# Day 1 in Quebec City

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2015-03-28

architect-this-city, atc, athiscity, canada, cassis-monna, cities, design, escape, getaway, office-of-metropolitan-architecture, oma, orleans, porter-escapes, quebec, quebec-city, rem-koolhaas, travel, trip, uncategorized, urbanism, weekend-getaway, wine, winery

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I just checked into the Chateau Laurier Quebec after a busy day touring the city. I don’t have a ton of time to write this post before dinner (though I have a few post ideas brewing). I did however want to share some of the day’s events and some of my photos.

After I landed I went straight to [Île d'Orléans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_d'Orl%C3%A9ans). I had never been there before so I’m glad I got the opportunity. It’s about twice the size of Manhattan and it has a population that hovers somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 people depending on the season.

The first stop was a “sugar shack”, which is apparently a big deal in Quebec and in the springtime. The place was packed. Here I had [a traditional Quebec lunch](https://instagram.com/p/0yKrLrymyB/?taken-by=donnelly_b) (which was great) and I learned that all of the Canadian stereotypes are actually true. We really do put maple syrup on _everything_.

After lunch I then asked if we could stop at a few of the local wineries. I love wine and I love wine culture.

![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/311307d6cf9b93d90aa9a5a85af51991.jpg)![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d778425d3b6d58108a79619d5b16bfa1.jpg)![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/fb6004baf2b87d7f1c2166157b973465.jpg)

I picked up one bottle of “wine” from [Cassis Monna & Filles](http://www.cassismonna.com/). It’s actually made from black currants though, which I was told was illegal to grow in North America for a long time. It’s far more popular in Europe.

The winery is run by a father and his two daughters. And I thought they did a great job with their brand story and their overall identity.

After leaving the island, [I then went to the Montmorency Falls](https://instagram.com/p/0yVRyvym4o/?taken-by=donnelly_b). I had no idea Quebec had falls, but they do. And the vertical drop is bigger than that of Niagara Falls.

![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3c3845009893552e0a0336cdff3449b3.jpg)

Finally, I finished the afternoon with a quick tour of downtown and the OMA designed expansion to the fine arts museums. It has [one aggressive cantilever](https://instagram.com/p/0yYV_Wym_b/?taken-by=donnelly_b).

Here’s a video of the project. [Click here](https://vimeo.com/111133943) if you can’t see it below. 

\[vimeo 111133943 w=500 h=281\]

If you’re interested, you can also follow my social posts on the Porter Escapes website by [clicking here](https://www.porterescapes.com/Social/Friends/Brandon_Donnelly_of_Architect_This_City_visits_Quebec_City).

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/day-1-in-quebec-city)*