I wish we had known about this beautiful island the last time we were in Quebec. It was one of our…read morehighlights on this trip. As it turns out the day was the only rainy one all week, but that didn't matter since we spent the afternoon driving from cidery to brewery to distillery, all within a few miles or less of each other. We even got to sit outside under a porch roof with blankets to keep warm while we had a wine flight as it poured. Quite memorable. Next time we will turn right when we get onto the island and see where it leads us.

Ile-d'Orleans is an island in the Saint Lawrence River. The island is about 3.1 miles east of…read moredowntown Quebec city. It is a nice day trip from the city and it can be combined with a nearby visit to Morntmorency falls and Basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. The island is 21 miles long and 7 miles wide. It is accessible from the the mainland of Quebec by the Ile-d'Orleans bridge. The Chemin Royale road encircles the entire island. While traveling the Chemin Royale road you will encounter small cottage industries specializing in various agricultural products. Cassis Monna & Filles winery has tours and tasting. Fromagerie Biese d' Epinelle specializes in cheese and dairy products. Chocolaterie de-Ile Orleans haschocolate, fudge and other chocolate based products with no preservatives. La Boulange-Saint-Jean-de-Ile-Orleans sells bakery goods and pasteries while LaCuisine d'Ete-Saint-Laurent-de-Ile'Orleans has exceptional maple syrup. There are also histirical stops along the way. The Manor Mauvide Genest built in 1734 was the home of Jean Mauvide, who was the surgeon for King of France. Stop by one of the many churches along the way. I recommend Eglise de Saint Jean Saint Pierre. With the Laurentian Plateau to the North, the Appalachian Mountains to the South and views of the Atlantic Ocean and Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Chemin Royale road is a scenic drive in it's own right. Enjoy small cottage industries in a rolling hills pastoral setting.

My family and I ended up at Ranch Chez Ti-Gars after a dream morning of dogsledding across the…read morefield at Adventure Plein-Air Inukshuk. Normally Inukshuk offer a full day package of sledding in the morning, a hot lunch, and then sleigh riding a at Ti-Gars in the afternoon, but over the Christmas break they weren't doing lunches and so couldn't offer us the full package--but told us we were more than welcome to organise a sleigh ride ourselves for the afternoon. Firstly, I was on crutches with a broken ankle, so I wasn't going to be able to trek through the field to get to Ti-Gars from Inukshuk--that's how you normally get over there. The lovely old man from Ti-Gars was kind enough to come pick me up in his car. Every kindness shown to me while I was busted up just gave me extra appreciation for a place! We'd booked our sleigh ride a couple of days in advance and asked if there was somewhere warm where we could eat our packed lunches after our sled ride, so when the old gentleman brought us over to the ranch he led us into a warm room full of tables and chairs and a little touch of Christmas (lights and a tree, it was Christmas Eve after all). He didn't speak much English and we didn't speak much French but we got by just fine. My sister suspects the old man was actually Santa Claus, as around halfway through our lunch he reappeared from behind the stable door, threw three fluffy and enthusiastic barn kittens into the room with us, and closed the door again. BARN KITTENS! Just moments earlier I had remarked that on a day full of puppies and ponies (fine, whatever, "dogs and horses"), all we needed was kittens to make the day complete, and HERE THEY WERE, all up in our lunch business. They were nuts, just little furry bundles of energy and we got the giggles. The magic didn't end there, though--a short while later the old man summoned us into the stable on the premise of watching him gear up the horses for the sleigh ride. We came along willingly... and entered a farmyard wonderland. How do farm animals survive the winter? By all living together in harmony inside a barn, apparently! Pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, geese, rabbits, kittens, all of them hanging out--and most of them pregnant? I later read that Ranch Chez Ti-Gars is a baby animal farm, so all the pregnant animals made a bit more sense after that, haha. We patted some of them, cooed at others, got a walking tour of the stable's tack rooms with wonderful attempts to understand from both sides of the broken conversation, and ended up out on the other side of the stable--where the horses were. The old man encouraged one big beautiful old palomino over to us and introduced it as Ti-Gars. The ranch's namesake! The sleigh ride itself was slightly underwhelming, a balancing act on a big steel block on skis with a couple of rugs thrown across it as the two horses dragged said block through the same forest we'd earlier dogsledded through. But the horses were wearing bells that constantly jingled, and the forest was covered in snow. But by gosh, we were freezing! We weren't exactly dashing through the snow, the horse count was two and not one, forests not fields, freezing not laughing... but hey folks, it's not like you can try this at home. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingled all the way. I'd give the sleigh ride a 3/5 but our entire experience at the ranch well and truly deserved a 5/5. Possibly 6/5. Magic Quebec at its most magical.

This was a fun apple picking place. Here are a few facts and opinions…read more... 1. Parking is tough on busy weekends. There is parking closer to the main building in addition to all the parking on the side of the road leading to it. 2. It costs 10$ for a small bag and 14$ for a larger one. I probably got 20-25 apples in a small bag. 3. While it can get crowded here, this is a nice alternative to fighting the traffic on the bridge on the bridge to the island on busy peak weekends. 4. There are a lot of very good apples left on the ground, which is kind of sad. 5. By Sunday afternoon many of the trees have been well picked over. The farm sections off various areas to allow multiple weekends of loaded trees. However, if you come late in the weekend, you may have to search a little more or reach a little higher.

