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Rue Haldimand, around the corner from the Musee d'Art Inuit, leads to the Jardin des Gouverneurs , whose wonderful prospect of the St Lawrence was once the exclusive privilege of the colonial governors who inhabited the Chateau St-Louis. The garden's Wolfe-Montcalm obelisk monument, erected in 1828, is rare in paying tribute to the victor and the vanquished. Converted merchants' houses border this grandiose area, and the nearby streets are some of the most impressive in Vieux-Quebec - check out rue de la Porte and the parallel rue des Grisons on the park's west side, which boasts some fine eighteenth-century homes. To escape the tourist hordes for a bit, follow rue Mont-Carmel, on the northern side of the square, to the almost unnoticed Parc du Cavalier du Moulin , a quiet little park that's perfect for a picnic. The remnant of a defensive bastion built atop Mont Carmel hill, this was part of the seventeenth-century French fortifications that protected the city's western side. You can't really see walls from this angle, but you can see the rear facades of the houses on rue St-Louis. From the Jardin des Gouverneurs, ave Ste-Genevieve runs west towards Porte St-Louis. En route, turn right onto rue Ste-Ursule for the Chalmers-Wesley United Church at no. 78 (July & Aug Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; free), built in 1852 and one of the most beautiful in the city. Its slender, Gothic Revivalist spires are a conspicuous element of the skyline and, inside the stained-glass windows are worth a look. Opposite, the 1910 Sanctuaire de Notre Dame du Sacre-Coeur (daily 7am-8pm; free) also has impressive stained-glass windows. A left turn onto rue St-Louis leads to the Porte St-Louis, one of the four gates in the city wall. It's surrounded by Parc de l'Esplanade , the main site for the Carnaval de Quebec, and departure point for the city's smart horse-drawn caleches. The park's Centre d'interpretation des Fortifications-de-Quebec , 100 rue St-Louis (early May to early Oct daily 10am-5pm, except late June to early Sept 9am-5pm; $2.75; www.parkscanada.gc.ca/fortifications ), includes a powder house constructed in 1815 and a dull exhibition on the fortifications. Most visitors start their 4.5-kilometre stroll around the city wall from here. You can also take a ninety-minute tour with a costumed guide for $10.
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