# Day 1 in Quebec City

**Published by:** [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/)
**Published on:** 2015-03-28
**Categories:** 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
**URL:** https://brandondonnelly.com/day-1-in-quebec-city

## Content

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. 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 (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.I picked up one bottle of “wine” from Cassis Monna & Filles. 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. I had no idea Quebec had falls, but they do. And the vertical drop is bigger than that of Niagara Falls.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. Here’s a video of the project. Click here 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.

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