Solo travel · Quebec City · Canada
Solo travel in Quebec City
How to enjoy Quebec City at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Wilfredor, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Quebec City is small, walkable and easy to navigate alone. Eating at a bar counter is common, guided walking tours and museum tours are easy ways to meet people, and the old town is busy with visitors in the evenings for much of the year. Many solo travellers base themselves in Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
Key facts
- Base
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste
- Getting around
- Walking
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, ambulance, fire)
- Language
- French and English
Solo travel tips
- Hostels and small guesthouses inside the walls and in Saint-Jean-Baptiste are well located for solo travellers.
- Join a guided walking tour of the fortifications or the Lower Town on your first day to get your bearings.
- Pubs with live music on Rue Saint-Jean are relaxed places to have a drink alone.
- In winter, dress in layers and check the wind chill before planning long walks.
- The train from Montreal is an easy way to combine both cities without a car.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for budget, solo travellers and food lovers
Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Outside Porte Saint-Jean, the Faubourg Saint-Jean-Baptiste is where locals shop and drink: Rue Saint-Jean continues past grocers such as the long-established J.A. Moisan, small bars and vintage shops, with steep stairways dropping to Saint-Roch. Apartments and small guesthouses here are better value than inside the walls.
- Good
- Local atmosphere; Short walk to the old town; Good-value rentals
- Watch out
- Steep streets and stairs; Few hotels as such
- Nearby
- Rue Saint-Jean, Parliament Building, Old Québec walls
Great on your own
Landmark · Old Québec – Upper Town
Château Frontenac
For the classic photo of the hotel, walk down to the lower end of Rue du Petit-Champlain or take the ferry and look back from mid-river.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes–1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Photo spot
- Free
Viewpoint · Old Québec – Upper Town
Dufferin Terrace and Governors' Promenade
In winter a wooden toboggan slide is set up at the terrace's end; the run is short, fast and popular with children and adults alike.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- Kids
- After dark
- Iconic
Historic site · Old Québec – Upper Town
La Citadelle de Québec
Check the summer schedule for the changing of the guard and arrive early for a spot along the parade square.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Views
- Iconic
Historic site · Old Québec – Lower Town and Old Port
Place Royale and Notre-Dame-des-Victoires
Combine it with the Musée de la civilisation, a three-minute walk away, for a full Lower Town morning.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Historic site · Old Québec – Upper Town
Fortifications of Québec
Start at Porte Saint-Jean and follow the wall walk clockwise towards the Artillery Park for the best views of the old roofs.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Outdoors
- Views
Park · Montcalm and Grande Allée
Plains of Abraham (Battlefields Park)
Walk from Dufferin Terrace along the Governors' Promenade stairs to reach the park without retracing your steps.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- History
- Views
Meeting people
- Sugar shack meal — In March and April, sugar shacks (cabanes à sucre) around the city and on Île d'Orléans serve all-you-can-eat menus of pea soup, ham, beans, omelettes and pancakes drenched in maple syrup, finished with taffy on snow. Book ahead for weekends.
- Île d'Orléans farm-stand tour — The island's 67-km ring road passes strawberry fields, cideries, wineries, chocolate makers and cheese producers; in summer and autumn, roadside stands sell produce directly.
- Grande Allée — Big terraces, bars and clubs just outside Porte Saint-Louis; the busiest party street on summer weekends.
- Rue Saint-Jean — Pubs and bars inside and outside the walls, including spots with live traditional and folk music.
Sensible precautions
Quebec City has low levels of street crime for visitors; the main hazards are icy stairways and pavements in winter and extreme wind chill. Normal precautions against bag theft apply in crowded festival areas.
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, ambulance, fire)
- Staying connected
- Free Wi-Fi is common in cafés, hotels and many public buildings; Canadian mobile data is relatively expensive, so an eSIM can save money.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Quebec City good for solo travellers?
Quebec City is small, walkable and easy to navigate alone. Eating at a bar counter is common, guided walking tours and museum tours are easy ways to meet people, and the old town is busy with visitors in the evenings for much of the year.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Quebec City?
Saint-Jean-Baptiste: Hilly residential streets, independent cafés and the outer stretch of Rue Saint-Jean.