When you travel, don’t you just love finding the magic of the season? You don’t have to look too far to find it in Quebec City, Canada! We’ve partnered with adventure, culture, and luxury travel writer Dr. Cacinda Maloney from PointsandTravel as she explores the winter wonderland of Quebec City.
Tucked away in the Laurentian mountains of Canada, Quebec City is easily one of the most beautiful winter destinations in all of North America. One visit there and you will be absolutely delighted to find Quebec City actually celebrates everything snow and ice! Things like skiing, ice skating, tobogganing, dog sledding, tubing, and an ice hotel with a bar. They even have an indoor/outdoor Nordic spa along the St. Lawrence River that will knock your socks off! I am convinced that you will be delighted to actually spend some time outdoors in the snow, as there are multiple ice cold things to do in Quebec City and the surrounding area of Canada.
Photo by PointsandTravel
Built along the St. Lawrence River, this old French City is a whirlwind of the perfect winter wonderland. Need some convincing? Take a look at these 10 photos of Quebec during its most favorable season of the year – well, they do say that summer is just a beautiful!
Stay at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac!
There is nothing quite like staying at the famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac! You will feel like you have traveled back in a time of the majestic days of hotel travel. It is such a legendary and grand hotel that you do not want to miss.
Ride the Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec
From your amazing stay at the Chateau Frontenac, you can walk out its backdoor to ride this fabulous Funiculaire down to the most charming street in all of Canada – Quarter Petite Champlain for a night of shopping, eating and fun!
Go Shopping on My Favorite Street in Québec City
I have never seen anything like this “most charming street in Quebec City”, actually in all of Canada! I love Quartier Petite Champlain, with its cute wintery shops, outdoor seating, art galleries, restaurants, souvenirs, and candy shops that are all dressed up like it is Christmas Eve. But it is not, they just celebrate winter here.
Relax and Enjoy a Spa Day Along the St. Lawrence River
Strom Spa is nothing short of spectacular and you will enjoy every moment of your time in this indoor and outdoor spa. They have everything from negative-edge warm water pools, to infrared heat beds, and even a warm water salt float pool. This place is a great way to spend an entire afternoon relaxing and soaking up the winter fun.
Go Dog Sledding with Adventures Nord-bec Stoneham
Have you ever dreamed about dog-sledding or even mushing? Well, this is the place to do it, in Stoneham, about 30 minutes outside of Quebec City. Here they eagerly await your arrival so that you can show these wonderful dogs some love. The track is well groomed and the dogs are excited to be running. You will have a guide on a separate sleigh ahead of you, so you will be in control of your six dogs to follow him along! If there is more than one of you, you can choose to mush or just ride on the sleigh. Both are a thrill, so get your cameras ready.
Looking for more things to do? 15 Things to do in Quebec City in the Winter
Take a Helicopter Tour
There is not much more fun than taking off in a helicopter tour overlooking the beautiful Jacques Cartier Valley. So while you are mushing and dog sledding with the family, be sure and ask for a 10-minute ride high up in the sky to get a bird’s eye view of these gorgeous lands. Dog sledding and a helicopter ride all in the same day!
Visit the Valcartier Winter Playground
I loved this winter wonderland – an ice hotel and bar, along with plenty of wild playground of slip-sliding things for the kids (and adults) to do. You can do things such as tubing, snow rafting, slides, and skating. If that is too much for the adults in the group, then there is always the indoor play park and spa. Valcartier is the largest winter playground in all of Canada! You will never run out of things to do.
Visit the Hotel de Glace and Bar at Valcartier
But what I really loved was the 42-room Hotel de Glace and Bar. Room after room, each different than the last, where you can spend the night. But if you cannot sleep on a bed of ice, they do keep the rooms open daily till 9 p.m., so you can tour them as well. They build the Hotel de Glace each year, which takes them about two months and then the hotel is open for three months of the year. The entire hotel is made of snow and ice! Wouldn’t you like to spend the night in a winter wonderland?
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