Marc's Blog: canada - Visiting Quebec City

π 2011-06-11 01:01 in Canada, Ntrips, Trips

After a few days in Montreal, the guide book also had a section on Quebec City, and I realized that Quebec City was fairly close, and it'd be stupid not to spend a little time to visit too, so I moved my return flight to spend a couple of days there before flying home (Jennifer unfortunately had to go home earlier, so she wasn't able to join for that bit).

Interestingly, getting to Quebec City was easiest and fastest by bus: they had a bus going there every hour, you could just show up and be there in 3H door to door (actually faster than a plane), and enjoy power and wifi during the trip. The bus was clean and enjoyable, that beats greyhound by a little bit :)

So, Québec City is a wonderful little city to visit. I can all be done on foot, no car required (there are buses, but you can do without them).

Eh, let's do like Montréal, and start with the many churches. The difference for Québec City is that all the Anglicans have left, so the Protestant and Anglican churches have become empty, one has become a theatre school, and another one a library. The Catholic ones are doing a bit better.

The biggest/nicest church is Notre Dame de Québec, for which I got to visit the crypt which is still being escavated in hopes to find the remains of Samuel de Champlain, regarded as founder of Québec and father of New France:

Bibliothèque St Jean Baptiste:

Notre Dame Des Victoires in Lower Town:

Other random churches:

First, quick map of Quebec City and surroundings:

Ok, so like Montréal, it wasn't just churches. Québec City is most known for its Chateau de Frontenac (which is actually a fancy hotel, not a Castle):

staff at the Chateau wears clothing from the period

Fortifications are still around the city, and it still has its citadelle that was built to defend the city from further attacks (after the British managed to take it from the French, they had to defend themselves from both the French and the Americans and won several attacks because their resupply ships got there faster than the enemy's):