Quebec City

Ramparts at dawn, Petit-Champlain before lunch, Saint-Roch after dark

Spend the first morning in Upper Town on the walls by Porte Saint-Louis and at the Citadelle, where the Royal 22e Régiment changes the guard in summer, then walk the Governors' Promenade to Dufferin Terrace. Ride the Funiculaire down to Petit-Champlain and Place Royale before lunch, and save Saint-Roch for the evening.

Day one belongs to Upper Town. Begin early on the walls near Porte Saint-Louis, when the stone is empty and the light comes from the river side, and follow them toward the Citadelle. In summer the Royal 22e Régiment mounts its changing of the guard there in the morning; book the guided tour of the star-shaped fort to see inside. Walk back along the Governors' Promenade, a cliffside boardwalk that ends on Dufferin Terrace below the Château Frontenac.

Ride the Funiculaire down to Petit-Champlain while the lane is still quiet, then cross to Place Royale and the stone church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. Lunch nearby, and give the afternoon to the Musée de la civilisation, whose Quebec history galleries make sense of everything you saw in the morning. At dusk, take the ferry to Lévis and back for the lit-up skyline. Dinner is in Saint-Roch, a short uphill walk from the port.

On day two, cross the Plains of Abraham in the morning, then drive or join a tour east to Montmorency Falls, where a footbridge spans the top of the drop. Continue over the bridge to Île d'Orléans, loop the island road past cider makers, cheese dairies and farm stands, and come back for a late meal on Avenue Cartier.

Tourtière, cretons and maple taffy poured on snow

Quebec City cooking is built for cold months: tourtière meat pie, yellow pea soup with salt pork, maple-baked beans and cretons pork spread on toast. Poutine is everywhere, and locals point visitors to the Chez Ashton chain. In the old town, look for the table d'hôte, a set meal posted outside in French and English.

Quebec cooking is built for cold months. Tourtière, a spiced pork or mixed-meat pie, turns up on almost every traditional menu, along with yellow pea soup flavoured with salt pork and fèves au lard, beans baked with maple. Breakfast in an old-style diner comes with cretons, a cold pork spread eaten on toast. Poutine, fries under gravy with squeaky cheese curds, is everywhere; locals often point visitors to Chez Ashton, the homegrown chain that has been serving it in the city for decades.

For dinner in the old town, read the menus posted outside in French and English and look for the table d'hôte, a set meal of several courses that costs far less than ordering à la carte. Outside the walls, rue Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Avenue Cartier in Montcalm are where residents eat, with bakeries, bistros and cheese counters.

Buy picnic food at the Grand Marché de Québec at ExpoCité, the city's year-round farmers' market, where producers sell raw-milk cheeses, cider and maple products. On Île d'Orléans the same things come straight from the farms. Between March and early April, the sugar shacks around the city open for heavy maple feasts of ham, eggs and pancakes, ending with tire d'érable, hot syrup poured on snow and twisted onto a stick. Wine and spirits come from SAQ stores.

Bonhomme's Carnaval, Festival d'été and the late spring thaw

Winter is Quebec City's longest season, with snow from December into April and January highs well below freezing. The Carnaval de Québec, led by Bonhomme, runs about ten days in early to mid February with an ice palace, night parades and a canoe race across the frozen St. Lawrence; book walled-town hotels in autumn.

Winter is the longest season here, and the city leans into it. Snow usually covers the ground from December into April, and January highs stay well below freezing. The Carnaval de Québec, led by its snowman mascot Bonhomme, runs for about ten days in early and mid February, with an ice palace, snow sculptures, night parades and a canoe race across the ice-choked St. Lawrence. Hotels inside the walls sell out on Carnaval weekends, so book in autumn.

Spring is short and muddy. The sugar shack season in March and early April is its best reason to visit, while May can still be cool and grey. Summer arrives in June with highs in the mid 20s C. The Fête nationale on 24 June fills the Plains of Abraham with concerts and fleur-de-lis flags, and in July the Festival d'été de Québec brings eleven days of big outdoor stages to the same field.

Early August brings the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France, when Lower Town dresses up in 17th and 18th century costume. September is the sweet spot for many visitors: warm afternoons, cooler nights and thinner crowds. By early October the maples on Île d'Orléans and along the road to Montmorency Falls have turned, and by November the first snow is rarely far away.