Montmorency Falls

The Montmorency river drops eighty-three metres into the St Lawrence at the eastern edge of Québec City, which makes it about thirty metres higher than Niagara, though far narrower and so much less famous. A cable car runs from the base to the clifftop, a staircase of nearly five hundred steps climbs beside the water, and a suspension bridge crosses directly above the lip, which is the best and most unnerving view of it. A via ferrata and a zip line cross the gorge. In winter the spray freezes into a white cone at the base, sometimes tens of metres high, that people used to climb for sport and that still forms most years.

What you actually see

• The suspension bridge - crossing directly over the lip of the fall.
• The panoramic staircase - nearly five hundred steps beside the water.
• The winter cone - spray frozen into a white mound at the base.
• The cable car - from the base up to the clifftop manor.

When to go

Year-round. Summer has everything open including the via ferrata and zip line. Winter is arguably better: the cone forms, the gorge ices over and the crowds thin, though the staircase and bridge may close in ice. Autumn colour in the gorge is excellent.

Honest expectations

It is a short visit and the site is heavily commercialised, with the cable car, zip line and via ferrata each charged separately on top of parking and entry. Summer brings coach groups from the city and cruise ships. The stairs are steep and there is no way to see the best views without either climbing or paying for the cable car.

Nearby

Québec City is fifteen minutes; Île d'Orléans is across the bridge.