Quebec protects its trades. That is why the cheese, the cider and the leather are still made the slow way.
The short answer: Charlevoix for food and landscape in the same three hours, the Eastern Townships for wine and cider within ninety minutes of Montreal, Bas-Saint-Laurent for the river and the price, and the Gaspésie when you have a full week and want the best road trip in eastern Canada.
Charlevoix, about 2h from Quebec City
The Route des Saveurs links roughly forty producers between Baie-Saint-Paul and La Malbaie, and it is the densest concentration of artisan food in the province. Cheese, cider, lamb, emu, veal and bread, all within an hour's driving. Baie-Saint-Paul is the art town. The Charlevoix crater gives the region its dramatic drop to the river, and the ferry to Isle-aux-Coudres is fifteen minutes and free for foot passengers.
Eastern Townships, 1h to 1h30 from Montreal
Brome-Missisquoi is where the Quebec wine industry became real. The IGP Vin du Québec designation now covers over one hundred and fifty producers. L'Orpailleur and Domaine Les Brome are the reference stops on the Route des Vins. The Townships are also the world centre of ice cider, a Quebec invention with its own protected designation, and the best of it will change what you think a dessert wine can be.
Bas-Saint-Laurent, 3h to 5h from Quebec City
The stretch from Kamouraska to Rimouski is the cheapest coastal driving in the province and the sunsets over the widening St. Lawrence are the reason people come back. Kamouraska is the village. The smoked eel and the local buckwheat are the food. Rimouski is the base for the Bic national park and for the whale watching that Tadoussac does at three times the price on the other bank.
Gaspésie, a full loop of 900 km
Percé Rock, Forillon and the Chic-Chocs in one loop. Give it seven days minimum, ten if you want to hike. Gaspé cod and Matane shrimp are the plates. Microbreweries have replaced the old company towns as the anchor businesses in half the villages along the north shore of the peninsula.
Language and practicalities
Outside Montreal and the Townships, service is in French first and often in French only, and that is entirely normal. A few phrases go a long way. Most rural producers take cards, but the smallest farm stands still do not, so carry cash. And the SAQ is the only retail channel for wine and spirits outside producer sites, with limited holiday hours.