Home Walking tours by city Quebec City
Self-Guided Walking Tours in Quebec City
Quebec City is the only walled city north of Mexico, and the 4.6 kilometres of fortifications are still standing and still walkable along the top.
The city splits into Upper and Lower Town, separated by a cliff, and that vertical division is 400 years of social history made physical — the governors above, the port below. The Old Town is a UNESCO site and is small, dense and entirely French-speaking, which makes it the closest thing to a European walking city in North America.
Takes about a minute. Quebec City is already filled in — choose your time, pace and interests and the route is planned around them.
What to build a Quebec City walking tour around
The city walls
The only surviving fortified city walls in North America outside Mexico. You can walk the full 4.6 km circuit along the ramparts.
Château Frontenac
A railway hotel from 1893, and reportedly the most photographed hotel in the world. The Quebec Conferences of 1943 and 1944 were held here.
Quartier Petit Champlain
In the Lower Town, one of the oldest commercial streets in North America, reached from above by a funicular or the Escalier Casse-Cou — the "breakneck stairs".
Place Royale
Where Champlain founded the settlement in 1608. Notre-Dame-des-Victoires here is the oldest stone church in North America.
The Plains of Abraham
The 1759 battlefield that decided the fate of New France in about twenty minutes of fighting, now a 98-hectare urban park.
The Citadelle
A star fort still in active military use, garrisoned by the Royal 22e Régiment. The changing of the guard happens in summer.
Three routes worth walking in Quebec City
Upper Town and the ramparts
The Château, Dufferin Terrace, the Citadelle and a walk along the walls with the St Lawrence below.
Lower Town and Petit Champlain
Down the breakneck stairs to Place Royale, the painted mural on Rue Notre-Dame, and the Old Port market.
The Plains of Abraham
The battlefield park, the Musée national des beaux-arts, and the cliff-edge path with the widest views over the river.
Practical notes for walking Quebec City
- Terrain and surfaces
- The cliff between Upper and Lower Town is 60 metres of climb, taken by stairs or a funicular. Cobbles and steep lanes throughout the old town. Winter brings serious snow and ice, and the city embraces it.
- Best time to walk
- June to September for warmth, and February for the Carnaval — genuinely one of the world's great winter festivals, at −15°C.
- Driving here
- The old town is narrow and largely pedestrian. Drive for the Île d'Orléans loop, Montmorency Falls and the Charlevoix coast road.
- Size
- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada — population about 550,000.
Neighbourhoods worth a route of their own
Not just walking
The same route planner covers Quebec City on foot, at a run, by bike, by car and with wheelchair-accessible routing that avoids steps and kerbs rather than simply relabelling the walking route. Pick the way you are getting around and the stops, distances and timings are planned for it.
Start one now for Quebec City: driving tour · wheelchair-accessible route · cycling tour
Or read more: self-guided driving tours · accessible tours · audio tours
Questions about walking Quebec City
Do you need French in Quebec City?
Not in the tourist areas, where English is widely spoken — but the city is genuinely francophone, and a few phrases are noticed and appreciated in a way they are not in Montreal.
Is Quebec City walkable in winter?
Yes, and it is arguably at its best then — but the cliff stairs ice over, temperatures sit around −15°C, and proper boots are not optional. The funicular runs year-round.
What is a self-guided walking tour?
A route you walk on your own schedule, with the commentary delivered to your phone instead of by a guide. There is no meeting point and no group — you start when you want, stop as long as you like at anything that interests you, and skip anything that does not.
How is this different from a guided walking tour?
A guided tour runs to someone else's schedule and someone else's route, and it covers what the guide covers. This builds the route around the time you actually have, the pace you want to walk at and the things you said you were interested in — and it will wait as long as you like at any stop.
Can I do a driving tour instead of walking?
Yes. Walking, running, cycling, driving and wheelchair-accessible routing are all supported, and each uses routing built for that mode — a driving tour follows roads and sensible parking, a walking tour uses paths and crossings.
Other cities
- Self-guided walking tours in Montreal
- Self-guided walking tours in Mexico City
- Self-guided walking tours in Savannah
- All 43 city guides
A 24-hour pass is $6.95 and covers unlimited tours. Joining someone else’s tour is free.