Quebec City

Quebec City is north east along the St Lawrence River from Montreal and is the last crossing point, other than by ferry, before the ocean. It is Canada’s most historic city and is the only walled city in North America. My hostel is located within the city walls in Haute-Ville, the upper town within the city walls, and on my short walk to it from the bus station I get a quick introduction to the delights of the city. I cross a park with a fountain, pass pavement cafes and churches, go up steep and narrow winding streets lined with handsome old town houses and along a lively cobbled shopping street towards one of the city gate. French is the predominant language here and so is the atmosphere and I could almost forget which continent I am in. After checking into my hostel I run the tap in the bathroom to clean my teeth. I am momentarily confused when the tap marked C doesn’t run cold. Oh, it must be C for ‘chaud’, that’s how French this place is. But then I realise that the other tap is marked H, not F and realise the taps are marked in English and just put on the wrong way round!

The 4.5 kilometre circuit around the old city fortifications makes a very pleasant evening walk and I can see why the city is a symbol of the glory of French heritage.

The European city was founded as a fur trading post by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 and became part of the French colony of New France which extended from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico. Cliff top fortifications were built to protect this important inland trade gateway. The most significant battle in Canadian history took place here on the Plains of Abraham between the British and the French in 1759. The battle only lasted about half an hour, in which time the leaders of both sides, Wolfe for the English and Montcalm for the French, both sustained injuries from which they died. The Plains of Abraham sounds biblical, but are actually just named after the first pilot of the St Lawrence River and now they lie as wide open grassy parkland just beyond the Citadel. 

 

City Walls

Plains of Abraham

Just outside one of the gates in the old walls is the impressive parliament building which is surrounded by beautiful gardens and with a fountain in front. There is some evidence of the continuing strong feeling from the Quebec separatists as a couple of people are stringing up some flags and a sign which says, ’Nous sommes le peuple souverain de Quebec’. 

 

Fountain

Parliament Building

Wandering around the old town is very pleasant and around every corner there is something quaint or interesting to see. It is all quite touristy, but not in a glitzy fun fair and candy floss way, it is more about quiet mooching through the pretty streets, watching street entertainers and sitting at one of the many pavement restaurants. 

 

Terraced Houses

Streets in Haute-Ville

 

The main iconic building is the enormous Chateau Frontenac which is a hotel built in a pseudo-medieval style. It dominates the main square of the Place d’Armes and the skyline of the city. Jugglers perform in front of the statue of Champlain in the Place d’Armes and artists sell their wares in little side streets.

 Chateau Frontenac

Place d'Armes

Statue of Champlain and Entertainers

Artists

People wander along the wide boardwalk of the Terrace Dufferin which runs along the escarpment below the Chateau Frontenac and take photographs of each other posed on the canons and admire the views of the river and peeks of the lower town below the city walls.

Terrace Dufferin

Basse-Ville and St Lawrence River

A flight of steps and a funicular lead down to Basse-Ville with its quaint 17^th and 18^th century buildings which nestles below the city walls and beside the river. It feels like a stage set for a grand musical or pantomime and this feeling is enhanced by the fact that there is a festival of New France going on in which local people wander around dressed in period costume. They are having a fine old time acting in character and talking to the tourists.

Basse-Ville

Basse-Ville Roofs and Chateau Frontenac

 Locals in Period Costume

Lace Makers

Trompe d’Oeil

I take the public ferry the short journey across the river to the little town of Levis just to get the view of Quebec from the water.

Ferry to Levis

Quebec from the River

Quebec’s importance as a port declined once steamships could reach Montreal. The old market building is now a busy farmers’ market and berries of all varieties from the nearby Ile d’Orleans look colourful and fresh on the stalls.

Berries in the Marche du Vieux-Port

Old Town from the Marina

The big top of Cirque du Soleil is set up in the old port. I have never seen this show and I buy a ticket for the afternoon performance. As I enter the big top the man who takes my ticket wishes me, ‘Bon spectacle’. The show is amazing, with the most talented gymnasts, aerial acrobats, a juggler, tight-rope walkers, live band and singer. The costumes are elaborate gothic fantasy and the acts are strung loosely together with a bit of a love story. There is a girl who dives into a half-sphere tank of water and then does dripping gymnastics and contortions balanced on a vertical pole. The audience silently watches another girl who picks up bones of increasing length with her feet and carefully balances and constructs them into a skeletal structure. To begin with I think she is attaching them together somehow and then I realise that it is all totally self-supporting. At the end of the act she touches the smallest bone and the whole thing clatters to the ground. At the end of the show the whole audience surges to its feet in appreciation. It truly is a ‘bon spectacle’ and a modern twist on traditional circus skills. I thoroughly recommend it if you ever get the chance to see it.

Cirque du Soleil

On my last day here I take an antidote to city sightseeing by arranging an excursion to a nearby national park. It’s just me, a French girl from my hostel and Luc, the local guide. I am pretty happy to be putting my walking boots on for the first time in 3 weeks. Our first activity is a short trek uphill through a broadleaf forest of mainly maple trees to a look-out over the river and as we climb Luc explains interesting things about the forest.

Path through the Forest

View from the Path

View over the Valley

We then have a pleasant picnic lunch by the river and afterwards join a park ranger and some other tourists for a paddle on the river in a traditional-style boat called a rabaska. The ranger gives plenty of information about the local wildlife, but as it is French, Luc translates for me. While we are paddling it starts to rain. It quickly becomes very heavy and we are soon soaked through. Just as we are beginning to feel we might get cold the sun comes out again and by the time we get back to the jetty we have pretty much dried off.

Riana, Luc and Lunch

River

Rabaska

We then join another park ranger and group for a visit to some rock shelters, formed when huge chunks of rock fell from the cliff above and landed higgledy-piggledy, creating spaces underneath and between that we climb and crawl through. The rocks in this area are covered in a delicate ecosystem of lichen, moss and ferns that mean that eventually whole trees grow on them.

Climbing through the Rocks

On our way out of the park we visit a beaver dam and we are lucky enough to see 2 beavers swimming to and from their lodge. I learn at least two new things about beavers. 1 is that they are nocturnal and the second is about the purpose of the dam. I had always thought it was to trap fish behind the dam, but I learn that beavers don’t eat fish. They create the lake to provide watery protection from predators as they swim around collecting wood to eat and they also use the water to keep the cut wood fresh.

Beaver lodge

Beaver