Old Québec and Montmorency Falls in One Day
Old Québec and Montmorency Falls in one day: the 3-hour Old Town and falls bus tour, the river cruise past the falls, bike tours and getting there yourself (Oct 2026).
To see Old Québec and Montmorency Falls in one day, the short answer is a morning or afternoon on Quebec Bus Tour’s 3-hour tour, which drives the Upper and Lower Towns with a guide in 17th-century costume and then gives you about 45 minutes at the falls with the park entry included, and the rest of the day free in the Old Town. It is rated 4.6 from 1,083 reviews and from US$40 a person (checked October 2026), with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The bus tour
The tour starts in front of the Horloge du Jura in Old Québec. The guide covers the Upper and Lower Towns of the UNESCO-listed old city, with photo stops and commentary at City Hall, the Morrin Centre, the Governors’ Garden, the Plains of Abraham, the Martello Towers, the Fontaine de Tourny and the Parliament, then drives out to the falls for about 45 minutes of free time: the suspension bridge, the views and photos. The tour runs in French and English, includes the park entry, and is not recommended for people with limited mobility; food and drinks are not included.
Other ways to pair them
AML's guided river cruise leaves Quai Chouinard, a short walk from Petit Champlain, and sails 1.5 hours east past Old Québec toward Île d’Orléans and Montmorency Falls, turning at the Île d’Orléans bridge; you see the falls from the river rather than from the park. Two bike tours ride the Corridor du Littoral along the river to the falls: Cyclo Services' bike tour, with the cable car ride included and an e-bike for adults, and Quebec Aventure Tours' e-bike tour, which ends with a craft beer at La Barberie.
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Getting there yourself
Sépaq puts the park 15 minutes from Old Québec; we measured 13.8 km by road from the Château Frontenac to the foot of the falls. Sépaq lists three ways from the city: the RTC city buses, a Unitours shuttle from Old Québec, and the Corridor du Littoral bike path, which runs to the park entrance.
The bus is RTC’s Métrobus 800, from the D’Youville stop on Boulevard Honoré-Mercier, by Place D’Youville, past the Gare du Palais to its Chute-Montmorency terminus (RTC). Québec City’s tourism office suggests getting off at the des Rapides stop (3473) on Avenue Royale, a few minutes from the parking at the top of the falls.
Entry to the park is not free in season: an adult visitor from outside Québec pays C$13.90 a day before tax from 11 May to 1 November 2026, and under 18s enter free (Sépaq). The park’s own ticket with the cable car, from US$20 a person, covers the entry, the cable car up and down and parking; the cable car, the suspension bridge and the stairs has the rates and hours.
The rest of the day
A 3-hour tour leaves half the day for the Old Town on foot. If food is the plan for the other half, the walking food tours in Old Québec are compared in food tours in Old Québec, with what they cost after tax and tip.
Which one should you book?
Pick by how you want to see the falls:
Old Town and Falls Bus Tour
A guided drive around the Old Town, then 45 minutes at the falls with entry.
Check dates →Guided River Cruise
AML from Quai Chouinard past the Old Town to the falls and the Île d'Orléans bridge.
See the cruise →Bike Tour to the Falls
Along the river to the falls with a guide; the cable car ride is included.
See the tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from GetYourGuide (checked October 2026); operators use seasonal pricing, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Tour routes, inclusions and prices from the GetYourGuide listings, read in US dollars on 30 October 2026. The ways to reach the park, the time from Old Québec and the daily access rate from Sépaq, read in October 2026; the bus route from the RTC and Québec City’s tourism office, read on 30 October 2026. The road distance measured by us.
The Old Town and Montmorency Falls Bus Tour
Quebec Bus Tour's 3-hour small-group tour from Old Québec with a bilingual guide in period costume: the Upper and Lower Towns and the Plains of Abraham, then about 45 minutes at Montmorency Falls with the park entry (October 2026).
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