Hands down my favorite winter destination in North America, I recently spent 5 days in Quebec City in January. While January might seem like a quiet time to visit after the bustle of the holidays, I quickly discovered that winter in Quebec City still has plenty of magic to offer.
After previously traveling to Quebec City in December, I wanted to experience the city a little deeper into winter. I’m excited to share exactly how I spent almost a week exploring Quebec City in January, from outdoor adventures to cozy winter traditions.
This trip focused on immersive winter experiences like snowshoeing, ice skating, and local culture. Here’s exactly how we spent five days enjoying Quebec City in winter.
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Quebec City in January at a Glance
Here’s a quick overview of what to expect when visiting Quebec City in January.
Average temperatures: 20°F–30°F (-7°C to -1°C), though colder days are possible.
Daylight hours: About 8.5–9 hours of daylight, with sunset around 4:30–4:45 p.m.
Crowds: Lower than December and February, making it easier to explore Old Quebec and book restaurants or tours.
Typical weather: Snow-covered streets, crisp winter air, and light snowfall that adds to the city’s charm.
Best winter activities: Snowshoeing near Quebec City, ice skating, trails at the Plains of Abraham, tobogganing at Dufferin Terrace, winter spa visits, and exploring Old Quebec.
What makes January special: A quieter, more relaxed atmosphere that still captures the beauty of Quebec’s winter season. The city still feels very much alive during January.
You can read more about if Quebec City is worth visiting in January here. <3
My 5 Day Quebec City Winter Itinerary
I want to give a rundown of exactly how I spent my time in Quebec City in January. No fluff, just straight to business. Hopefully this itinerary will help you plan your trip, whether you’re spending just 3 days in Quebec City or a full 5 days like I did.
Day 1: Check-in, Lunch, Old Quebec, Ice-Skating
Arrival: Around noon, we arrived in Quebec City by train from Montreal. We dropped our bags off at our accommodation, a charming aparthotel called Le 31 McMahon right off Rue Saint-Jean.
Lunch at Paillard: One of my favorite breakfast and lunch spots in Quebec City, we ate at Paillard for lunch on Rue Saint-Jean. This is a large bakery with daily menus, loads of fresh pastries, dessert, quiche, sandwiches, and soups. Perfect for lunch and a local favorite!
Old Quebec: We planned for a relaxed day, so after lunch we wandered around Old Quebec to see the Dufferin Terrace, Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, and Petit-Champlain areas.
Place d’Youville Ice-skating: Noted as one of the best winter activities in Quebec City, we couldn’t skip out on ice-skating our first night back in the city! Our hotel was right next to Place d’Youville, so we went back to the hotel to get our skates. (It’s free to skate if you have your own. Otherwise, it’s $10 for adults or $5 for children.
Dinner at Les Trois Garçons: My boyfriend and I were surprised by how much we enjoyed the food here! It’s a French-Canadian bistro with gourmet burgers. French onion soup, baked brie, etc and excellent cocktails.
Day 2: Toboggan Slide, Plains of Abraham, Strøm Nordic Spa
Breakfast at Café La Maison Smith: Also on Rue Saint-Jean, because it was so close to our hotel and rated as one of the best cafes in the city, we had breakfast and coffee at Café La Maison Smith. They have a range of sweet and savory pastries, overnight oats, yogurt, etc. We ended up going here most mornings, even if just for a coffee.
Old Quebec: Because we only did a quick walk yesterday, we enjoyed a longer walk around parts of Old Quebec to take photos, pop into shops, and just enjoy a slow travel morning.
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac: I didn’t realize that it was free to walk into the famous castle-like hotel by the Dufferin Terrace, so we took a little stroll. There are several shops, a restaurant, and a small museum on the main floor.
Au 1884 Toboggan Slide: An absolute must-do! We slid down the toboggan slide at the Dufferin Terrace. It’s $4 per rider and it’s such a fun thing to do, no matter your age. I’d do this ride every single weekend if I lived in Quebec City.
Lunch at Q de Sac: This is a pizzeria in Petit-Champlain that I’d heard good things about. It did not disappoint! We shared starters and the mushroom pizza and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip.
Ice-skating Ring of the Museum: I was so excited to ice-skate at the Plains of Abraham! Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our skates and had to rent hockey skates. They weren’t comfortable, so we were only able to skate a handful of laps before we left. The Plains of Abraham, however, were GORGEOUS. (So, we return another day!).
Strøm Spa: Close to Old Quebec, Strom Spa is one of the best spas in Quebec City. It’s Nordic in style with jacuzzi pools, cold plunges, an infinity pool, several saunas, a steam room, and more. You’re encouraged to do several circuits of hot, cold, and relaxation. We arrived around 3 p.m. and left sometime after 8 p.m. We also had dinner in the restaurant. Excellent wine and really high-quality and thoughtful dishes.
