Why Québec Should Be Your Next Foodie Vacation Destination

Québec is a destination that has long been celebrated for its rich history, enchanting landscapes, and unique culture. But for foodies, it’s the province’s culinary scene that truly sets it apart. From traditional French-Canadian dishes to fresh farm-to-table cuisine, Québec’s food culture is a delight for your taste buds. Here are four regions to discover in Québec that prove it’s the ultimate foodie vacation destination this year.

Montréal

Located on the St. Lawrence River, Montréal is the largest city in Quebec and an absolute dream destination for foodies everywhere. It’s home to a world-class restaurant scene featuring cuisine from every corner of the globe alongside natural wine bars and local microbreweries. Food is a part of the city’s DNA, and visitors can explore it through walking or biking tours of historic neighborhoods like Mile End or Old Montréal.

Learn about the ways Jewish culture influenced iconic offerings, and then sample a Montréal smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz’s Deli. Dive into the world of wood-fired Montréal-style bagels by visiting both St. Viateur Bakery and Fairmount Bagel to weigh in on the debate between these two leading favorites in the city. And no culinary vacation to Montréal would be complete without a stop at the Jean-Talon Market, which has been the heart of Little Italy since it opened in 1933. No matter when you visit, there are food events year-round, from First Fridays, a street food festival at Olympic Park taking place from June through October, to February’s Poutine Week.

Québec City

Ranked as one of the world’s best food cities, Québec City is like a slice of Europe in Eastern Canada. If you want to sample iconic Québécois dishes like poutine and French Canadian meat pie (known as tourtière) or experience luxurious farm-to-table cuisine while also exploring 400 years of history, you’re sure to have a memorable trip.

First, stop by Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only fortified city north of Mexico, and stroll the cobblestoned streets of the Petit Champlain District while sampling the sumptuous offerings at their bistros, bakeries, and candy shops. Shop the Grand Marché, a city market featuring local food and drink from more than 100 vendors. Set aside some time for a stop at the Island of Orleans, home to farmers, culinary artisans and other food producers offering fresh produce, wine, ice cider, cheese, chocolate and more. When the sun goes down, head to La Grande-Allée, known for its vibrant nightlife, fine dining experiences and casual meal options, or the trendy Saint-Roch district with its restaurants, bars and brasseries.

Eastern Townships

Sharing a border with Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, Québec’s Eastern Townships have been a popular tourism destination, especially for culinary delights, for 150 years. Take a journey on the Cheesemakers Circuit, stopping at 14 different artisanal fromageries starting in Farnham and ending at Lac-Mégantic. On this cheese pilgrimage through some of the most charming towns you’ve ever seen, you’ll sample unique offerings like smoked blue, spiced curds and creamy Jersey Royal.

For the wine lovers, head out on the Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route, the birthplace of Québec’s flourishing viticulture scene. The route features 22 vineyards, six different road trip options, four cycling routes and 21 different restaurants. If you prefer beer, the region is home to many microbreweries that you can tour on the Circuit Brasseurs des Cantons. Cap off your culinary vacation to the Eastern Townships with a stop at an alpaca farm, a visit to some of the sites that inspired the best-selling Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books, or camp for a night at the Mont-Megantic Dark-Sky Reserve for some of the best stargazing anywhere on Earth.

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

This awe-inspiring region, affectionately referred to as SagLac, includes the Saguenay River that runs through a majestic fjord and the spectacular Lac-Saint-Jean. An outdoor playground, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean offers everything from ice fishing, snowshoeing and skiing in the winter to kayaking, white water rafting and hiking in the summer. Here, you can sample signature dishes like tourtière, blueberry pie, and soupe aux gourganes, made with broad beans that are native to the area.

Tour eight different fromageries on the Discovering Local Cheeses route and sample cheddar, Blackburn, Le Tremblay and squeaky cheese curds. The route includes a stop at the Musée de la Vielle Fromagerie Perron, founded in 1890 and housed in a gorgeous heritage building, where you can try their cheeses along with a cold beverage on the terrace or take part in bread and butter-making workshops. Then there’s the Beer Route, covering the region’s 14 microbreweries. If that’s not enough to pique your interest, add a whale-watching tour or a day at a sugar shack depending on the time of year that you visit.