Visiting inside the Chateau Frontenac Hotel on a guided tour in Quebec City
An honest review of my experience with Cicerone Tours in Quebec City
Over the years, I have visited Quebec City a few times, once for the Carnival de Quebec winter festival and another time as a field trip during a French language immersion program with the Explore program. When I had the chance to return for the day in the summer of 2021, I really wanted to focus on major attractions I didn't get the chance to explore on previous trips. I had certainly seen the iconic Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel from the outside, but I had never stepped foot inside and I thought a guided tour would be a good way to learn more about the history of both the hotel and the city.
I booked this one hour guided history tour as part of a package with a bus tour from Vieux Quebec Tours and I paid for it myself, so this is a completely independent review.
You can read a detailed summary of all the experiences I had with Cicerone Tours on a guided tour of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel or jump straight to my final recommendation at the end.
Go to final recommendation
Keep reading to find out what we did on this guided tour of the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City!
Quick Overview of the Chateau Frontenac History Tour with Cicerone Tours
Destinations: This tour focused on the the Fairmont Hotel Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, we stayed in the hotel and on the surroundings grounds on the Dufferin Terrace area behind the hotel for the entire tour, we did not walk around any other parts of the city.
How long was the tour: This guided tour of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel lasted about 1 hour.
Who was on the tour: There were about 12 people on this guided tour of the hotel, mostly Canadians and a few Americans, mostly all on summer vacation to visit Quebec City. There were some teenagers and pre-teens but there were no young children on this tour.
Who was the guide: This Quebec City hotel history tour had one guide. He was easy to understand and completely bilingual, very energetic, engaging and often funny and provided facts and commentary about the Chateau Frontenac Fairmont Hotel. You won’t have trouble finding the guide because they are dressed in a traditional, historic costume. The guide also had a binder with a number of reference pictures for explaining various historical events.
How did we travel: This history tour took place entirely within and around the hotel so we just walked, we occasionally had to go up and down stairs but the hotel did have elevators if needed.
When did I take this tour: August 2021.
1884 Pavilion Dufferin Terrace
The predeparture information specified where to meet the guide at the 1884 pavilion on Dufferin Terrace behind the hotel. I had a bit of trouble locating it on Google Maps so I would have appreciated a picture of the meeting spot so I knew what to look for. However, the guide was there in historic costume so you probably won’t miss it. The guide definitely attracts some attention and we had some random people try to join in with our tour even though they didn’t have bookings !
Walking outside the hotel
The tour started on time and we spent about fifteen or twenty minutes outside learning about the history of the hotel and a bit about the founding of Quebec City, the history of French Canada and the role of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in designing and building the hotel. It is now also a National Historic Site and is managed by Fairmont Hotels. This portion of the tour was outside and we were standing, so just dress for the weather to be comfortable. We then all walked as a group around the building and entered the lobby through the main doors.
Chateau Frontenac Lobby
Once inside, the guide pointed out a number of architectural features and construction materials, mentioned when and where renovations were done and provided other interesting facts about the decor and various objects and items around the hotel. Due to this tour taking place on a busy summer weekend, we were unable to view several of the rooms highlighted on the website because there were weddings happening that afternoon.
Chateau Frontenac Wine Cellar
As an alternative to the ballroom, which was closed for an event, we were able to see the extensive wine cellar, which had historically been a laundry area until it was renovated. I thought it was interesting and I probably would never have seen this room if I just visited the hotel myself without a tour guide.
Chateau Frontenac Hotel Museum Displays
Next, we moved on the the lower level which has a few little shops and a Starbucks and also hosts some museum style exhibits and displays of artefacts, paintings and other historic items. The guide gave an overview of some highlight items and suggested we return when the tour was done if we wanted to see every exhibit in detail. There were also washrooms on this level if needed.
1608 Bar
Back upstairs, we briefly visited the 1608 bar and attached restaurant area which has a beautiful design and decor and some very expensive bottles of whiskey on display ! Usually the tour would visit the historic Rose Room, but that again was being used for a wedding, so this was an alternative.
Dining Room
One of the last stops was a dining room with historic wood details and fireplaces, it was yet again being set up for a wedding but we managed to sneak in anyway and the guide told some stories about famous gatherings that had taken place there.
As we walked between the various stops, the guide would often point out random interesting objects around the hotel like statues and a golden mailbox and explain their significance. The tour ended back in the main lobby where the guide provided suggestions for further places of interest to visit in Quebec City.
Final Recommendation:
Hotel Chateau Frontenac History Tour with Cicerone Tours in Quebec City
I thought this tour provided the experience as described on the Cicerone Tours website. I booked this tour as part of a package along with an open top bus tour sold by Vieux Quebec Tours and I had no issues contacting the company directly by email to reserve a place on the history tour.
The website was fine to navigate in English or French, email communication and pre departure information was sufficient, although I would have appreciated a picture of the tour meeting point to confirm I was in the right place.
The guide was genuinely nice and knowledgeable about the hotel, and obviously very experienced. I thought he addressed French Canadian history in a respectful way and made a point of getting to know people on the tour and his commentary was both informative and often funny without being inappropriate or political.
In terms of accessibility, we walked down staircases a few times, but the hotel does have elevators available.
I think an important thing to be aware of is that the rooms that you actually see in the hotel will be subject to availability, which is noted on the Cicerone Tours website. One woman on our tour was really excited to see the Rose Room and it was closed for a wedding, so if you wanted to see a particular room or area, maybe don’t book on a busy weekend or inquire in advance about what would be open to view.
Overall, I found this to be an informative activity on my fourth visit to Quebec City. Actually going inside the hotel and learning about the history was a nice way to get some context for the rest of my visit and I though the time went by really quickly, I was never bored and would have enjoyed seeing even a few more rooms ! Overall, I felt the value was there with this hotel tour especially as part of a package deal with the bus tour I did earlier in the morning.
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