Here is a good one day itinerary if you are in Quebec City, and want to explore the countryside outside the city.
First rent a car, and then head to Montmorency Falls. The falls are located about 15 minutes from the city.
Next, head to Ile d’Orleans. This is an island about 10 minutes from the falls. Here are some drone shots over the island.
Our first stop was Vignoble Ste-Pétronille. The vineyard itself was beautiful and we tried an unremarkable bottle of red wine, but drinking wine at the actual vineyard it was produced is always a great experience, especially at 11AM! They have small chairs and tables overlooking the vineyard where you can enjoy your bottle.
Next, we headed to La Roulotte du Coin, a roadside snack bar known for duck. The line was huge around noon, and there are actually many roadside eateries throughout the island – all with long lines.
We got the fries with foie gras sauce, hot dog with foie gras and burger with foie gras. The best part about the meal is if you walk to the left of the food stand, after you get your food, you will find picnic tables overlooking the water.
The food was a bit disappointing. I could not taste much foie gras in the foie gras sauce. The burger and hot dog did have generous portions of foie gras, but I felt that the buns could be improved. They were a bit dry. The place has a lot of different mayo choices. We got the truffle mayo.
Next, we headed to the Saint-François-de-l’Île-d’Orléans Observation Tower. Here, you will climb a wooden observation tower and get a good view of the fields.
Our last stop was the lavender fields (La Seigneurie de l’Île d’Orléans). Although the lavender were not in bloom when we went, it was still a beautiful place and you can buy some great smelling lavender products.
The one other thing we did was visit a famous chocolate shop before leaving but the lines were too long so we left. One tip when heading back to the city is to use Google maps to avoid the traffic. There is one main road which goes around the island and it becomes congested when people leave the island. However, Google maps will take you through side streets to avoid all that.
Overall, this is a great way to spend the day outside the city. At times, you will feel like you are in the French Countryside because…..you kind of are, but just in North America!