"Vivre Québec!" Quebec by tiabunna

Quebec Travel Guide: 1,531 reviews and 3,292 photos

Hanging on a school classroom wall in Australia, long ago, was a copy of a painting showing the valiant James Wolfe and his men climbing the cliffs of Québec to liberate Canada from the French. Well, that was how it was presented in those long-gone days, when Australia still officially saw itself as “British” and whatever The British Empire did, or had done, was always presented uncritically as a ‘good thing’!

Times change! This particular schoolboy looking at that picture never expected, in his wildest dreams, that one day he would be fortunate enough to visit the very place – and any nonsense about ‘Britishness’ in Australia has long gone. History now is viewed with a somewhat more critical eye!

But back to our visit. We were delighted to find that the ‘Old Québec’ part of the city, at least, still retains quite a bit of the look and feel of a French provincial city. It is, after all, the Capital of the French-speaking Province of Quebec.

The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the construction of the enormous Frontenac Hotel in the late 1890s (heading photo) probably led to as much change in Québec as the British invasion, by promoting the invasion of tourists. That continues and, not surprisingly, Québec has taken advantage of it so that now the whole of the old city probably qualifies as a ‘tourist trap’ – though in the nicest possible way! We had a marvellous visit and could happily have lingered longer.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I am embarrassed to find that it is now almost a year since our visit - and here we are in Québec’s 400th anniversary year! It’s high time that I began presenting this page so that I have something in place for the anniversary on 3 July – though I shall have to ask you to return later as, because of other commitments, this page will have to be presented in stages.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:history, scenery, general charm
  • Cons:hordes of tourists (even outside school holidays)
  • In a nutshell:Fully matched our hopes and expectations
  • Last visit to Quebec: Dec 2006
  • Intro Updated Apr 20, 2008
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Reviews (17)

Comments (19)

  • Pawtuxet's Profile Photo
    Aug 20, 2012 at 6:34 AM

    Good job! Keep up and the good work and let me know when the next installment is available. Happy to learn about the history exhibit which I will definately visit when we get back to Quebec. My family ancestors had great involvement w/ the defense of Quebec in very early years.

  • lynnehamman's Profile Photo
    May 18, 2009 at 11:32 PM

    George-your interest in history, observant eye and wicked sense of humour make your pages a joy to read. This one is no exception. Excellent tips. Great photographs, as always. Thanks.

  • Ekaterinburg's Profile Photo
    Apr 22, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    This looks like a very charming Gity george and your interesting descriptions and excellent photos certainly do it justice. I was particularly delighted with the Celtic Cross :))

  • HORSCHECK's Profile Photo
    Apr 6, 2009 at 2:41 PM

    George, excellent little page with brilliant photos of Quebec, which I once visited back in summer 2000. Especially your "tipping" tip is really interesting. I find the behaviour of these waiters kind of impudent.

  • LoriPori's Profile Photo
    Apr 6, 2009 at 5:21 AM

    Wonderful page on Quebec City George. Though Canadian, I have never visited here. The Hotel Frontenac is indeed amazing. Excellent restaurant tips. It was rude of the waitress to assume her tip. Most are not like that & we tip according to good service.

  • angiebabe's Profile Photo
    Jan 31, 2009 at 2:39 AM

    Hi and thanks for the interesting page - not really a city I have much interest in visiting but enjoy seeing the places of history and stunning landscapes around here.

  • scottishvisitor's Profile Photo
    Jan 27, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    Nice history lesson laced through your tips = You were lucky to see the Celtic Cross

  • 850prc's Profile Photo
    Jan 23, 2009 at 4:48 PM

    I really enjoyed your Montcalm-Wolfe battle commentary. Always one of my favorite stories of NA history. I also enjoyed your "tip tip". Pretty restaurant hawkers are a good thing, aren't they?

  • Faiza-Ifrah's Profile Photo
    Jan 12, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    i think this is my 1st visit to any of your pages. very informative and many nice pictures. awesome page on a historic and architectural city. and no, girls attracting tourists to restaurants and forced tipping are not all canadian practices.

  • Mikebb's Profile Photo
    Oct 23, 2008 at 2:58 PM

    Hi George, With the amount of travel you do it is extremely hard work to compile all the pages. I had a full time job putting up our 2007 Canadian experience before we left for Europe in ug 2008. Enjoyed Your Quebec page.

tiabunna

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