Thank you! I am ready to buy show tickets!
Quebec City is either the 2nd or 4th safest city in Canada, depending on the results I get.
Montreal has a homicide rate 4 times lower than San Francisco, and a robbery rate 2.5 times lower. Again, it depends on the search results, but this appears to be the average range I get.
I see San Francisco is typically in the top 10ish list of safe cities in the US. So, Montreal will be about 3 times safer than that, and Quebec will be safer than any US city. Hell, Montreal might be safer than any US city. Don’t forget, there are almost zero hand guns. The only ones out there in the wild are out there illegally.
One of the reasons I luurrrve Canada!
And our muggers are much more polite. 
This isn’t quite right…the train station is near Rue St Paul near Jean Lesage. It puts you within walking distance of Vieux Québec and the Rue du Petit Champlain. From there it’s a bit of a climb but walking distance to upper Québec, the Chateau Frontenac, and even the Citadel and Plains of Abraham.
My husband and I have taken the train from Montreal to Québec City for an overnight stay and felt we got a good visit of the city (which we’ve both seen many times), so it’s definitely doable and enjoyable for a 2-3 day visit. Grab the early train out of Montreal and I think there’s a mid-afternoon/evening one back that works quite well. The trains on that route are somewhat nicer (in my experience) than those on the Montreal-Toronto route; economy class is quite comfortable and food and drink is available and somewhat reasonably priced. Free Wi-Fi on all via trains.
The Montreal train station is, as has been said, about as downtown as you can get, and finding hotels nearby is easy; it all comes down to budget. You can walk from the train station to the top of Mount-Royal in about 30-45 mins depending on walking speed.
Enjoy your trip!
I can state from personal experience about an hour ago that the train station (Gare du Palais) in Quebec City is within walking distance of the old city. About a block, actually, just across a pleasant park. However, things become rapidly steeper after that. The streets leading to the youth hostel are at about a 30-degree angle. 
Sounds like I need to get a contour map of the city! My luggage is on wheels, but I am old and have a bad knee.
I have train reservations from Montreal (downtown) to Quebec City (downtown) but I could not make the return trip to the Montreal airport work for me. (It leaves at 5am, which is 2am California time, and Uh, NO, I’m on vacation!) I have allegedly reserved a car which I can pick up downtown Quebec City and drop off at the Montreal Airport. (It costs less than business class on the train…)
At this point I am looking for performing arts things I can get tickets to. Theatre (in English), dance, circus. So far I haven’t found much besides a musical in Yiddish…
It’s because you’re coming just a tad early. Summert is Festival season in Montreal (as well as Construction season, but the less we talka about it…). For example, you’re going to miss the Jazz festival by about a week.
There may be things that interest you at the Centaur Theatre; it’s one of the big anglophone theatres in Montreal. Hereis a list of theatres that might be helpful (I don’t know them, really - I know Geordie and Segal Centre because I’ve seen a show at each at some point in the past).
You’re too early for the Nuit Blanche, Just for Laughs or Jazz festivals, but mid-late June has the Fireworks Festival at La Ronde (you don’t have to go to the park to appreciate them), Montreal Fringe, you might catch some of the Canal Festival if you plan for it and the tail end of FIMA. I know you said you wanted English events, but you might want to immerse yourself a little in French culture at Les Francofolies.
You MUST catch theMoulin à Images in Québec City and the stroll along the port and the various pavillions from the 400e anniversary is still worth it, I believe. I like the Museum of Civilisation, though it’s not for everyone.
Québec City is quite steep, with the old village located below an escarpment. The main road that climbs up is Côte de la Montagne, and it is the road used for Red Bull Crashed Ice, which tells you how nuts it is. It is, however, very walkable, in part because there are so many shops to make a nice long stroll worthwhile! There is also the Funicularto get you up and down the escarpment, and the Rue du Petit Champlain isn’t too steep other than the steps at one end. I wouldn’t wander around too much with luggage in that part of town as some streets are cobble stone. You can get cabs from the train station, though. I don’t know your budget, but my husband and I once spent a thoroughly enjoyable night at the Hotel des Coutellier, and it is a very short walk from the train station!
Enjoy your visit!
ETA: There are also buskers performing at nearly every square in Québec City (and the Old Port in Montreal) nearly all summer long. Many of them are trained at the École Nationale du Cirque, so are quite good. For that matter, in Montreal you may want to see if there’s anything going on at La TOHU, though it’s somewhat out of the way from downtown.
Thank you so much, mnemo, this is great information, and so much of it! I will check out all of those things.
Have you driven in Quebec before? You will be driving in metric. And French. The signs are much more symbol-based than in the US. Which is good. You don’t want to pass a text sign that says something like INTERDIT AU CIRCULIER SUR L’ACCOTEMENT* and still be wondering what it meant and whether it’s important when SMASH!
Distances are in kilometres (km); speeds in kilometres per hour (km/h). Gasoline is sold in litres. Price is somewhere around $1.20/L.
The main highway between Quebec City and Montréal is Autoroute 20, which runs south of the St Lawrence. You will be crossing the river in both cities. You can drive along the north shore; I don’t know what that’s like.
I don’t fully understand how to drive into the Dorval airport; there’s a traffic circle off the Autoroute, then an underpass under the tracks, then everything is under construction… When I was there before, someone else was driving.
*DO NOT DRIVE ON PAVED SHOULDER. Actually an Ontarian sign.
Sounds like scare tactics to me. Sorry Sunspace, but driving in Quebec is no different than driving anywhere else; it’s not a big deal.
I’ve driven in metric before; didn’t strike me as much different than driving in imperial!
Okay, it was somewhat joking… The main difference beyond the use of metric are ones of visual style. Using symbols instead of words really helps that.
A hint, then, because you may find yourself wondering which side of the highway an upcoming exit is on (they don’t all exit on the right!)…
The exit NUMBER is inside a yellow box. The angle of the box indicates which side the exit will be on. Sometimes there is an arrow or an indication of what lane you will need to be in, but the yellow box is pretty much always there.
Example for a left hand exit:
Example for a right hand exit:
http://cdn.ibackpackcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/French-Road-Signs.jpg
As for the Dorval circle… just follow the airplane signs. Or the taxis!
Or you can take public transit That’s what I do all the time. Taking the 747 bus from the airport avoids having to navigate the Dorval circle in a car. Plus, parking is hard and pricey downtown.
Thanks for the info (and the pics!)