Quebec City: Best Day Trips
Best Day Trips from Quebec City
The four best day trips from Quebec City sit along the same stretch of Route 138 heading northeast, which means the first three can realistically be combined into one long day, and the fourth pairs naturally with a Wendake-focused half day instead.
Montmorency Falls (about 15 minutes)
The falls drop 83 meters, roughly 30 meters taller than Niagara, and the free boardwalk plus the 487-step staircase to the base cover most of the experience. Park entrance runs around CAD $12.60 per adult in high season; the cable car to the top adds about CAD $15 round trip, and a suspension bridge crosses near the summit. A summer via ferrata route and a 300-meter zipline over the gorge cost extra, around CAD $30 for the zipline.
Ile d’Orleans (about 15 minutes)
Across the bridge from Montmorency, this island is known locally as the garden of Quebec: roughly 95% agricultural land across six historic parishes. The 67-kilometer loop road passes apple orchards (September-October, with cider tastings), strawberry farms (late June-mid-July, pick-your-own), and producers like Cassis Monna & Filles, a black-currant liqueur maker near Saint-Pierre. Combine it with Montmorency in one half-day loop.
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre Basilica (about 30 minutes)
One of the most-visited pilgrimage sites in North America, drawing over a million visitors a year, the basilica traces back to a chapel built in 1658 after a reported healing miracle. The current building, completed in 1926, is the fourth on the site after fires and rebuilds. Even for non-pilgrims, the scale of the interior is worth the detour on the way to Canyon Sainte-Anne.
Canyon Sainte-Anne (about 30 minutes)
Six kilometers past Beaupre, this gorge carries a 74-meter waterfall, about 14 meters taller than Niagara, crossed by three suspension footbridges including the 60-meter McNicoll Bridge, the highest suspension bridge in Quebec. It’s open seasonally, roughly May through October, with accessible trails and eight lookout points. Pair it with Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre for one combined afternoon; see Quebec City’s Best Hiking Areas for trail details at each stop.
Wendake (about 20 minutes)
Home to Canada’s only recognized Huron-Wendat community, Wendake’s Onhoua Chetek8e traditional site is a reconstructed village where guided tours cover a longhouse and smokehouse, canoeing, and traditional storytelling, with Indigenous-inspired food on site. It works as its own half day rather than a stop tacked onto the Route 138 loop.
Rent a car for any of these; RTC buses don’t reach Ile d’Orleans or Wendake practically, and taxis get expensive over a full day.