Founded in 1608, Quebec City is the traditional spiritual home of French Canada. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this northern enclave encompasses cobblestone streets, cliff-top perches and narrow passageways that reveal spiring churches and hotels poised for panoramas of the St. Lawrence River below.
The walled old city, called Vieux-Québec, is split between the Haute-Ville (Upper Town) and Basse-Ville (Lower Town). History hounds can’t get any higher than at La Citadelle de Québec, a fort at the peak of Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond). The changing-of- the-guard ceremony on summer mornings gives a peek at Canada’s colonial past.
In Parc des Champs-de-Bataille (Battlefield Park), the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham in 1759, sealing the province’s fate. Today the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec displays rare works drawn from Canada’s Inuit nations as well as a trove of Quebecois statuary, much of it evincing a rustic Catholicism.
Horse-drawn carriages called calèches convey mad romantics around the Old Town. For walkers, a 3-mile circuit atop the walls can be a meditative hike; from May to October, guided tours depart from the Porte St.-Louis. In 1633 French explorer Samuel de Champlain built the chapel that was transformed into the impressive Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec in the Latin Quarter.
The Musée de l’Amérique Francaise next door tells the tale of French settlement in the New World. Wandering around the museum’s quiet seminary courtyards and peering at the purported relics of saints will uplift your soul.
Castle-like Château Frontenac
More earthly pleasures await inside the Château Frontenac, one of the grand luxury hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway just before the turn of the 20th century. This castle-like hotel is backed by the grassy strolling grounds of the Terrasse Dufferin. After your visit, ride the funicular or risk the Escalier Casse-Cou (“Break- Neck Stairs”) down to the Lower Town, centered on the Place Royale. Follow the hordes along rue du Petit Champlain and into the Musée de la Civilisation, which delves into the culture of First Nations peoples.
Venture farther outside the walls around the Vieux-Port (Old Port) area. Catch a ferry across the St. Lawrence to the town of Lévis for the views back to the city. Amble along rue St.-Paul, its antiques and vintage shops overflowing with early 20th-century- modern wares and relics of more pastoral times.
Contemporary side
Yet don’t think Quebec is stuck in its past. There’s a modern, even bohemian side to this city. Feel it in the gentrifying St. Roch district, with its art galleries on rue St.-Vallier Est. DJs spin at L’Aviatic Club nearby inside the sumptuous Gare du Palais train station. Outside the Upper Town’s western walls, traipse along rue St.-Jean right into a heady mix of fashion-forward boutiques, cozy bistros and bars.
Quebec is a city for all seasons. In summer, free performances take place in the public squares of the Upper Town, especially near the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). Or brave the deep freeze during February, when the Carnaval de Québec winter carnival creates ice sculptures, snow slides, and fêtes of music and drink, and visit North America’s only ice hotel. Elsewhere in “La Belle Province,” you can go skiing in the quaint resort towns of the Laurentians or, in the warmer months, escape to pastoral Île d’Orléans, an island of apple orchards, wineries and farmhouse restaurants that cook wild game.
Wherever you wander in Quebec, take time out to revel in the unrushed pace of life. It’s the province’s joie de vivre you’ll long for as soon as you leave.
Sara Benson is the author of several “Lonely Planet” guides to Canada.
INFORMATION
Quebec City & Area
Tourism and Convention
Bureau (418-641-6654, quebecregion.com).
WHERE TO STAY
Fairmont Le Chateau
Frontenac (418-692-3861, 800-257-7544, fairmont.com/frontenac,
doubles from $255).
Hotel Dominion 1912 (418-692-2224, 888-833-5253, hoteldominion.com, doubles from $145).
Ice Hotel (418-875-4522, 877-505-0423, icehotel-canada.com, doubles including two meals from $500).
WHERE TO EAT
Aux Anciens Canadiens, (418-692-1627, 34 rue St.-Louis).Quebecois
specialties.
Casse Crepe Breton, (418-692-0438, 1136 rue St.-Jean). Crêpes.
Le Saint Amour, (418-694-0667, 48 rue St.-Ursule). Haute French.
Le Hobbit, (418-647-2677, 700 rue St.-Jean). Nouvelle.
