Quebec City is so much better than Ottawa that it's painful.

There will be little or no snow in the streets of the old city or on Grande Allee, and it should be sufficiently cold to avoid slush. Maybe a little cold if you're not used to it, but not really really cold. Still, bring warm clothing as the humidity can be bone-chilling.

I don't know what you have in mind, but I expect there will be lots of winter activities still accessible, although many of these (skiing, snowshoeing, etc.) will be outside of city itself.

Language will not be a major issue: they want your $$ and they'll speak to you sitting on their head if they have to. A dictionary might be useful (especially in restaurants), but that takes some of the fun out of the trip. If you're by yourself, body language can work very well.

There are two train stations: one in Ste-Foy and Gare du Palais, near the harbour. The Ste-Foy station is close to the bridges and a short taxi ride to majors shopping centers and many hotels. La Gare du Palais is much closer to the old city and the tourist areas. I don't think there's public transit to the Ste-Foy station any more, so you'd have to take a cab from there. There is certainly public transit at Gare du Palais. Note that it was (back in my days) the same fare to both stations, and you can detrain at either.

If you plan to stay near the old city or not very far from the walls, it's not really worth getting a car, as parking will be inconvenient. Nevertheless, I believe (but I may well be wrong) that you can rent a car at Gare du Palais but not in Ste-Foy.

Small hotels and private accomodation near the old city or even within the wall can be cheap at this time of year, but you'll have to research it. Major hotel chains near the old city will be expensive. You can find a range of middle-range hotels in Ste-Foy, but you'll have to travel by public transit; if you stay in Ste-Foy, make sure you are close to the Metrobus lines (#800 and #801, I think): both lines have a common trunk, which means there is a bus roughly every 3-5 minutes at rush hour and every 8-15 minutes off-peak.

Enjoy...

... and yes I'm partial: after all, this is where I grew up.