Quebec City

We only had one day in QC, so we embarked on a mad tour of the city that had so much to offer to its visitors. First of all, it was full of French American history. Everywhere you turned was another old building with some historical significance. The streets were lined with beautiful old houses that were a mix of hotels, guest houses, and actual homes. Quebec City is divided into the Upper Town and Lower Town. Since our B&B was in Upper Town, we started with the sights there and then went to Lower Town in the afternoon. The historic district of QC, located within its stone walls, has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Streets of Quebec City

The first place we visited was the imposing and famous Le Chateau Frontenac, a hotel where several important events of great historical importance happened and that now serves as a symbol of QC:
1) It was the site of the Quebec Conference where in 1943 the war strategy was discussed between Roosevelt and Churchill.
2) The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was formed at the hotel.
3) Holds the Guinness World Record for "The Most Photographed Hotel in the World."
Chateau de Frontenac

After visiting the hotel, we walked on the stone walls of the City, saw the Quebec Citadel, visited a French-Canadian history museum, where we learned that Quebec was the site of a historic battle between the US and Canada, and saw the beautiful Quebec City Hall.
Views of QC and St. Lawrence River


After a delicious lunch of the French Onion soup (yum!), we went to the Lower City and saw the first Protestant Church in North America as well as Place Royal, the birthplace of the French civilization in North America. We had gelato on the Rue du Petit-Champlain, a cobblestone street that is the heart of Lower QC and also one of the narrowest streets in Canada.


The following day we visited a cute Ursuline Convent near our B&B and the Plains of Abraham, a famous battlefield site, and then drove back to Portland, but not without making one last stop at our favorite Canadian eatery, Tim Horton. Ahh, what a great vacation.