"Les Portages Modernes" Top 5 Page for this destination Hull Favorite Tip by johngayton

Favorite thing: The largest single employer here in the Hull/Gatineau region is without doubt the government (both national and provincial). There are, according to the website below, a total of 37 government buildings in the area with the majority of them concentrated in an approximately 1km square on the north-west bank of the Ottawa river between The Alexandra and Chaudiere Bridges. This is the modern Portage complex - the name "portage" meaning a place where a river is impassable and its traffic has to be manually transported overland around the section and is how Hull became established initially.

There is something fascinating about this city within a city where well over 20,000 functionaires inhabit such a relatively small space for about 40 hours a week each, Monday to Friday and with all the amenities of a small city included. Within the interlinked office buildings there are shopping malls, hotels, bars and restaurants, doctors and dentists, dry cleaners, hairdressers, shoe repairers...the list goes on. Just like some Mediaval walled citadel, permenantly prepared for siege. Yes, definitely interesting and interesting too the politically diplomatic decision made to locate La Portage here in Quebec!!

Fondest memory: Website below has a list of most of the government buildings in Gatineau, along with some details of individual departments, their staffing levels and etc. -

http://www.ville.gatineau.qc.ca/dev-econ/edifices-ang.htm