Musee de la Civilisation, Quebec

The musee de la civilisation, located right off the Place Royale, is an outstanding museum.

Architecturally, though modern, it blended in nicely into its surroundings.

You will want to dedicate a few hours to this museum, it is one of the better ones (quite possibly the best) that I saw in Canada. Not enormous, not overwhelming in its content. I like museums and this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Its permanent collection features a really well done exhibit about Quebec, then and now. The museum gives a good overview of The Quebec experience, the development of New France and how Quebec is distinctive. This was done in a tasteful, low-key way. One of the themes you will see is the perpetual struggle against what can be a harsh environment, the reality of Quebec winters and the limitations and opportunities it presents.

While I was there they had an extraordinary exhibition about gold-how it is extracted, goldsmithing and some wonderful examples from various cultures around the world.

Looking on their website you will notice that there are some really good exhibitions, many centering on various aspects of the French experience but a lot of them concentrating on international cultures. Their website is probably a bit underwhelming, but nothing about the visit to this museum could be considered underwhelming.

If you like museums this is absolutely a must-see!

***photo courtesy of the museum website***

The coat check is a must, as you will be here for much of a day. Open from 10-5 (like most things in Quebec), the museum traces local history and has several rotating exhibits. We were here for "dragons," a look at the mythical creatures across cultures, from the indian subcontent, native "AmerIndians" (apparently a canadian term), Asia, Europe, and the stories and powers associated with them.

The cafe' isn't too bad, and when we were there the 4' of snow against the windows added to the atmosphere.

The Museum of Civilization always comes as a recommended "thing to do" in Quebec City. Housed in an interesting old building with smaller sites throughout the city, it is worth checking out, but is not as great as I had expected. The feature exhibit at the time I went was "In Peru with Tintin", which was actually really interesting. Some of the other exhibits were Dragons, Quebec City Cinema, as well as an exhibit about Native Americans, and Quebec public libraries. Don't budget too much time here, unless you are with children. The museum seems to be better suited to those with children. Dave and I got a little bored after not much more than an hour and a half.
The thing I found most interest was the remains of an old boat right in the middle of the museum lobby. This boat (and part of a dock) were found when the Museum was being built, so they just left it there.
There is a really good cafeteria and a rather expensive gift shop.

The Musée de la civilisation complex in Québec City features a campanile, an 18th century house with an inner courtyard, a rowboat from the same era, a stone wharf, a monumental sculpture symbolizing ice breakup, numerous exhibition rooms, auditoriums, and hands-on rooms, to wich are added a history museum, interpretation centre, and two historic sites.

Direction:
Via boulevard Champlain which runs along the river parallel to the cliff.
Via rue Saint-Paul and rue Dalhousie.
There are several parking lots in the surrounding streets.

Adults: $16
Seniors (65 and over, with card): $14
Étudiants (17 and over, with card): $10.50
Children (12 to 16): $6
Children (under 12) : free

This is probably the most popular museum in the city, and there's a good reason for it: it's great! Located in the Place Royale area, the museum opened in 1988 with a view to provide a new and interactive outlook on civilizations throughout the world, while also focusing more attentively on the Quebec experience. For example, the permanent exhibition "People of Quebec, then and now" will help visitors discover the province's past and present, while "Encounter with the First Nations" gives more insight into the life of America's first people. Temporary exhibitions usually bring visitors to foreign and exotic locations, such as Indonesia, Russia and Oceania, always with the idea of helping us discover other civilizations' history and culture in a fun and dynamic way. There are many special exhibitions and activities for kids all week long, check the Website for more info!

Le Musee de la Civilisation is a great museum. We spent three hours visiting the expositions! The museum is divided in a couple of different expositions (the entry ticket grants you access to all) so you can learn about many different things. And expositions change regularly so you can stop there everytime you're in Quebec City!

There are scheduled guided visits for every exposition but you can also visit by yourself. Extremely interesting museum.

The "Musée de la civilisation" is one of the nicest museums I have visited.

Learn about the People of Québec, the First nations, etc. It also features special exhibitions like "Autopsy of a murder", "God, the Czar and the revolution".

If you travel with children, take them to the "Make Way for the Middle Ages" costume workshop. They will learn about medieval traditions and will be able to dress up.

You can also get a package for three different museums: Musée de la civilisation, Musée de l'Amérique française and Centre d'interprétation.

This museum is located near the ferry. Right now, they have a nice exhibition on Russia, with lots of pieces. There are english guided tours at : 10:30, 11:30, 1:30 PM, 2:45 PM and 3:45 PM. The tour last 45 minutes, or so.
Untill march 5, 2006.
Many pieces, some have never left Russia previously. I did enjoy the guided tour. Many activities for children, stories, play, etc.

What an experience! This is truly one of the best museums to visit in the entire province.

There were 5 expositions being presented when we went.
- A 10-century overview of Russian history, complete with artifacts, jewelry, and beautiful arts and crafts. It's there until March 6th, 2006.
- Quebec's own history; you can see historical objects along with famous memorabilia; there's even a short film where Quebecers from all walks of life are interviewed about their province. A great insight into our mindset! This is a permanent exposition at the museum.
- A beautiful and interesting section on money, how it's been used, how countries spend it, and you can even see coins that thousands of years old. On display until March 19th, 2006.

There are a lot of activities for kids, seeing as how there are busloads of students that stop by each day and are kept busy for hours on end. I spent 5 hours there myself and I'm 23!

It was 8$ to get in (adult). However, for 13$, you can purchase tickets for 2 other museums; of French North America and Place Royale's History.

If you're a history buff I highly recommend it.

If you're in Quebec city you must check out the Museum of Civilization. This museum has the most unique exhibits including ones on skin, the color blue, and Asterix!

I've always thought that museums, although enlightening, bore me quickly. Well this one is always interesting and I wouldn't pass it up.