My wife and I are avid Motorcyclists, so while we were in Quebec we hoped to rent some motorcycles…read moreor maybe some Can-Ams. We couldn't find anywhere near the city that rented proper motorcycles, so I looked into scooters! Quebec adventure tours was perfect. The guy who signed us in was a hoot. Spoke English as well as French, and he was funny! He did a perfect job of introducing us to the scooters (we've never ridden automatics before!) One of my favorite things is that he did a perfect job of balancing the fun of riding with the responsibilities and dangers. He didn't scare the new people, but made sure they understood how to stay safe and have a healthy respect for the bikes. The scooters were 50ccs (a fair bit smaller than my Kawasaki 1700!!) They were tons of fun. We toured around the island for about 4 hours. We'd driven the island many times before, but seeing it at a slower pace without the frame of a car around us was amazing. We got to see the island in a whole new light. I highly recommend seeing the island by scooter or electric bike, and I highly recommend Quebec Adventure Tours! A solid 5 stars!

My mom and I were looking to do something fun for our last day in the area, and this went above our…read moreexpectation. Francois was beyond friendly, gave us a route around the island, taught us how to use our Stand-Up scooters (DEFINITELY recommend going this route, it was so much fun), and sent us off. We stopped for the FRESHEST strawberries we have ever had. Absolutely unreal and we scarfed them down in minutes. $6/pint and $1 waters! Then we roamed the island and took in the beauty of the neighbourhoods and island views. There are public washrooms everywhere, just look for the little blue sign! We stopped at Cassis Monna et Filles for the best sangria I've ever had, on a serene hill with beautiful views and picnic tables or FatBoy cushions to lounge on and enjoy the surroundings. Our last stop was the Nougat store just up the road, where we got salted caramel nougat (my fav) and pistachio nougat. Could not recommend this more, and definitely looking forward to coming back again!

We came with a tour group and had a wonderful experience. This is a small sugar maple farm with…read moreamenities for events. Our tour only included a talk from the owner, and visit to the gift store. She also opened up the bar but had moved on to ring others up by the time I wanted to get a drink (perhaps they were shortstaffed that day). The highlight of the visit was the opportunity to make your own "maple on snow" or maple taffy. An assistant poured a strip of maple syrup onto a cold, snowy surface and you grab a stick and slowly roll up the syrup as it hardens into a lollipop. The taste and texture were amazing! Definitely a unique experience.

A unique experience since there was live music along with Christmas music and some people were…read moredancing. We had the Christmas dinner for about $65 CAD per person after taxes and tips. The meat pie was delicious and worth eating again. The mashed potatoes were decent. The bread was a bit tough to eat. The vegetable soup tasted like tomato soup but could use a little bit more sugar since it was sour. The turkey, roasted cranberries, cole slaw, mixed fresh vegetables, fruit chutney, green salad, and marinated beets were alright but nothing special. The meatball stew was delicious. The pure maple syrup pie and maple yule log were a yummy way to end the meal. Overall, it was a good experience and worth going at least once while in the Quebec City area.

This farm and the shop/jam place are amazing. They are a little hard to find since to get to the…read morefarm from the main road you have to go up a bit of a rough road but when you're there it's quite an experience. They're in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, right across from mainland Quebec and apparently strawberry paradise. Everywhere you go on the isle there are strawberries (we were there in July) and they are fresh and natural. At La Confiturerie Tigidou, they make their own jams, jellies, and baked goods plus they let you taste just about anything you desire. Unbelievable place. We ordered scones with ice cream topped with a very light maple syrup and it was out of this world. I tasted their orange marmalade and it was unlike any I had ever tasted in several countries or continents. They also serve coffee, tea, etc. If you're ever in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans do yourself a favor and visit them. You won't regret it. They told us that they'll have a way to order their products online later in the year. I can't wait.

A wonderful experience…read more On my journey through the hills and farms of Quebec City, my family and I ventured onto this lovely jamery. They specialize in fruit jams- particularly in strawberry jams. They offer an Exquisite complimentary tasting experience. You taste basically all their jam products (roughly 12-15) and the host explains the intricacies of each jam. It was a REALLY memorable experience for us- it was like a wine tasting- except with sweets. They have all different kinds of jam flavors- from Spicy to minty to the classics. I was inspired to order a delicious jam Sunday that hey had for sale! My family and I ended up leaving with around $200 usd worth of jams! Love it or dump it? Absolutely love it and highly recommended if you are in the area!

We stopped at 2 markets. This was the better one in my opinion. The price was slightly lower and…read morethe berries we bought, especially the raspberries were the freshest and sweetest I have ever had.

The very best and freshest ice cream ever. Gorgeous views and perfect strawberries. A must go toread more

This was our breakfast place of choice for 4 out of 5 days that we were in QC. Such an amazing…read morearray of pastries, plus coffees, breakfast sandwiches and more, that we were able to try something new each day. Such was the allure of Paillard that we are now craving croissants and lattes back home.

So we technically stopped in as someone wanted a iced matcha. I was going to get some unhealthy…read moredrink then my eyes spied a Nutella eclair! I've never had such a thing and just had to try it. It was delicious. The outside chocolate crush was like a candy bar while the cool cream inside was like a super soft ice cream. All together a wonderful dessert and a must try! Oh, the Matcha was okay ... But whatever, the Nutella eclair is where it's at!