We are there for 2 days, booked a walking tour. Staying at PUR downtown. If you have restaurant recommendations, or sites to see. Our daughters are 6 and 10.
Thanks
Quebec city is not very big and easily walkable. The city is divided in two main touristy parts, the lower city (basse-ville) where the port, farmer market and Petit Champlain (oldest part of town) are located. Then you have the high city (haute-ville) where you will find the fortifications/walls. Haute-ville is where you will find most restaurants, the Château Frontenac and its terrace, the Abraham plains where the British won Quebec from France, Grande Allée St and St Jean St with all their restaurants and shops.
It looks like your hotel is in basse-ville but not very far from rue St-Jean in haute-ville. To go up it's a little hike but I've done it many times. You can also buy a day bus pass and the express bus (every 10 minutes or less) will bring you in haute-ville very quickly.
For restaurants, you may want to try Quebec classic junk food, poutine. The best one would be from the local chain Ashton (DO NOT eat from McDonald, Burger King, etc... they are awful). There are a few Ashton locations in both basse-ville and haute-ville. As a kid, my favourite restaurant in Quebec city was Au Petit Coin Breton on rue St-Jean for a crepe. We would have a ham and cheese crepe for lunch and one with fruits and ice cream for dessert. It was amazing! I didn't go there in many years (too many) but it's still at the same place. Other crepe restaurants would be Le Casse-Crêpe (my dad was eating there at least twice a week when he was working at the hospital not too far from the restaurant) and Le Billig (never been but it has a great ranking on Trip Advisor. If you like rabbit, Le Lapin Sauté and its sister restaurant Le Cochon Dingue (casual dining) are very popular in the Petit Champlain neighbourhood. For a traditional meal in the oldest building in Qc city (17th century), you have Aux Anciens Canadiens. I ate there once with friends and the interior is really nice. I have good memories of the food too. My sister who still lives in Qc city (I am now in Montreal), really likes Cosmos Café. It was a favourite of mine as a teenager. For basic italian, La Maison du Spaghetti is good and Parmesan is a little fancier. Finally, Café du Monde is also a nice place.
For things to do, a walking tour is a really good idea. If the weather is not great, the Civilization museum (Musée de la Civilization) is really nice. I went so many times as a kid, teenager and even as an adult. I need to go back with my daughters!! You can also rent roller blades on the Plains and shopping is a must! I cannot go in the old city without stopping at the Christmas store. My daughters are also big fans of the toy store Benjo (looks like it's close to your hotel). I never been but my daughters go every summer when they are staying with my parents. The store Simons is also a Quebec city classic. There are now a few Simons in the province but the one on St-Jean is over 100 years old. It started as a general store and is now one of the most well-known clothing store in Quebec. It has many exclusive collections. You also want to walk in the Rue des Trésors (Street of Treasures) where artists sell their painting on your wait to Terasse Dufferin (Château Frontenac terrace) where you have to try a beaver tail (queue de castor) if you never had one! My favourite is the classic sugar and lemon... YUMMY! In the summer and on weekends there are often street artists performing on the terrace. In fact, before becoming a circus with a tent, Cirque du Soleil was performing often there (over 30 years ago). From terrasse Dufferin you can take a funicular to the Petit Champlain, back to basse-ville.
Finally, you can take a cruise. On your way out of the port, make sure you are on port side to see the Montmagny falls. You can see them very well from the river. If you don't mind driving, the falls are about 10 minutes from your hotel.
Enjoy your time in Qc city!!!
Note: ask your kids to spot the first McDonald in the world that doesn't have the classic yellow arch (the city wouldn't allow them to open unless they changed their colours to fit better with the neighbourhood). It's on St-Jean St within the walls...
road trip!
