Quebec City - old Lower Town

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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 until 1816 that repairs were finally completed. As you will see, it’s only a small church, but it still took half a century for the tiny French settlement to build it, in an act of supreme piety. Another fascinating bit of history is the “King’s Daughters” sent by Louis XIV to populate New France, a ‘task’ at which they excelled. To learn the surprising names of some of their modern descendants, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King’s_Daughters .

Petit Champlain

This street of centuries-old stone buildings at the foot of the cliff below the Château Frontenac has been turned into an elegant and colourful shopping district with fine boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and bistros. Most of the shops feature Quebec’s talented artisans.

Beyond Petit Champlain

In 1999 the wall of an old commercial building was turned into a 420 m² ( 4,520 sq ft) mural of Quebec life, to honour the upcoming 400^th anniversary of the City’s founding. Every aspect of life and history is shown, such as historical figures (Cartier, Champlain et al.), nuns, ordinary people, stairs, fortifications, typical buildings, a calèche, hanging plants, etc. With a nice Gallic touch, they even included a pair of lovers kissing on top of one of the gates. Since this mural has been such a “hit” with everyone, a number of other smaller ones have since been created elsewhere in Lower Town.

The tiny settlement that Champlain founded in 1608 grew until today there are deluxe hotels, shops and museums, always with an all-pervading sense of history. Old Lower Town, with its well preserved testimony to 400 years of history and survival, is definitely not to be missed.

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Comments

[Misty]

Beautiful collection! It looks like they've kept the essence of the "old town" alive and well to this day- so vibrant.