Quebec City with Kids: What Works, What Excludes Children and What to Skip
5 min read
Quebec City works with children, but not every attraction welcomes them. Some listings set a minimum age, some set a height limit and some are simply long walks. This guide goes through what the booking pages and the venues’ own sites say, so you can choose before you pay.
Good first choices
The Aquarium du Québec is the clearest family pick. The listing describes indoor and outdoor areas, more than 300 marine species, sea otters, harbour seals and polar bears, and an underwater tunnel inside a large seawater tank. The ticket costs €17.95 and has 1,536 reviews. Children 2 and under get in free, according to the listing. It is part indoors, so it works as a fallback when the weather turns.
The Montmorency Falls cable car ticket costs €17.82. The listing gives a cable car ride, a suspension bridge over the falls and a panoramic staircase of 487 steps. The stairs are optional, and the cable car is the way to keep little legs fresh. Read the full Montmorency Falls guide for the details.
In winter
Snow tubing at Valcartier costs €29.30. Valcartier’s site lists height limits by slide: the Avalanche area is open to everyone, the Tornado and snow rafting slides start at 1 metre and the Himalaya slides at 1.32 metres. Pregnant women are excluded on the listing.
The Hôtel de Glace visit costs €25.63. It is self-guided, which means you control the pace. The listing warns that outdoor temperatures range from -25°C to 5°C, so plan clothes and breaks. For dates and more, see the ice hotel guide.
What excludes children
Check these limits first, because they rule out younger children entirely.
| Activity | Limit stated on the listing |
|---|---|
| Crimes of New France theatre walk, 1.5 hours | Not suitable for children under 6 |
| Snowshoe day trip | Not suitable for children under 8 |
| Guided snowmobile tour | Not suitable for children under 9 |
| Sunset ice canoe | Not suitable for children under 12 |
| Strøm Nordic Spa | Minimum age 16 |
Walking and buses
Old Quebec is hilly and cobbled, and a two-hour guided walk is long for a child who tires quickly. The Old Quebec grand walking tour lasts 2 to 2.5 hours, and its listing excludes people with mobility impairments and wheelchair users. The 1-hour express double-decker bus tour costs €29.58 and is shorter. The hop-on hop-off bus takes 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours for one loop, according to its listing, and costs €42.58. Neither bus listing names an age limit or mentions strollers, so ask before you bring one. On the grand walking tour, children 7 and under go free with a paying adult.
The Citadelle visit is guided only: the Citadelle gives 60 minutes for the outdoor tour, and children pay a reduced rate. Our Citadelle guide has the details, and if you plan a city walk first, see the Old Quebec walking guide. For other tickets and museum entries, the tickets and museums page lists 8 offers from €9.40.
Our verdict
With younger children, the aquarium and the Montmorency cable car are the safe plan. With older children in winter, snow tubing is the one the whole family can do together, as long as everyone meets the height limit for the slide they choose. Skip the theatre walk and the adventure tours if anyone in the group is below the age on the listing, and do not assume an exception: ask the operator, who sets the rules.
