Blogs from Québec City, Quebec, Canada, North America - page 7

Today was wet. It didn't stop raining all day. We got up late and took our time getting organized, hoping that just maybe the rain would let up a bit. We did laundry while we waited. We finally did venture out to the city. Quebec is a very beautiful city even in the rain. We heard canons firing from the Quebec citadel in honor of Canada Day but by the time we found them they had finished, so we walked on to the old city. Everything of interest in the old city is within walking distance. We walked to Chateau Frontenac, the most photographed hotel in the world and no wonder! It's a very impressive building both inside and out! Tall towers and spires, arched gateways, liveried doormen and attendants, chandeliers and marble within. And right ... read more

We drove in to Quebec a little later than hoped, but sleeping in isn't the worst thing while on vacation. We followed directions in to Centreville and started looking for parking. Even with everyone hung over (per the hotel attendant last night), there wasn't much. We eventually discovered the parking ramp under Le Chateau Frontenac. It was convenient to the start of a walking tour I pulled from Frommer's, with views of the hotel as well as the river. We saw the monument to Generals Montcalm and Wolfe, after which Liam told us all about the battle. (We were quite surprised he knew, since the Seven Years' War wasn't really covered in our elementary educations.) We walked along the Terrasse Dufferin, hoping to climb the stairs to the Promenade des Gouvernours, but we never did find ... read more

This is where it all began back in 1608. Strictly speaking, Lower Town encompasses everything all around the base of the rock that is Cape Diamond. When people use the term these days they are most often speaking of the old part near the St. Lawrence River below the Château Frontenac and Dufferin Terrace. We will look only at that area. Place Royale In 1608 Champlain founded a tiny stockade here. Its wooden houses burned in 1684, and were replaced by sturdy stone buildings, which are still fully in use today (this is not just some mockup re-creation of what might have been). The Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church is one of Quebec’s … and Canada’s … great treasures. Begun in 1668 and finished in 1723, it was heavily damaged by the British bombardment in 1759, and it wasn’t ... read more

Old Quebec City, Canada’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, is all about history … in the walls, the fortifications, the venerable buildings, the narrow streets, and the multitude of commemorative statues and monuments. There are four massive entrance “gates”, so I’ll start at the best known one … the Porte St Louis … and move eastward to the famous Chateau Frontenac. It is surrounded by three notable areas, the Place d’Armes (originally a military parade square), the Dufferin Terrace boardwalk, and the Terrace Garden. The Garden is noteworthy because it contains an unusual dual monument to both Wolfe and Montcalm who fought and died on the Plains of Abraham. . From there we’ll move over a bit to several important streets, statues, and buildings, including the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals. Of cour... read more

We're up early for a quick breakfast & then leave the hostel at 8am to take the Metro from Victoria Square to Berri/UQAM where the central bus station is - not the same place as we arrived on Megabus, though all the other bus services seem to run from here. It's warm and humid even at this hour. Surprisingly, the Metro is not that busy even though it's rush hour. The bus station itself is a bit of a slog from the Metro through some very dismal underground passageways though the bus station itself is quite modern and well organised. The L'Orleans Express bus arrives 2 mins before it's due to depart (9 am) so by the time everyone has boarded it leaves late but we still get to Quebec City (QC) on time at 12-15 ... read more