Hi all,
We were up at 4.40am today to walk to Union Station and catch the train to Toronto Airport. We then caught a 7.50am flight to Quebec City. We came here because when we were mapping out where to go on this trip years ago, Nan and Pa told me how wonderful it was here, like a little slice of Europe. I then looked into it and totally agreed with them, so we decided to come here. Quebec is a French Canadian province which I'll explain properly a bit later on, but it means the architecture, food and language here is very different to everywhere else we have been in Canada.
Upon landing, we caught a taxi to the Upper Old Town. Our hotel is right in Place d'Armes opposite the famous 'Chateau de Frontenac' Fairmont Hotel. We left our bags with reception and then started wandering around. We went to the Dufferin Terrace, named after Lord Dufferin, a Governor General of Canada who is the reason that Quebec City today still has preserved and restored city walls as he stopped them from being torn down. Here we got another nice view of the chateau, and also saw the toboggan track that has been used in the Winter since 1884 along the terrace. We then ascended quite a few stairs and went past the Citadelle to the Plains of Abraham (a big park that we will explore more another day) and the Parliament Building. At this stage it was getting incredibly windy, so we walked to a bakery next and had a croissant and a coffee. The shop's sign was blowing around outside due to the wind! Then we headed back to the hotel as it was time to check in.
After checking in, we walked to the Parliament Building again and met our 2pm walking tour with our guide Samuel who was very funny. We walked through the St Louis Gate of the city walls, and learned that Quebec City is the only city north of Mexico in the Americas to have a preserved fortification. The city was founded on July 3rd 1608 and Quebec became a French colony. The name 'Quebec' comes from a First Nations word meaning 'where the rivers meet' or 'where the rivers narrow'. The site of the town was chosen due to its strategically high position and the two rivers meeting down below, meaning it was easy to spy enemies coming. Quebec quickly became the capital of 'New France' and was a popular place for fur trading for the French. In the late 1600s, the wall that we saw restorations of was built for protection. In 1759 when Britain won the war against France, Quebec and the rest of Canada became British territory. The British then thickened the walls for protection as the American Revolutionaries came here in 1775 to try and take it over as well, but failed. Today, the gates we see are not original and the walls have obviously been restored as well. But it gives you a sense of what it would have felt like back then being inside the walls. Its been preserved so well that in 1985, the Old Town in Quebec City was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage site.
We were up at 4.40am today to walk to Union Station and catch the train to Toronto Airport. We then caught a 7.50am flight to Quebec City. We came here because when we were mapping out where to go on this trip years ago, Nan and Pa told me how wonderful it was here, like a little slice of Europe. I then looked into it and totally agreed with them, so we decided to come here. Quebec is a French Canadian province which I'll explain properly a bit later on, but it means the architecture, food and language here is very different to everywhere else we have been in Canada.
Upon landing, we caught a taxi to the Upper Old Town. Our hotel is right in Place d'Armes opposite the famous 'Chateau de Frontenac' Fairmont Hotel. We left our bags with reception and then started wandering around. We went to the Dufferin Terrace, named after Lord Dufferin, a Governor General of Canada who is the reason that Quebec City today still has preserved and restored city walls as he stopped them from being torn down. Here we got another nice view of the chateau, and also saw the toboggan track that has been used in the Winter since 1884 along the terrace. We then ascended quite a few stairs and went past the Citadelle to the Plains of Abraham (a big park that we will explore more another day) and the Parliament Building. At this stage it was getting incredibly windy, so we walked to a bakery next and had a croissant and a coffee. The shop's sign was blowing around outside due to the wind! Then we headed back to the hotel as it was time to check in.
After checking in, we walked to the Parliament Building again and met our 2pm walking tour with our guide Samuel who was very funny. We walked through the St Louis Gate of the city walls, and learned that Quebec City is the only city north of Mexico in the Americas to have a preserved fortification. The city was founded on July 3rd 1608 and Quebec became a French colony. The name 'Quebec' comes from a First Nations word meaning 'where the rivers meet' or 'where the rivers narrow'. The site of the town was chosen due to its strategically high position and the two rivers meeting down below, meaning it was easy to spy enemies coming. Quebec quickly became the capital of 'New France' and was a popular place for fur trading for the French. In the late 1600s, the wall that we saw restorations of was built for protection. In 1759 when Britain won the war against France, Quebec and the rest of Canada became British territory. The British then thickened the walls for protection as the American Revolutionaries came here in 1775 to try and take it over as well, but failed. Today, the gates we see are not original and the walls have obviously been restored as well. But it gives you a sense of what it would have felt like back then being inside the walls. Its been preserved so well that in 1985, the Old Town in Quebec City was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage site.
We saw lots of interesting places on our tour, and the next one was the Morrin Library which used to be a jail. We could see where the bars had been removed off the windows. Samuel spoke here about how when the British took over in 1759, they compromised with the locals here saying they could practice Catholicism and speak French still if they didn't side with the Americans when they came. They came under French civil law but British criminal law. And this is why even today in 2023 the province of Quebec in Canada is still so French. French signs, French spoken by all (and English spoken by people in touristy areas but not by all). They were able to maintain the local culture despite the British coming in and Canada eventually becoming an independent country. I will say though, we had had a few warnings from people that people here would be rude. Everyone we have come across here has been lovely though, even our Uber driver who spoke limited English tried his best to point out sights from the car today. Interestingly, the only part of New France that the Brits didn't take were a couple of islands off the coast of Newfoundland, which to this day are still a part of France.
We saw the first and only skyscraper in the old town area, and a Swiss clock gifted to the city that costs $2000 a month to run (not a great gift!!). We saw the City Hall built in 1896, and then ended up in the square out hotel is off of. Here we learned about the Chateau du Frontenac, that it was built in 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company like many other hotels we have seen in Canada on this trip. It was in this hotel that Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt planned out D Day, apparently as this would limit the risk of spies being able to get information about their plans. Some journalists stayed at our hotel trying to stake out and get information, and coincidentally at the time the hotel in our building was called the 'Hotel Normandie'! The Chateau du Frontenac today is known as the most photographed hotel in the world. There is a little scaffolding on it at the moment getting it ready for Summer proper, but it is still beautiful. It's roof is going green though over time as it's made of copper!
Next we descende the Escalier du Casse-Cou ('breakneck stairs' as they used to be so steep livestock would fall and break their necks) to the Rue de Petit Champlain. This used to be a pretty dodgy area back in the days when many Irish came here during the Potato Famine and lived a rough life, but today it is a really picturesque street which apparently looks like a fairy tale at Christmas time due to a Christmas market taking place. These days apparently 30% of those in Quebec have some sort of Irish heritage.
Our tour ended around the corner from the Place Royale, which was full of gorgeous buildings. After a big fire in the late 1600s it became law to build stone buildings here. These were recently restored to make them look older like they would have back in the earlier days of the city. The church in this square may look familiar, as it is in the final scenes of the movie 'Catch Me If You Can' when Tom Hanks captures Leo DiCaprio. Many ads and movies are filmed here instead of in France as the buildings have the same effect but it's a lot cheaper and takes less time to come and film here. As well, an Alfred Hitchcock film called 'I Confess' was entirely filmed here in 1952.
We finished the tour and had a rest back in the room. For dinner we went to a restaurant called 'Buffet de L'antiquaire' that Samuel recommended. The prices were half of the restaurant prices in the main square we are staying in, and the food was delicious. Our meals came with salad, proper vegetables (my first in a month!!!!) and potato. Rob had a maple syrup bread pudding for dessert also. The best part was that many locals were in the restaurant, so you know it must be good!
We are off to bed now as we are very tired.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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