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One of the oldest streets in the city, Rue Saint-Jean begins in the heart of the Upper Town, not far from the Hôtel de Ville (city hall). It was laid out in the 17th century to connect a country estate to the city; now it connects old Québec City to its newer neighborhoods to the west of the historic center. Today it’s also one of the city’s liveliest shopping areas. The blocks within the city walls cater largely to travelers, and alongside bars and restaurants you’ll find gelaterias and popcorn stores. Francophones who want to shop for books in French should pop into the excellent Librairie Pantoute. After the street passes through the Saint-Jean Gate, there are more independent stores and cafés.

Who would have expected that an ancient order of nuns would be generating buzz in Québec City’s restaurant scene? The Augustinian Sisters have been present in the city since the 17th century, devoted to caring for the poor and suffering. But as their numbers declined the nuns chose to venture in a new direction, and in 2015 they opened a wellness hotel and a restaurant. The menu is limited—soup, a salad bar loaded with grains and roasted vegetables, and a choice of a chicken, fish or vegetarian entrée. On a recent visit, a dish of chicken and wild rice in green curry sauce proved to be one of the most memorable meals in a city of excellent restaurants. The money raised by the hotel and restaurant helps support the nuns’ outreach programs—which makes eating well feel even better.

Though the name translates as “hunting and fishing club” and clubby decor (inherited from the previous restaurant) prevails, Le Club was never, in fact, a private club. The menu also pays a nod to the restaurant’s name with its local fish and game dishes that are served in the dark, intimate, somewhat stuffy rooms. (The same group has three more casual options if that sounds more appealing: Le Serpent, the buzzy Le Filet, and the family’s Italian cousin, Il Miglio.) In the winter, Le Club is open for dinner only, while in the summer a terrace provides the perfect setting for a long, leisurely lunch of chef Claude Pelletier’s sophisticated take on Québecois cuisine.

While certainly a haul from Quebec City (give yourself three hours, including the free ferry ride), a journey to the Saguenay Fjord could not be more worthwhile! The town of Tadoussac serves as the perfect base to explore the wildlife-filled ecosytem at the confluence of the fjord and the St Lawrence river, complete with beautiful old hotels and a abundant dining options. And the three day camping/hiking/kayaking expedition is a stress-free way to truly dig deep into this beautiful edge of the earth.

The choice of whether to build a church following a Gothic Revival or neoclassical design involved more than just aesthetics in 19th-century Québec. The former tended to be associated with Protestantism, and so the construction of the Catholic Basilica of Notre-Dame in that style raised eyebrows. When the St-Jacques Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1852, the architects who designed a new church for the site, the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, opted for the neoclassical style that was more typical of Catholic buildings. Constructed from 1874 to 1895, it is a quarter-scale version of St. Peter’s in Rome, complete with coffered vaults and twisting columns in imitation of those of Lorenzo Bernini’s baldachin in the Eternal City. The building’s green copper dome makes a statement, too, looming as it does over the largely Protestant neighborhood. The stucco crucifix by sculptor Philippe Hébert is one of most important works of art in the church.

At the Big White Ski Resort there is more to do than ski and snowboard which is especially useful to know when you’re not a skiing Canadian like myself. Instead of hitting the slopes there are snowshoe excursions, ice wall climbing, sledding with inflatable tubes, ice skating, sleigh rides, dog sledding, and, even more importantly, delicious restaurants and bars full of beer and locally produced wine.

This perennially popular bakery and sandwich spot can feel somewhat out of place. With its cozy atmosphere in a plant-filled space, and its menu of warm panini, delicious sandwiches on artisanal breads, generous salads, and perfectly executed pastries, it is the sort of restaurant you’d expect to find in one of Montréal’s cooler neighborhoods. Instead, it’s in the heart of Old Montréal. That is a definite plus for travelers visiting the city’s historic sights. It also means, however, that there is a lunch-hour rush when nearby office workers vie for tables. If you can plan on an early or late lunch—you’re on vacation, after all—you can avoid the worst of the crowd. Olive et Gourmando is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so if you are looking for a place for dinner, the same owners are behind the new Foxy (in the Griffintown neighborhood), which is quickly proving as popular as their first restaurant.

Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market is crammed with 120 vendors, butcher counters, bakeries, ethnic eateries, and seafood shops. But there’s one reason why most people come here: the peameal bacon sandwich, which is dished up at the Carousel Bakery. It’s not really bacon—or at least not the bacon you usually eat—but rather tender, thicker strips of pork, cut from the loin and then rolled in peameal (like cornmeal but made from peas), and served on a kaiser roll with a swipe of mustard. It’s a porklicious treat!

Some Americans may think of Montréal’s anglophone, francophone, and Indigenous communities when they think about the city’s diversity, but it is also remarkably international. Case in point, almost 20,000 Syrians live in Québec, and more than 90 percent of them are in Montréal—a number that will likely increase in coming years given the province’s commitment to resettling refugees from the country. Fuad Alnirabie, the chef and owner of Damas in Outremont, is a Syrian-Canadian who is introducing Montréal to his native country’s cuisine. The best strategy is to order an abundance of hot and cold mezes—hummus, baba ghanoush, octopus salad, fried dumplings—or leave the work of choosing to the kitchen and opt for the five- or six-course tasting menu.

Quebecois artisans have painted beautiful murals on the facades of a few of the Lower City buildings, depicting life as it would have been over the centuries of Old Quebec settlement. The mural at the entrance to Rue Notre Dame, with the church steeple in the background, is especially picturesque.

It’s hard to visit Old Faithful and not immediately start planning how you’ll manage to afford absolutely everything in this wildly desirable modern day general store, from elegant pencils from Public Supply and Tuthilltown Bourbon barrel maple syrup from Québec to hand-sewn Horween leather iPhone sleeves and scented candles in copper votive cases. I can never visit without buying something, even if it’s just a gorgeous design magazine full of even more things to drool over!

While most tourist guides will tell you to visit the Montmorency Falls while in Quebec City, the hiking and natural splendor at Parc Mont Sainte Anne (just 30 minutes from downtown Quebec City) are significantly more pleasant. Give yourself a full day to enjoy this winter-ski-resort turned summer-outdoor-adventure spot. With miles upon miles of hiking trails, beautiful waterfall, and a gondola to help out when you get tired, it’s a great spot for a day away from sightseeing.

Perhaps the most picturesque street in Old Quebec, the Rue du Parloir is a tiny lane that connects the Convent of the Ursulines to the main Rue St Louis. As with most cities, come early in the morning or late in the afternoon to find the street nearly empty!

Tucked quietly away from the main tourist sites, the small Epicerie de la rue Couillard offers beautiful breads and specialty meats, along with a great selection of regional cheeses --- altogether, a great one-stop-shop to grab everything you need (including a few bottles of Quebec’s cider!) to make a perfect picnic to enjoy on the Plains of Abraham.

A stroll up the lovely Rue des Grisons on a sunny day will lead you directly to the Citadelle du Quebec, complete with the ruins of the old military structure and sweeping views over the Old City. You can even seen all the cruise ships that have docked at the old port (at last count, my highest sighting was nine at one time).