Quebec Love

Neither of us understood the lyrics of Quebec Love (Warning! It will get stuck in your head if you listen.) when we heard it during a concert in a local park near where we were staying, but we couldn’t agree more–We love Quebec! The locals were singing along as we enjoyed a warm summer night outside. We only got a small taste of the province, but it was enough to know we were somewhere else that wasn’t like the rest of Canada. Quebec is by all rights its own nation with a National Anthem and a history all their own.

When planning our time in Quebec City, we tried to find a hotel in the old city inside the fortification walls for five nights. As luck would have it, we were unsuccessful. Accommodations were pricey and scarcely available. I say as luck would have it because after visiting the chaos of tourists inside the fortification walls, we couldn’t have been happier to escape to our alternative hotel in the aptly named Montcalm neighborhood. We ended up with three nights in the Auberge Aux Deux Lions within walking distance to many restaurants, convenient shopping, and close proximity to many of Quebec’s top destinations.

The heart of the neighborhood is the pedestrian-friendly Avenue Cartier dotted with outdoor cafes and current home to the Lumière sur l’art outdoor exhibition. The exhibition consists of giant lamps capped with shades featuring whimsical scenes of pickle-like figures engaged in all kind of antics. It was a truly unique and enchanting display we enjoyed each day as we strolled through the neighborhood.

Of course, it is an exhibition of light, so we returned at night to capture the lamps illuminating the street.

Quartier Montcalm nestles up against the huge Plains of Abraham, a former battlefield that became grazing land. The length of the park runs along the St. Lawrence River from Montcalm north east to the Citadel in the city center and covers some 240 acres. We wandered down the hill from our hotel and discovered meticulously maintained display gardens, forest, and lush green lawns.

The park opens up as you get near the river, providing an expansive view across the city.

The far southwest section of the park features part of the historic defenses for the city.

We weren’t sure of the exact history or why, but at the end of the ramparts near the flagpole and parking area was a floral display of a grounded Spirit of St. Louis, probably because of the namesake river nearby.

As we were walking back through the park to our hotel, we discovered advertisements for the evening concert in the park. Seemed like a fun summer activity, so we grabbed a bottle of wine and some cheese and returned at sunset to enjoy the music and the crowd. Not traveling with dinnerware, we managed to snag a couple of tasting cups from the nice clerk at the liquor store.

It was a wonderful crowd composed of mostly locals enjoying a warm summer evening. The show that night was Jérôme Charlebois and Marco Calliari (There’s actually a clip from that evening on Youtube), two French Canadian folk artists. It was a uniquely Quebec experience for sure. The crowd was singing along to every song all night long.

We had a wonderful time just sitting and taking in the local experience. From what we could see, life is good in Quebec City.

Québec City Old Town

Québec City Old Town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. As a fortified position along the St. Lawrence River atop Cape Diamond, it was the site of many battles between the English and the French for control of the harbor and critical waterway. The two most prominent features of Old Town are the city’s Citadel and the impressive and unmistakable Château Frontenac (a historic hotel), with its expansive boardwalk below.

The boardwalk runs from the Hotel all the way to the Citadel walls at the other end, and is always full of tourists enjoying the view and most likely ice cream.

In the winter, the entire length of the boardwalk becomes a toboggan run. We could only imagine from photos inside the hotel how fun that actually is for visitors in the winter.

Our approach to Old Town from our hotel in Montcalm was the St. John’s Gate, one of the fortified entryways through the city’s walls. We walked through, on, and around the gate, taking in the crowds that lay before us.

The gate is also the site of the Fortifications of Quebec National Historic Site, where the main attraction was, along with all the other fortifications in the city, cannons and cannonballs!

The tourist trail through Old Town from the gate, leads you through the upper town to the Chateau and boardwalk. From the boardwalk, you can take either the stairs or the funicular down to the cobbled streets of the charming Quartier Petit-Champlain. A couple of other prominent features of the quarter besides the funicular are the Our Lady of Victories church on a cobbled courtyard and the Quebec City Mural depicting the city’s history.

One of the more amusing sites along the streets of Petit Champlain is the mascot of one of the local restaurant chains, Le Cochon Dingue (The Crazy Pig).

The Citadel

Quebec City is a fortification, and the heart of that fortification is the Citadel that overlooks the city and the St. Lawrence River. As part of our city tour on our first day exploring the city, we did also take in the military side of the history. It was unavoidable. Even though Quebec is undeniably French, the Citadel in Quebec City is one of the official homes to Canada’s Governors General since 1872. With British rule, now only ceremonial, also comes the famous British Guards.

The Citadel was all ramparts, cannons, and stories of wars. It was also mostly fenced off because of the visit by Pope Francis. It’s a big fort. You get the idea.

The Saint Lawrence River

Quebec is seated along a deep water port on the St. Lawrence River. The river is the main artery from the Atlantic Ocean into the North American interior and the Great Lakes. Ships take the passage upstream through Quebec City and Montreal eventually reaching Lake Ontario with Toronto on the shores. The history of Quebec City is intertwined with the history of the river, so we made sure to get on a boat and take a tour. This interesting one we saw at the dock resembling a glass shoe was one of our options.

We did not, however, take this option. The weather was just too nice not to be on an open boat on the water. Near the same tourist office was a semi-private boat tour on a zodiac that we took instead run by Excursions Maritimes Quebec. Quebec City local Yves Cossette was our captain and guide for a 90-minute tour of the waterways surrounding Quebec Port. The boat tour was a good option to get a look at the Montmorency Waterfall outside of town. Yves took this photo for us.

The tour to the waterfall ran under the Pont de l’Île-d’Orléans (bridge to Orleans Island), an aging structure resembling a smaller Golden Gate Bridge in need of replacement. Coming from West Seattle, we know all about the perils of aging bridges.

From the falls and the bridge, the tour ran along the shores of Orlean Island and by the shipyards across the river before giving us wonderful views of Old Town from the water.

St. John Street

Our tours of Quebec City also included a stroll through St. John Street, a pedestrian street with a bohemian feel between our hotel in Montcalm and Old Town Quebec. It is a vibrant alternative to Petit Champlain, with many cafes, restaurants, book stores, and of course bars. There was also one of the branches of Le Cochon Dingue. Just down the street from St. John Church at the beginning of the area was the Sacrilege Bar. Just had to throw in a picture of that.

The dancing monk embodies the spirit of Quebec City. The vibe is all about enjoying life and finding that which is beautiful within your surroundings. We had a great time wandering the streets and enjoying the many dining options. The simple night out at the park listening to live music with the locals was definitely one of the off-the-tourist-track highlights. With all the traveling and sightseeing we’ve been doing, it was a nice respite into someone else’s normal life.

Quebec City is definitely a must — being the only fortified city in N. America is cool enough, but the real life Quebec is even more charming. Of course, there is the winter. I had to regularly remind Ande of the snow (and the feet and feet of it) in order to stop her from continually looking up real estate listings. And now…east to Halifax we go…