STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

Quebec City?

cc · Marc Jacobs

I went a number of years ago and am going again in 2 weeks. My first trip was in March and it was so unbearably cold that I vowed to never go back except in spring or summer but my bf has a conference there so we hardly have to pay anything for the hotel. Right now we've got a room booked at the Frontenac but the cheaper rooms there don't look like they have any character so I've been looking into other options. I'm considering the Saint-Pierre and I thought the Sainte-Anne Hotel looked nice as well. When are you going? I'll be there from the 31st until November 4th so I can try to review our hotel and restaurants for you.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

cc wrote:

I went a number of years ago and am going again in 2 weeks. My first trip was in March and it was so unbearably cold that I vowed to never go back except in spring or summer but my bf has a conference there so we hardly have to pay anything for the hotel. Right now we've got a room booked at the Frontenac but the cheaper rooms there don't look like they have any character so I've been looking into other options. I'm considering the Saint-Pierre and I thought the Sainte-Anne Hotel looked nice as well. When are you going? I'll be there from the 31st until November 4th so I can try to review our hotel and restaurants for you.

We wanted to stay at Frontenac, but they're all booked for when we want to go (fyi if you have an amex, theres a stay 3 nights get the 4th free deal with them).
We'll be going Nove. 17-20, so I'd definately love any reviews you could give. :)

littlebean · Kate Spade

I've never been there, but I just wanted to say that it is at the top of my destinations list and I have heard nothing but good things! It seems like the perfect place to go for an anniversary!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

We ended up booking 3 nights at Hotel Dominion 1912 (which looks fantastic!). Any dining/shopping/tourism reccomendations would still be greatly appreciated though! :)

cc · Marc Jacobs

I'm back! Sadly I don't think I have many recommendations. Part of the problem is that my bf and I are vegetarians and most menus I saw looked pretty meat-heavy. The other part of the problem is that almost every place was soo expensive, especially given the bad exchange rate these days. Even outside the old city walls I saw a bunch of lunch menus with $25 entrees at ordinary looking restaurants. The best meals we had were the $25 breakfast buffet at the Frontenac, which was actually sort of worth the price. We also had a pretty good, well-priced meal at a Chinese restaurant a few blocks from the Frontenac, in case you get sick of crepes and all that. It's called _something__ Mandarin. We also went to a weird vegetarian cafeteria on Rue St. Jean, a few blocks outside the walls, which was pretty cheap and decent and nice for a quick meal.

In terms of activities, I mainly just wandered around and went to the hotel spa and spent nights at my bf's conference parties. I did go to the main art museum which is a 20-25 minute walk outside the city along the Rue St. Louis. They had a Picasso exhibit which was worthwhile but admission to the museum is also $15 which really surprise me. That's as much as the major museums in NY! In terms of shopping, I did see a lot of cute hats, gloves and scarves in stores, especially at the department store Simon's.

Also, the ice skating rink just outside the walls was open but I didn't have a chance to go.

HTH!

calico · Kenneth Cole

You probably want to go see Vieux- Quebec (old Quebec) since it's very much like a European city-- old cobblestone etc. The shopping isn't great there (it's all touristy shops, but you probably still want to go to them anyway), but IIRC, the nice outdoor shopping area is not far from there.

The only place I remember eating was the rotating restaurant (on top of a hotel I think?) for brunch and it was excellent. I think it was a bit fancy, so it would probably be really nice for dinner.

Even though you aren't staying at the Chateau Frontenac, I would highly recommend going and looking around inside since it's very beautiful. You could also go for "high tea" or lunch or something-- the CPR hotels (which the Frontenac is part of) are famous for their afternoon teas.

Across from the Frontenac there is also an armoury that's pretty cool to look around if you are intererested in history (or even if you're not... I still thought it was cool to see).

That's all I really remember doing while there, keep in mind that it's probably going to be pretty cold (I was in Montreal not long ago, and it was cold), since Quebec is infamous for it's ice storms. So you might want to keep outdoor excursions to a minimum. I hope you have a lot of fun; Quebec City is very cool! Oh, and it's pretty fun to practice your French too!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

thanks guys!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I had the best time EVER, so I thought I'd post in case ayone else comes looking for reviews.

we stayed at Hotel Dominion 1912, which is the most amazing little hotel in old quebec. I don't think I'd consider staying anywhere else if i go back there. It was really small and personal. There were free espresso drinks in the lobby, which was great when you came in from the cold or before bed. Breakfast was served in the lobby and it was great. Delicious yougurts, croissants, boiled eggs, and homemade granola. Best continental breakfast I've ever had. At night, there was bar service with delicious little snacks (nuts and olives- they brought them out with your drink). The whoel place was decorated beautifully and just exuded class.

Restaurant #1: Laurie Raphael. This place was great. Kind of trendy and "cool" but the crows was fairly normal so you didn't feel like the only non "beautiful person" there. Very eclectic cuisine. Expensive, but not too too much for a nice occassion.

Restaurant #2: Aux Anciene Canadiens. (sp?) This place is tourity but had good reviews, so we tried it for lunch. It was decent for lunch- I wouldn't do it for dinner. Felt a little "disney." Right by the chateux, so it was a good location for lunch too.

Restaurant #3: Panache. This place was amazing, but very pricy. We got the tasting menu, which was a lot of fun. Every single one of the 10 courses was mouthwatering, and the wines were paired perfectly. We'd definaelty go back, as it was worth every cent.

Chocolate shop- Erico's. they make the best hot cocoa ever. We went twice, and I miss it already. They also have a little chocolate museum which is kind of fun (free admission and takes about 10 minutes to look at).

Sight-wise, we had a great time just wandering around. The whole city is just beautiful, so we walked a lot and just took it all in...stopped at places that looked interesting. A lot of touristy places were closed on Sundays and Mondays, but they didn't really seem necessary anyway. There wasn't really much shopping except for art and antiques (the galleries in old quebec are amazing!). the city is small so we took pretty much all of it in our first day- weren't bored the next 2 though. We'd definately go back sometime. It's a super romantic city and for the most part wasn't too touristy (but at the same time was touristy enough that you didn't feel like you were intruding)