Historic & Modern Québec

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

Your tour begins with a narrated drive by Place Royale, a handsomely restored square in the heart of Lower Town boasting 17th and 18th-century stone architecture. The site of Samuel de Champlain's first settlement, the square is home to Notre Dame des Victoires, one of the oldest stone church still standing in North America.

Enjoy some free time and visit Place d'Armes area. Built in 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the palatial hotel Château Frontenac hosted Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and MacKenzie King when they met to discuss strategy during World War II. Next, you'll take a stroll along Dufferin Terrace, the landscaped promenade and boardwalk facing the château. Here you'll witness panoramic views of the St. Lawrence River, the town of Levis on the opposite bank, Ile d'Orleans, and the Laurentian Mountains.

You'll have free time to explore on your own before departing to Cap-Diamant ("Cape Diamond"), the official name of the promontory on which the Upper Town of Québec City is located. Jacques Cartier, the French explorer who found glittering stones in on this great rock formation, thought the stones contained diamonds. After he brought samples of these stones back in France in 1542, experts concluded that these "diamonds" were actually quartz, hence the proverb, "As fake as a Canadian diamond."

Upon arriving at Cap-Diamant, you'll make a photo stop then embark on a narrated drive back to the pier. En route, you'll pass through Parc des Champs de Bataille, the site where the French surrendered to the British in 1759. Today, the park features 267 acres of grassy hills, sunken gardens, monuments, artillery artifacts, fountains and trees. You'll continue to Musée National des Beaux arts du Québec, and travel along the Grande-Allée, the Champs-Élysées of Québec lined with quaint shops, sidewalk cafés and boutiques, to the Hôtel du Parlement, an imposing Second Empire style building overlooking the city.

Special Notes:

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