|
The ten square kilometres of Vieux-Quebec's Haute-Ville, encircled by the city walls, form the Quebec City of the tourist brochures. Its centre of gravity is the main square, the Place d'Armes , with benches around the central fountain serving in the summer as a resting place for weary sightseers. It was here that Champlain established his first fort in 1620, on the site now occupied by the gigantic Chateau Frontenac , probably Canada's most photographed building. New York architect Bruce Price drew upon the French-Canadian style of the surroundings to produce a pseudo-medieval red-brick pile crowned with a copper roof. Although the hotel he designed was inaugurated by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1893, its distinctive main tower was only added in the early 1920s - during which time the hotel never closed - resulting in an over-the-top design that makes the most of the stupendous location atop Cap Diamant. Numerous celebrities, including Queen Elizabeth II, have stayed here, and the hotel has hosted one pair or more of newlyweds every night since it opened. The hotel has fifty-minute guided tours departing on the hour from the lower level (May to mid-Oct daily 10am-6pm; mid-Oct to April Sat & Sun noon-5pm; $6.50; reservations preferable tel 691-2166). The cape's clifftop is fringed by the wide boardwalk of the Terrasse Dufferin , which runs alongside the chateau and the Jardin des Gouverneurs to the fortifications of the Citadelle, overlooking the narrowing of the river that was known to the aboriginal peoples as the kebec - the source of the province's name. At the beginning of the walkway - which offers charming views of the river - stands a romantic statue of Champlain and, beside it, a modern sculpture symbolizing Quebec City's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From here steep steps and a funicular descend to Vieux-Quebec's Basse-Ville . Beside the Chateau Frontenac , where rue St-Louis enters the square, is the Maison Maillou , which houses the Quebec chamber of commerce. Dating from 1736, this grey-limestone house, with metal shutters for insulation and a steeply slanting roof, displays the chief elements of the climate-adapted architecture brought over by the Norman settlers. On the west side of the square, on the spot where the Recollet missionaries built their first church and convent, stands the former Palais de Justice , a Renaissance-style courthouse designed in 1877 by Eugene-Etienne Tache, architect of the city's Parliament Buildings. On the northeast corner of Place d'Armes, where rue Ste-Anne intersects with rue du Fort, is the Musee du Fort (late Jan to March Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm; April-June & Sept-Oct daily 10am-5pm; July-Aug daily 10am-6pm; $6.75), whose sole exhibit is a 37-square-metre model of Quebec City circa 1750. You can only see it as part of the quaint thirty-minute sound and light show, when the city's six major battles, including the battle of the Plains of Abraham and the American invasion of 1775, are re-enacted - a fairly pricey history lesson. Parallel to rue du Fort is the narrow alley of rue du Tresor where French settlers paid their taxes to the Royal Treasury; nowadays it is a touristy artists' market. Visitors who want to take home a portrait rather than a saccharine cityscape should shuffle into the pedestrianized section of Ste-Anne to the west of du Tresor, which is full of portraitists and their subjects. At 22 rue Ste-Anne, in the impressive 1732 Maison Vallee, the Musee de Cire de Quebec (daily: June-Sept 9am-10pm; Oct-May 10am-5pm; $3) is populated by unrealistic wax figures of Quebecois luminaries from Champlain to Levesque. Production values are a bit higher at the Quebec Experience show back around the corner at 8 rue du Tresor (8 daily; 30min; $6.75). The 3D multimedia show will appeal more to the MTV generation than to history buffs as holographic characters and animatronics give a potted history of Quebec.
Your Tip for Place dArmes
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Place dArmes - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Place dArmes - visit the main Place dArmes forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Place dArmes webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