Day 3: Snowshoeing at Jacques-Cartier National Park
Breakfast at Café La Maison Smith: Sometimes I feel the need to try lots of different places on a trip, sometimes I’m like “I love it and I’ll just keep going back.” That’s how it was for us at this cafe. It’s quick, delicious, and casual—everything we needed during busy days of exploring.
Snowshoeing tour: I booked a snowshoeing tour on GetYourGuide for us. We met our guide Place d’Armes in Old Quebec and rode in a small tour van to the Jacques-Cartier National Park for 3 hours of snowshoeing. We loved it! The scenery, the intimacy of a small excursion (only 2 others on our tour), the included lunch, and the free time we had afterward!
Snowtubing: Because we had some extra time after the tour, we found out it was free to snowtube at a particular spot in the park. We walked over and got a few rounds of snow tubing in before we had to return to the van. SO much fun, especially as I’ve never snowtubed before.
Sushi takeaway: After the tour, we came back and showered before picking up sushi from a popular takeaway spot near Place d’Youville. We ate dinner back in our hotel room.
Drinks + Oysters: My boyfriend loves oysters, so went to Le Bedeau for drinks and oysters as our last stop of the night.
Day 4: Montmorency Falls + Quebec Parliament Building
Coffee at Le Brulerie: Another one of the best coffee shops in Quebec City, Le Brulerie roast their own beans in house and have a fantastic selection. It’s so much of a breakfast spot though, so just stopped in for our morning coffees.
Breakfast Paillard: Since we hadn’t gone to Paillard for breakfast yet, we stopped in on day 4 of our January in Quebec City itinerary. I had a quiche and my boyfriend had a pastry. Both were delicious, and the service is fast and efficient.
Montmorency Falls: We took an Uber from Old Quebec to Montmorency Falls. Unfortunately, the park was closed due to construction, but there were a couple of trails that brought us to nice views of the falls. We even saw people ice climbing, and I saw the most spectacular waterfall over the falls.
Poutine Lunch: For lunch, we were hungry and in a pinch and ended up at Poutineville. I’m writing this for the sake of saying, I don’t recommend this restaurant. The poutine was average, at best, and overpriced for what you get.
Quebec Parliament Building: We reserved time for a free self-guided walking tour of the National Assembly, the Parliament Building of Quebec. It’s recommended to book online in advance, so we did that and had our IDs ready when we entered.
INOX Brewery: After the tour, we went for craft beer at INOX Brewery. Loved their selection! They even had a couple of sours, and the area was really pretty.
Hono Ramen: We were SO excited to visit Hono Ramen as its sister restaurant (Hono Yakitori which is connected to Ramen) is a Michelin-starred restaurant. We got the fried corn starter to share and then two ramen bowls. Mine was vegetarian and was easily the best ramen I’ve ever had. I highly recommend it!
Day 5: Drag Brunch + Plains of Abraham
Le Drag Cabaret Show: This was the PERFECT way to start our day. Basically, we bought our tickets in advance and were able to watch a drag show while having brunch at Elli, the restaurant attached to the club. Drinks are available as well! We were buzzing after the show. So much fun!
Sledding: After brunch, we headed to the beautiful Plains of Abraham to go sledding. You can rent snow slides for free from the Plains of Abraham Museum, so we did that. There are two different hills maintained by the museum you can slide down, but you can also go anywhere in the park as long as it’s not a specific ski trail.
Coffee at Le Petit Dep: One of my favorite coffee shops to visit when I’m in Quebec City. I love their coffee and especially their croissants. The space is TINY but it’s right in Petit Champlain on Rue Sous-le-Fort.
Shopping around: We shopped around for souvenirs since it was our last day in Quebec City. There are a lot of shops in the area, but some shops seem to have higher quality items than others. I don’t recommend most of the shops on Rue Sous-le-Fort.
Ice skating: We returned to Place d’Youville for another evening of ice-skating to conclude our 5 days in Quebec City!
Other Things to Do in Quebec City in January
Quebec City is one of the best cities for winter activities. That’s why I love visiting this time of year. I cover the best Quebec City winter activities in a separate post.
But, to summarize, if you’re looking for more things to do in Quebec City in winter, here’s what I recommend:
Siberia Station Spa: Most rustic, tucked-away-in-the-forest alternative to Strom Spa. Highly recommend!
Ice canoeing: A great workout and a unique experience on the St. Lawrence River. A very cool thing to do!
Crosscountry skiing: You can do a tour to the national park or rent skiing equipment from the Skaters’ Chalet within the Plains of Abraham.
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