Although some seems to prefer the North Shore of the Saint-Lawrence river pass Quebec City, I would opt for the very quiet and beautiful road 132 from there to Rivière du Loup. Not very hilly, that is for sure, but not boring at all! You will also cross some of the nicest landscape in the province.

From Montreal to Quebec city: road 138... easy paved shoulder and very little trafic. By all mean avoid the (stone dust) cycling path between Victoria ville and Quebec city... it is a long flat and straight path... in other words it is extremely boring.

If you arrive in the province of Quebec from Ottawa, the road on the Quebec side of the Ottawa river is beautiful and slightly shorter than the road on the Ontario side of the river.

The route verte website and booklets are quite interesting for some sections (especially for finding bridges and shortcuts in cities) but do not follow it all the time, use your own judgement.