Vieux Quebec architecture & monuments, Quebec

Old Quebec,or better known in French as Vieux-Québec, is a wonderful neighborhood to walk around in! 'Old Quebec' refers to the part of the "city within the walls. " and in it are wonderful cobblestone streets, many art galleries and great architecture. We enjoyed eating at the restaurants where I even tried to practice my very anomalous French, hehehe...

It was a bit chilly during those days in September when we brought outr twins who were 3 years old then --- but they still had a lot of fun. But I heard that during the winter, this place can really be freezing!

But if you really want a piece of the history of Quebec, this is a must to got through. Not walking in Vieux-Quebec when in Quebec is like a diamond ring without the diamond.

Be sure not to miss the Celtic Cross near le parc d'artillerie.
The cross was given by Ireland to the people of Quebec for taking in Irish orphans who had lost their parents at sea as they were travelling to Canada to escape the potato famine. It is approximaltely 6 feet tall, carved with beautiful Celtic artwork and inscribed in French, English and Gaelic.

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You know you are entering an old city when your entry is through the gate of a walled city.

After checking into our hotel late afternoon we could not wait to explore the walled city and a few hundred metres from our hotel was this beautiful old gate. Evening was quickly closing in and an ideal time for a photo.

It seemed unlikely, but smack in the old part of Québec, somebody had parked a reasonably substantial Art Deco skyscraper! That’s it you see in the photo. I guess people found the Frontenac Hotel somewhat unlikely also, when it was built – and that was only 20 or so years before this one went up.

The Price Building was erected by a timber company of that name, with the foundation stone going in place in 1929: hardly an auspicious time to be building big! Maybe that’s part of the reason it now is owned by the Québec Government … and the Premier of Québec now resides on the top (18th) floor. I guess having what probably has to be the better views in the Province would have to rank as one of the perks of office!

I find these Art Deco buildings quite fascinating, as the style tends to be replicated so closely from one to another. Others who enjoy them may be interested that my VT pal Pawtuxet also is somewhat taken by them and has some travelogues of photos from around the world on her HP.

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As we walked from the Place d’Armes to the Arsenal, we ‘discovered’ this large Celtic cross all by ourselves – none of our guidebooks or the tour guide had mentioned it. I suspect that the date 2000 at the top indicates its recent erection and (goodness knows), maybe nobody else had noticed it before!

It is impressive though, and the base engraved with the text in French, English and Gaelic is certainly intended to ensure the message is comprehensible. It is a ‘thank you’ message from the people of Ireland to the people of Québec, for their support and assistance during the Irish famine of the 19th century. Although I took photos, I was less thorough in recording the location, but working backward from the map and from where we were heading at the time I am fairly confident that it was in rue Charlevoix, near de la Hotel-Dieu. The photos show the text in all three languages.

The oldest and highest part of Quebec City , known as the upper town, is surrounded by walls and turrets that date back to the 1700's when Quebec City was the battleground between the english and the french. Quebec City at that time was completely fortified and remains the only fortified city north of Mexico. A popular tourist activity is to walk the entire walled portion on the upper town. Along the way you'll be able to find many historical sections and many nice vantage points.

... is the one in front of the parliament building. Erected only some years ago, the fountain has become the no. 1 motive for tourists and their cameras... It is really beautiful and thus worth taking a picture. Make sure to come back at night when the fountain is illuminated!

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Surrounding the old city is a 3 mile long defensive wall started by the French to protect the Upper Town from attack. In order to enter the upper town from the west, you have to go through one of the city gates that you can see in the attached photos, you can go up to the top of the gates for a look around and sort of walk a portion of it.

On the northeast side, we walked from the Lower Town near the Marche du Vieux Port along the ramparts to get back into the center of town.