Go: Self-Guided Food & Walking Tour of Quebec, Canada
This post is part of the RWG Bundle for Louise Penny’s novel ‘Bury Your Dead’ set in Quebec, Canada
After my husband and Kelsey’s father passed away several years ago, we didn’t feel like staying home for Christmas. We decided we would do something very different, so we planned a Christmas trip to Old Quebec, and decided to walk in the footsteps of Chief Inspector Armande Gamache. We used author Louise Penny’s 6th book, ‘Bury Your Dead’, from her absolutely fabulous Three Pines mystery series, to guide us through this historic neighborhood of Quebec City. It turned out to be a trip of a lifetime!
We arrived in the dead of night in the dead of winter. We two California gals with chattering teeth, layered to the max, in snow boots not yet broken into, checked into our hotel, and then immediately walked down the charming cobblestone street in a BLIZZARD (apparently not according to a true Quebecois) to the Basse-Ville Funiculaire and ascended up the cliff face to the Upper Town. We tried to run in our inadequate footwear and failed, so we walked very slowly and awkwardly to the Literary and Historical Society library featured so prominently in ‘Bury Your Dead’, hoping to get there before closing time.
With the snow that we now understood to be lightly falling on us, and expecting to be turned away, we made it to the front door of the Library and pushed it open. And there it was - just as I had pictured it - welcoming us warmly and wrapping its many arms of history around us. There was the worn leather sofa Armande always chose to settle in beneath the statue of General Wolfe, which Penny described as being “oddly petite”. There were the stacks and shelves of the more than 20,000 tomes housed there. There was what we imagined was the table where the Literary Board would assemble monthly. There was the beautiful curved staircase leading up to the stunning second balcony. We were alone, it was very quiet, but the lights were on. We pinched ourselves and explored, then settled in with our books on the very couch Inspector Gamache had spent many a snowy evening doing his best to solve the murder of Augustin Renaud. Soon a lovely librarian walked in and found us. When she found out our names and what we were doing in the library which was officially closed, she offered us cookies and coffee, and we had a wonderful chat in this hallowed place in the middle of the walled city of Old Quebec.
I don’t know what time it was when we left, but the restaurants were open and we chose one on a corner whose open fireplace drew us in. There were beautifully polished dark wood chairs and tables. The restaurant was dimly lit, with the fire flames creating an ‘I want to stay here forever’ atmosphere. The tables were beautifully set. The menu’s offerings sounded gorgeous in French and we let the Maitre’D order for us. According to our notes, Kelsey had rabbit (doesn’t sound as good as lapin, I know) from the Lopredos farm stuffed with apples, chorizo, and tarragon, shoulder larded with homemade bacon, giant gnocchi, leg of rabbit confit ragout style with girolle mushrooms and old fashioned mustard, brussel sprout leaves and green apple with xeres. I had a Guinea Fowl breast, stuffed between skin and flesh with porcini mushrooms, mashed bacon, and fresh cream. Crushed macadamia nuts, fowl leg, confit gizzard, shiitake mushrooms, Mackintosh apple, turnip and watercress salad,and truffle fowl jus. Everything was magnificent!
This is how we spent our first night of the Christmas Season in Old Quebec. It is a night I’ll never forget, and goes down as one of my top travel experiences from all over the world.
Now we invite you to visit Old Quebec City and experience what it would be like to live in Armand Gamache’s world as you follow in the Inspector’s footsteps. We offer you a list of many of the wonderful places we visited and some of the superb food and drink we enjoyed from Bury Your Dead.
Self-Guided Walking Tour of Old Quebec, Canada
The Morrin Centre contains the private English library of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec since 1868
The St. Andrews Presbyterian Church is the oldest English-speaking congregation of Scottish origin from 1759. It faces the library. The Reverend Tom Hancock preached here in Bury Your Dead.
The Plains of Abraham was where the Battle of Quebec was fought in 1759 by the British and French Armies on land owned originally by Abraham Martin outside the walls of Quebec City. The British officer Major General James Wolfe, and the French officer Louis Montcalm, commander of the French and Canadian troops, are noteworthy characters in the book. This battle proved to be pivotal in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France.
The Chateau Frontenac was part of a series of Chateau-esque hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. It is exquisite inside and out! It was completed in 1893. It is the most photographed building in Canada. It’s where Gamache would go to have a glass of wine and a crusty bowl of french onion soup at the St. Laurent Bar. He describes a circular wood bar, and tables, open roaring fires in two great hearths, and large windows that open to splendid vistas of ships sailing up and down the great river St. Lawrence. He also met the Literary Board in a secret room by the bar, We didn’t find the secret room! Near the hotel out front is Dufferin Terrace, an often busy gathering place that offers jaw-dropping views of the St. Lawrence, Lower Town, Ile D’Orleans, and the Laurentian mountain range. The de la foi monument is also there which means “to faith”. The REAL attention-grabbing monument though is that of a statue of Samuel Champlain on top of a stone base. The monument is 52 ½ feet high with a 14 foot statue of Samuel Champlain. Near the bottom of the four-sided base is a sculpture of the Allegory of the Renown (an angel with a trumpet). It’s a sight to behold!
