On The Weekend: Québéc City

A vista from the walls of Vieux-Québéc

This weekend was a little out of the ordinary.  A friend and I ventured up to Québéc City for two days to indulge in some Franco-Canadian fun.  We mostly kept to the old city, which is the only preserved fortified city in North America (North of Mexico).  It feels European, many of the buildings were constructed in the 1600's - 1800's and are very authentic.  We also took a half-day trip to visit Montmorency Falls, a very large waterfall just outside of Québéc City.

Le Chateau Frontenac is one of the most photographed hotels in the world.  It is truly a symbol of the un-penetrable force the the old city used to be.  Now converted in to a Fairmont Hotel, you can stay in this beautiful castle that over looks the St. Lawrence river.  

Ps. See that tiny window at the very top?  We may or may not have snuck up there to see what the view was like.

There are many Catholic churches in the old city (one on almost every street!), But this one was our favorite.  It was tucked in behind some trees, and had a great red door, white trim and a dainty garden all around it.  The inside of the church was lined with white marble, and had beautifully worked wooden pews. 

There is a strong appreciation for Native Canadian artisans in the old city.  Many shops featured Native artisan woodworking, taxidermy, jewellery and other specializations.  There was even a restaurant that featured Native Canadian cuisine - something I have never seen before.

Even though the city preserves the walls that fortify it, you can still walk around the entire perimeter of the wall.  We walked the 4.9 Km around the wall, and were very pleased to see that many of the fixtures that defended the wall were kept intact.  The public is free to wander on the wall and peek their heads into slots where flaming arrows can be fired (well, we imagined that they were flaming).

We were also pleased to see many of the locals were using the wall for relaxing, having picnics and reading in the sun.  It was an interesting contrast to see people at such leisure in a place that used to be used to defend the city!

The original canons were placed all around the wall, and helped maintain a medieval feeling to the old city.

The streets had a very European feel to them.  This street, Rue du Sault-au-Matelot, was one of our favorites to visit.  There were many artisan shops, cafés and a nice park to sit in.  Many talented buskers circulate on this street, so there was always a live musician or two playing French classics in this area.

This was a back alleyway that we snuck into.  Many of these older buildings had wooden porches that extended from the back of them.  Many people who lived in the buildings were dining, smoking, and chatting on these quiet, private porches that were sheltered from bustling, tourist filled streets by greenery and the wall.

On the second day of our trip we visited Montmorency Falls.  The mouth of this waterfall is supposedly larger than Niagara Falls.  I have never been to Niagara Falls, so I can't confirm this, but what I can say is that this is a HUGE waterfall.  You can really feel the power of the water, and you could feel the spray from it even from where this photo was taken.  The structure above the falls in this photo is a suspension bridge that is open to the public. 

On the suspension bridge, looking over the edge of the waterfall.  It was really loud and wet up here; you really got a sense of the power the water has!

It was super windy looking over the edge too! It was impossible to not have silly faces.

The falls were powerful, and very beautiful.

After walking around the falls, we were feeling a bit peckish.  Luckily for us, there are restaurants that you can walk to near the falls.  We ordered this delicious cheese plate.  This was the only photo of food we managed to snap on our trip; we usually gobbled everything up before we could photograph it!  There is delicious food around Québéc city, though.  Other notable places that we ate at include Le Chic Shack, Café St Malo, and Casse-Crêpe Breton.

Visiting some friends touring in a choral group in Québéc, we attended a singing workshop in a cave under a church in the Old City.  The cave environment made for interesting acoustics, and a very coy environment.  We witnessed "Swedish Cattle Calling", and learned some new songs ourselves.

We had a fantastic time in Québéc City, and would love to go again some day!