Chateau Frontenac, Quebec

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This towering edifice dominates Quebec's skyline. It's a hotel, restaurant, and bar, with banquet and wedding facilities. It's the place to see and be seen in Quebec. The hotel even has a special Little Princess package (if you need to know the price, then it's too much).

It was completed in 1893, as part of a series of hotels built by the railroad companies all across Canada. It was named for the Count Frontenac, governor of New France who died in 1698.

Of course, even the cheapest rooms would be beyond my budget, but you can go in and look around. Have a drink at the bar, and maybe get on a guided tour.

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The Château Frontenac grand hotel a popular attraction in the center of Quebec City. The building is the most prominent feature of the Quebec City skyline as seen from across the St. Lawrence, and is a symbol of the city. The hotel is built near the Plains of Abraham. It was designed by architect Bruce Price, the Château Frontenac was one of a series of "château" style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. It opened in 1893, five years after its sister-hotel the Banff Springs. The railway company sought to encourage luxury tourism and bring wealthy travelers to its trains. The Quebec Conference of 1943, at which Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed strategy for The Second World War, was held at the Citadelle while much of the staff stayed nearby in the Château Frontenac.

In 1953 this hotel was used as filming location for the Alfred Hitchcock's drama I Confess, with Montgomery Clift and Ann Baxter as main stars. Prior to the building of the hotel, the site was home to the Chateau Haldimand, residence of the British colonial governors of Quebec/Lower Canada. It is now a hotel managed & operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts of Toronto.

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There are many tips here at VT regarding the Chateau Frontenac...so I wont go into much detail here...because I think its likely been said a million time...but it is a prominent structure here in Quebec City and to neglect it I suppose might be a little silly...its not likely a stretch to say that the Chateau is likely the structure in Quebec City that's linked the most to the city's image.

It is a GRAND structure...and is built on the site of two previous structure built to the same standard for theyre particular time period....perched high on the cliff sides of Cap Diamant.The original structures at this location date to 1620 and was occupied by the first governeur of the colony Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonge.In 1784 a new building was erected here at this site and became the residence of the British Colony.The present building was conceived by business men of the Canadian Pacific Railway...and was developed by architect Bruce Price..Price was also the builder of the Bannf Spring Hotel in Alberta and the Union Station in Montreal...so with this experience and background he was certainly up to the challenge of what was to become Le Chateau Frontenac.

While I was visiting in Quebec City there was an international conference of Francophone nations and security was such that I didn't even bother to venture indoors.

Today it is a hotel and part of the Fairmont chain....it boasts fine accommodations and an interesting history... Alfred Hitchcock's " I Confess " was partially filmed here.....and more importantly.. during the Quebec Conference of 1943...a strategy session between Churchill,Roosevelt,and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King...part of the seven day meetings were held here.

It fronts a wonderful boardwalk high above the banks of the St Lawrence River called the Dufferin Boardwalk ...see the previous tips...

Tours are available...follow the link Ive provided below...

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Some buildings are so identifiable and iconic that their photos instantly bring identification of their setting. The Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House are two examples. The Hotel Frontenac is well and truly in that select group, as the “instant” emblem of Québec.

You have to hand it to the managers of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1890s, they certainly did not lack for “big vision” in their approach. The Frontenac was only one of a chain of luxury hotels constructed so that trans-continental travellers on the CPR would not lack for comfort on their overnight stops. Silver service all the way, and hang the expense. Somewhere we heard the details of how many live-in staff the hotel had in those days, but I didn’t keep notes: just say “lots”! I dare say it still is a significant employer. We looked around inside (yes, mere mortals are allowed to wander around the foyer areas) and were suitably impressed though I didn’t take any photos there. Yes, worth a visit.

And what could you say of the style? It’s certainly different, but although it is supposedly based on French chateaux, it seems to me uniquely Canadian. Kick off with a bit of Chambord mixed with early skyscraper, surround it with Carcassonne turrets, add some Prince Leopold from along the Rhine, and hey presto! I might smile while writing that, but I did find the overall effect pleasing. It also is suitably enormous, with various add-ons since it was constructed and, given its size, it seems visible from nearly all of the city!

A visit to the remarkable Chateau Frontenac is THE thing to do if you had to pick a single activity while visiting Quebec. The Chateau is stunningly impressive in both its size and granduer. It has an almost gothic looking architecture complete with the copper roof which long ago acquired its green colouring, A site which i find distinctly Canadian. The Frontenac offers tours or the hotel which are well worth it as your tour guide explains some of the impresive statistics about the hotel as well as a great deal of its history.

Hotel Château Frontenac is the city's widest visible landmark. Situated on top of the hill Québec City lies on, you can see it from everywhere - and it really looks magnificent from everywhere. With its many towers and crenelates you can easily see why it was called château. However, it was built as and still is a hotel. In 1993, Château Frontenac celebrated its 100th birthday.
Nowadays, the hotel is a very luxurious place to stay when in Québec City - according to my guidebook, rooms start at $359 per night! (Just a hint: the auberge internationale starts at $24!) Instead of staying there and throwing away money, I'd recommend just visiting the very nice lounge downstairs. You can enjoy a nice drink in comfortable old-fashioned armchairs and you'll pay only slightly more than in other bars. And don't be afraid that you wouldn't come in without a nice suit or dress - the dresscode is rather casual.

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The Chateau Frontenac was built in the 1893 as a magnificent 600+ room hotel. It is still in full operation today as Quebec City's most famous landmark and a great hotel. Rooms at this Fairmont hotel start around $350 per night and go up to around $1000 depending on the season and room type.

The Chateau Frontenac hosted summits between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt during World War II.

Guided tours are available for about C$7.00.

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It's impossible to be anywhere in the vicinity of Quebec City and not see it's most famous landmark, Chateau Frontenac, towering over the Old City. The name comes Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, governor between 1672 and 1698 but it was not his chateau. The current structure was built in 1892 as a hotel, the 20 story central tower added in 1925. You can see the Count's coat of arms throughout the hotel.

The architect was Bruce Price, father of Emily Post who became famous for her book on etiquette. He designed it to look like a Loire Valley chateau, there's a staircase inside designed to look like one from Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon and a ballroom designed in blue & gold like the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

If you've been to any large cities in Canada, you may notice this hotel bears a striking resemblance to hotels such as the Royal York in Toronto or the Empress Hotel in Victoria, these hotels were built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to encourage tourism across Canada, the trains would bring the tourists and the tourists would stay at their hotels, a clever marketing ploy.

If you are not staying at the hotel, you can still have a walk through the lobby, have tea or eat in one of the restaurants or you can go on a guided tour of the Chateau with a guide in period costume.