for thrill-seekers. In 2026 the upper falls sector was redeveloped with large Victorian-style gardens, a new reception pavilion and relocated parking. In winter, the frozen spray builds a giant ice cone at the base. Allow two to three hours. Public bus route 800 serves the falls if you are without a car.
Île d’Orléans: the island pantry. Cross the bridge just past the falls and you are on Île d’Orléans, a farming island 34 kilometres long with six historic villages along the Chemin Royal. Drive the loop counterclockwise, starting in Sainte-Pétronille for wine with views of the falls, then stop for chocolate, blackcurrant liqueurs, cider, strawberries or apples depending on the season, and visit the Espace Félix-Leclerc and the seventeenth-century Maison Drouin. The observation tower at Saint-François looks over the archipelago and Cap Tourmente. Most shops and stands open from mid-June to mid-October. Note that the island’s 1935 bridge remains in service while a new bridge is built, and approach roads have long-term lane closures — check Québec 511 before you go.
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré: the pilgrim coast. Continue east along the Côte-de-Beaupré, ideally on the old Avenue Royale with its farmhouses and roadside bakeries, to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, about 35 kilometres from the city. The shrine’s history begins in 1658, and the vast basilica, with its mosaics, stained glass and pillars covered in crutches left by pilgrims who felt healed, is one of the most moving places in the region. Climb the Scala Santa or the hillside Way of the Cross, and visit respectfully — it is an active place of worship. Entry is free.
Wendake: the Wendat story. To the northwest, less than fifteen kilometres from downtown, Wendake is the community of the Huron-Wendat Nation. The Huron-Wendat Museum tells the nation’s story in its own voice through the permanent exhibition Wendat Endi’ (Us the Wendat), and the nearby Ekionkiestha’ National Longhouse hosts storytelling around its fires. Add Tsawenhohi House, the museum gardens, the Kabir Kouba waterfall and lunch at La Traite. The museum opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, so avoid Mondays and Tuesdays.
How to combine them. The falls, the island and Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré lie along the same eastern route and make a natural full day: falls in the morning, the island loop for lunch and tastings, and the basilica in the late afternoon (or swap the order to catch the island’s afternoon light). Wendake is in the opposite direction and works best as a separate half day, or as an overnight at the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations. In winter, the Hôtel de Glace at Village Vacances Valcartier, northwest of the city, pairs naturally with Wendake.
With or without a car. A rental car gives the most freedom, especially for the island, and parking is easy outside the old city. Without one, the Tiqets half-day countryside tour leaves from 12 Rue Sainte-Anne in Old Québec at 10:30am and covers Montmorency Falls (with park access), the basilica at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the Albert Gilles copper-art museum and a chocolate stop on Île d’Orléans in about five hours, with a certified guide. Taxis or rideshares work for Wendake, about twenty minutes each way.
When to go. Summer and early autumn are best for the island, when farms and stands are open and the fields are at their prettiest; September and October add apple season and colour. The falls are thunderous in spring and frozen in winter. The basilica is busiest in summer, especially around the feast of Saint Anne in late July. Wendake is rewarding year-round, and the longhouse fires feel especially meaningful in the cold. Whatever the season, a day beyond the walls shows you the landscape that made Québec City — and makes the return to the lamplit old town all the sweeter.
What to pack for a day out. Comfortable shoes or boots with grip, a waterproof layer for the spray at the falls, a cooler bag for island produce in summer, cash for small farm stands, and modest clothing for the basilica. Fuel up before leaving the city if you are driving, and remember that many rural businesses keep shorter hours outside summer, so check opening times the day before.
Going further. With an extra day and a car, keep driving east past Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré into Charlevoix, a region of mountains, artists’ villages and river views that many visitors rank among the most beautiful drives in the province. Closer in, the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski area and the Canyon Sainte-Anne gorge lie just beyond the basilica. Northwest of the city, Village Vacances Valcartier is home to the Hôtel de Glace in winter, and the forests and lakes of the Jacques-Cartier region open up for hiking and canoeing in summer.