Notre Dame Basilica de Quebec is the oldest church in Canada. It was built in 1647 and has twice been destroyed by fire. The first time was during the Battle of Quebec in 1759 that is an important part of history chronicled in Bury Your Dead. It was then rebuilt according to the original plans. Kelsey and I found it breathtakingly beautiful. The altar with its opulent gold-leaf adornment is modeled after the altar at St. Peter’s in Rome. Our visit to the Basilica was particularly special. In 2014 the Cathedral celebrated its 350th anniversary. A holy door was constructed, the only one in the Americas, and only the eighth in the world. It was opened in December of 2013 and stayed open until December 28, 2014. We walked through the Holy Door, a beautiful experience. Holy doors are sealed and are typically only opened every 50 years.
Funiculaire du Vieux-Quebec is a funicular railway that links the Haute Ville (Upper Town) to the Basse-Ville (Lower Town). This is a Godsend in the winter! It climbs at a 45-degree angle and goes a distance of 210 feet up and down the cliff face.
Quartier Petit Champlain was named the best street in Canada. You’ll feel like you are stepping back in time walking down the cobblestone streets. Almost every shop and restaurant is one of a kind, and many of them belong to a cooperative of artisans. In winter when we were there, thousands of lightbulbs zigzagged between the buildings. Magical!
Place Royale is a small cobblestone square in the Old Port where Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608. There are shops, restaurants, and galleries all around the square.
Rue du Auteui is one of the quaint streets of Old Quebec with homes built in the French style, specifically the style of Normandy and Northern France. Gamache talked about the elegant row of homes on this street belonging to generations of premier families. Also mentioned in the book was Cote de la Fabrique, one of the first main streets of Quebec City on the maps in the 17th century.
Les Glissades de la Terrasse are more than a century old and are three aisles of ice on one slide on the Dufferin Terrace that Gamache reminisces about tobogganing down at top speed as a child. (you can speed down up to 70 mph, with up to four people per toboggan!)
Ice Canoeing Races take place in February during Winter Carnival. Kelsey and I were in Quebec in December so we missed them, but if you REALLY like to be cold, it sounds like it would be a blast to be there drinking lots of caribou, the official drink of Winter Carnival. I’m just joking. I wouldn’t be drinking Caribou (it’s a near-lethal blend of port and alcohol) but apparently, a lot of people would and do to keep warm. Ice Canoe teams recreate mail runs that took place before ice-breaking ships arrived. More than 40 teams compete according to Wikipedia and ”crews of five athletes paddle in a river with currents of four knots, tides of over 15 feet, and ice blocks weighing over a few tons blown by the wind.” Tom Hancock and Ken Haslam from ‘Bury Your Dead’ competed in this race.
Where To Eat (& what to order!) in Old Quebec
Chez Temporel - buttery croissants, steaming bowls of cafe du lait, pain au chocolat, croissant aux amandes
J.A. Moisan - dating back to 1871, this magical epicerie claims to be the oldest grocery store in North America - raw milk cheeses, pate and lamb on a warm baguette
Paillard Bakery - on St. Jean (lots of cafes on this street) roast beef, hot mustard and tomato on baguette, maple cured ham, brie, and arugula , cro-beignets (OMG)
Le Petit Coin Latin - (tiny place on St. Ursule) breakfasts, cafe au lait, baguette stuffed with pheasant terrine, arugula and cranberry sauce, dark wood and interior fireplace
Creperies along St. Jean - Kelsey and I had crepes at Le Billig at 526 St. Jean - she had warm maple syrup and I had fresh strawberries and cream. We also had salted duck confit- YUM!
La Petite Cabane a sucre on rue du Petit-Champlain - warm maple syrup on blocks of ice rolled up and put on lollipop sticks hardening to taffy on snow. Absolutely delicious!
Cafe Buade - bowl of chocolat chaude
Aux Anciens Canadiens - oldest restaurant in the Province - we had two traditional dishes - Poutine de patte de cochon (this involved pig’s feet) and Cerf, bison, et wapiti grilles, sauce cognac et poivre rose (venison, bison, and elk) This is the restaurant that Gamache said attracted tourists but he said he had a delicious cafe au lait here :)
Chocolates made by the monks from shops on Rue St. Jean - Gamache talked about these, but Kelsey and I missed the reference in the book before we went. So we also missed out. :(
