Few municipalities are as breathtaking on approach as Québec City. Situated along the majestic St. Lawrence River, much of the oldest part of the city -- Vieux-Québec -- sits atop Cap Diamant, a rock bluff that once provided military defense. Fortress walls still encase the upper portion of the old city, and the soaring Château Frontenac, a hotel with castle-like turrets, dominates the landscape. Hauntingly evocative of a coastal town in the motherland of France, the tableau is as romantic as any in Europe.
Québec City is the soul of New France and holds that history dear. It was the first significant settlement in Canada, founded in 1608, 400 years ago, by Samuel de Champlain. Much of 2007 was spent sprucing up the city for its 400th-anniversary celebrations in 2008, adding more access to the waterfront and an entirely new pavilion called Espace 400e that opened in spring 2008 to be the central location for celebrations throughout the year. After 2008, it will become a Parks Canada discovery center.
The city is almost entirely French in feeling, spirit, and language, and 95% of the population is Francophone, or French-speaking. But many people do know some English, especially those who work in hotels, restaurants, and shops, and thousands of resident college students study English as a second language. Although it is often more difficult in Québec City than in Montréal to get by without French, the average Québécois goes out of his or her way to communicate -- in halting English, sign language, simplified French, or a combination of all three. Most of the Québécois are uncommonly gracious, even with the city being the capital of the politically prickly Québec province.
Because of its beauty, history, and unique stature as the only walled city north of Mexico, the historic district of Québec City was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 -- the only area so designated in North America.
Ile d'Orléans, an agricultural and resort island within sight of Vieux-Québec, is less than a half-hour from downtown and an easy day- or overnight-trip. Consider, too, a trip along the northern coast of the St. Lawrence past the shrine of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, the waterfalls near Mont Ste-Anne, and on to pastoral Charlevoix and the Saguenay River, where whales come to play.
Bonhomme -- the mascot of Québec's annual Winter Carnival -- standing in front of Québec City. (©Quebec City Tourism/Xavier Dachez)
