Exploring Quebec City

I was up and about early after a solid night's sleep. I had a very substantial breakfast provided by the hostel and took my time before venturing out. It was very sunny but cool this morning but soon warmed up. I could almost have worn my shorts! I started off by going to the tourist office. There I picked up a map and official tourist guide for the city. I decided to follow one of their very detailed walks.I'd seen these online and they looked a great starting point with lots of information about the different places to visit including directions. I followed the Inside The Walls route almost exactly. It did take me all over the place within a relatively small area but I got to see sites like the Chateau Frontenac hotel and Notre-Dame Basilica as well as much smaller places I probably would have walked straight passed. I stopped for an extended time up by the Citadel where I read and had something to eat. I didn't go inside any of the museums as the route plan suggested as it was too nice a day for that and the walk too long enough anyway.

I dropped back into the hostel at about 2.30pm then went back out to walk part of the city walls then down to Govenors' Promenade where I sat in the late afternoon sun listening to music and watching the activity both on the Saint Lawrence River and on the promenade. There are so many tourists here and the cafes and restaurants are all packed. It made me feel more secure being a tourist too (by that I mean keeping my map and camera out at all times). When the sun started to get lower it did begin to cool which was my cue to walk back to the hostel via the nearest supermarket. Once I've written this blog entry I'll go and cook.

I've done a fair bit today but have left plenty of parts of the city to explore. I'm booked on to tomorrow morning's tour which I hope will give me more information and historical details about what I've seen today and maybe take me further afield too.

Chateau Frontenac

Porte Kent

Notre-Dame Basilica