Did you know that Québec has a waterfall that’s taller than Niagara Falls? Montmorency Falls are just outside of Québec City and are a must visit when travelling to Québec. You can rent a car and explore on your own, but for a stress-free day, you can book a day tour to Montmorency Falls, Île d’Orléans and rural Québec. We booked with Get Your Guide, and if this is something that interests you, CLICK HERE to check prices and book. The tour was fully guided, on an air-conditioned bus and stops at I’le D’Orleans, Montmorency Falls, a Copper Art Studio and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
Tour Details
The tour was a half day tour, advertised for 4.5 hours but it lasted about 5. We started the tour at Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville (Town Hall Square) which is a historic square with fountains and hosts several markets. It Is a major hub for the New France Festival and is worth looking around if you arrive early. Our tour started at 10:30 am, so we had plenty of time to arrive on time.
The bus was large and spacious with air conditioning and a knowledgeable guide. Our guide was friendly, funny and informative. At one point in the tour, the air conditioning wasn’t blasting at full capacity… although I thought it was fine. When we were at one of our stops, they even left to pick up a new bus with better air conditioning. It didn’t affect the tour at all, so it was a win-win, but unnecessary if you ask me.
Île d’Orléans
Our first stop was to Île d’Orléans, a charming island, across the St. Lawrence from Québec City. Île d’Orleans is famous for fresh fruits and veggies and while driving across the island, you’ll find vineyards and charming Victorian homes. I would have liked to explore more, but our stop there was to a Chocolaterie, or chocolate factory. We had about 45 minutes to browse the sweets and relax on the terrasse.
I grabbed some chocolates, some amazing ice cream and a sandwich for later in the day. There were plenty of creative chocolates to choose from, but if you ask me, the ice cream shop was the best part of the stop. There were massive ice cream sandwiches and all kinds of gourmet revels and ice cream flavours. I got a strawberry ice cream sandwich and a hazelnut revel which was the best revel I’ve ever tried. While eating the ice cream I decided to walk around a bit and take in some views of the St. Lawrence. It was a relaxing and nice stop but I wish we had more time on Île d’Orléans.
Montmorency Falls
The next stop was the big one, Montmorency Falls. Montmorency Falls are about half an hour from Québec City and are actually 30 m taller than Niagara Falls. You can rent a car and visit the falls, but one advantage of our tour was that we skipped the long lineup of cars waiting to enter. And if you rent a car, you will still have to pay to enter.
There are several different viewpoints of the falls, but we only had an hour and a half to explore. We could have waited for the Gondola to the top of the falls, but the lineup was long and we would have had to pay an extra $15/per person. A cool thing about the falls is that you can view them from several different vantage points including crossing them on the suspension bridge. With limited time and a toddler, we kept it simple. We walked along the pathway to the viewpoint at the bottom of the falls. The pressure of the falls is enormous, and as you get closer you will get increasingly wet. It was actually quite refreshing on such a hot day, but is something to be aware of for your electronics.
And another way to view the falls is to walk up the 487 to the view point adjacent to the falls. I decided to go about 1/3 up to one of the lower viewpoints. After some photos and views of the falls we headed back. It was nice not to have to rush back to the bus. There was a play structure which our daughter played on for a bit and a cafeteria and gift shop with plenty of washrooms. By this point we had done the main attractions of the tour, but we still had two stops left.
Sainte-Anne: Copper Art Studio and Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupré
When booking the tour, I never even realized we were going to a copper art studio, Cuivres d'Art Albert Gilles. It felt like an unnecessary stop, but there was a reason for the visit.
We got in there, heard the story of the studio, which is quite interesting, were shown a demonstration on how the art is produced and then given time to walk around. We had about 30 minutes to look around and shop for souvenirs. The coolest part was Le Christorama, the Life of Jesus, depicted in 50 copper art pieces, taking 15 years to complete.
Interestingly, Cuivres d'Art Albert Gilles is the only copper art studio using their methods in North America. They started in France and moved to Québec. Their work has been passed down in the family and they have even produced copper art for the Vatican. What made the stop significant was that the doors of the Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupré were commissioned by the studio.
And that led to our final stop, the Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupré. When you arrive, you will be impressed by the size and architecture of the large white church.. Why was such a massive and impressive church constructed in a small town? While the French built churches wherever they settled along the St. Lawrence River, this particular spot became world-famous for reported miracles. Over the centuries, millions of pilgrims flooded the tiny town, prompting the church to be rebuilt bigger, grander, and more resilient after a devastating fire in 1922.
Immediately when entering the basilica, you will notice the familiarity of the copper doors, drawing significance from the earlier stop. As impressive as the church is on the outside, it is quite impressive on the inside. We were given some time to explore and shortly after we were back on the bus heading back to Québec City after our 5-hour tour.
Final Thoughts: Was it Worth it?
We could have visited most of these places on our own, but the day would have been a lot more stressful and wouldn’t have flowed as seamlessly. The tour operated almost as a story and our guide was excellent, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Plus, if we decided to do it on our own, we wouldn’t have thought to stop at our final two stops and we would have waited much longer to get to Montmorency Falls. Although, I would have preferred more time exploring the Île d'Orléans than the Copper Art Studio, but it was an interesting story, and I got a cool hand-crafted souvenir from the studio. All in all, it was a relaxing and informative day.
We paid $258 for all three of us, which wasn’t cheap but wasn’t a bad price for convenience and a good tour. If you want to relax and see Montmorency Falls without much pressure, this is a tour I’d recommend.
For booking and to check prices, click the link below:
https://www.getyourguide.com/s?partner_id=PFAY869&cmp=short-url&et=32110&lc=281
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