Driving in Quebec City?

[Harriet Vane]

We are planning a trip to Quebec City this winter. We will stay in Montreal for one night on the way up and then back again, but most of the trip will be in Quebec.

 

How realistic is it to drive in the tourist areas of Quebec City?

 

For example, we are native Chicagoans, so we have some comfort level with city driving and some comfort level with public transportation. However, when we visited New York City or Boston, we preferred public transportation even though we could manage the driving. My dh drove comfortably in Scotland small towns, but none of us were comfortable trying to drive in London or Edinburgh as it was just too different from the U.S. and too fast-paced to allow for error.

 

We are hoping to get an apartment outside the city center and drive in or take public transportation. Our hope is to visit museums and tea shops. Dh and ds may sometimes go for a day skiing while dd and I troll around town.

 

As far as transportation, is this realistic?

 

Thanks for your help!

[TravelingChris]

In part of our honeymoon, we drove in Quebec.  There are narrower streets just like in European cities.  We were there in Fall.  We would park the car and walk around.  We also took the funicular which was fun.  As I remember it, most of the attractions were downtown but I believe we visited a very nice exploration museum about Jacques Cartier (and maybe the other explorers) outside of town.  Montmorency Falls were very nice too.

Edited October 8, 2016 by transientChris

[Arctic Bunny]

Or Jacques Cartier, lol ;)

 

Haven't been to Québec City since I was a teenager, so no help on driving. Have fun though!

[TravelingChris]

Of course Jacques Cartier, LOL.  I would never want to go to a museum about Jacques Chirac.  Too boring.

[Farrar]

I was there ages ago and I remember we had to search some for parking, the roads were tight, we had to walk a bit after parking... but it was nothing bad if you're used to city driving and parking. I suppose it could be different now though.

[Harriet Vane]

Thanks for those perspectives! 

 

Any others want to chime in?

 

 

[Kalmia]

We were just there for our second honeymoon in August. It is very easy to drive in Quebec City. I am from rural Maine and did not freak out (which is big, I always freak out in driving in Boston and NY). But the old city and adjacent areas are completely walkable unless you are differently abled. If your hotel is in the old city or just above, you don't need your car. If you are driving in, there are parking areas near the river and the old city. The one we used was a reasonable price per hour.

 

The only thing I didn't expect was that there is a bus lane on the right of some streets that is for buses only at some times of the day. So if you are making a right turn, you cannot travel in the right lane; you have to wait until you are very close to the turn to move to the farthest right lane. The other thing was that there seemed to be a greater number of speed cameras and red light cameras than I have every seen. And let me tell you, they will send the speeding ticket to you in the US (hubby was driving, just so you know).

 

As you know from Chicago, snow or freezing rain would be a serious driving hazard during your trip.