The Citadelle, home to the "Van Doos," the Royal 22nd Regiment, is still the largest North American fort still occupied by troops. Occupying the highest point of Cap Diamant, 320 feet above the St. Lawrence River, the site was first built on by the French, but the majority of buildings were constructed by the British under orders from the Duke of Wellington, who was anxious about American attack after the war of 1812.

The city is split into two levels, connected by stone stairways and a municipal lift. Surrounded by the old city walls is the 'Upper Town' with some fine 18th- and 19th-century architecture, notably the Place D'Armes and the Château Frontenac. The latter is a first-class hotel.

In front of the Château Frontenac is a wide promenade with 310 wooden steps leading up to the Citadel, which affords incredible views across the St Lawrence River. Small street cafés, cobblestone streets and shaded squares emphasize the European air of the 'Upper Town'. In the 'Lower Town', the network of 17th-century streets centered on Place Royale has recently been restored.

Outside of Quebec City, is a region of picturesque Québécois villages. In front of the Ile d'Orléans are the Montmorency Falls and further east, the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Mont Sainte-Anne. The latter is the main ski resort in the famous Laurentians (or Laurentides) skiing region, which is also a provincial park.

Heading northeast from Québec along the southern bank of the St Lawrence, the main route leads first through the farming region of Bas-Saint-Laurent and from there to the Gaspé Peninsula. The major attractions here are the Rocher Percé in the Gaspé Provincial Park and Forillon National Park.

Across the mouth of the river is the Duplessis Peninsula, site of some of the earliest landfalls in the New World. Remains left by these Viking sailors can be seen in the museum at Sept-Iles, the largest city in the area. The bizarre geological formations of the nearby Mingan Archipelago are best explored by boat.

The Magdalen Islands, 215km east of the Gaspé peninsula in the Gulf of St Lawrence, offer miles of white sandy beaches and a host of unspoiled fishing villages.

Our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and customs. Below are some of our recommended highlights. Some tours and packages can be organized when booking your program, please see the program price page for more information.

city tour
A popular travel destination, Québec City and its surrounding area welcome over 6 million tourists every year from all corners of the world. The city is full of attractions and fascinating discoveries for visitors.

Lower Town, home to the first settlers of New France, encompasses the old port district and a host of other treasures. Leading the way to Upper Town are steep, winding roads and stairways with telling names,like Côte de la Montagne (Mountain Road) and Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Stairway). And crowning it all is one the most photographed buildings in the world, the famous Château Frontenac, perched atop towering Cape Diamond.

In Upper Town, the contours of the fortified city are easy to see and explore. In fact, all it takes is a short stroll to understand why Old Québec was named a UNESCO World Heritage Treasure.

From east to west, Québec City has it all. To the east, the thundering Montmorency Falls offer a superb view of the St. Lawrence River and Île d'Orléans. In the city, visitors enjoy Battlefields Park, also known as the Plains of Abraham. It was once the site of great battles between the French and English armies and is now a famous city park where recreation, culture, and history come together.

Further upstream is Bois-de-Coulonge Park, a lovely public garden. This riverside park is a must-see with its beautiful flower gardens and long history. To the west, astute visitors stop by Jacques-Cartier Beach Park, an oasis of greenery on the shores of the St. Lawrence.

And for more ambitious visitors, a network of bike trails beckons. They travel the length and breadth of the city and are an excellent way to discover how culture and nature are inextricably linked in Québec City only minutes from the heart of town are woodlands, waterways, and wildlife!

le fleuve saint laurent
Québec city enjoys a strategic location on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River where it meets the Rivière St. Charles. At this spot a large cliff rises and the river narrows. The indigenous population called it "kebec" (place where the river narrows), from which the city derives its name. The first European to explore the river was Jacques Cartier, in 1535.

basse ville
Old Québec is divided into the Lower Town and the Upper Town. The Lower Town was the first to be occupied by the French with the building of Champlain's fort in 1608. Close to the river, the merchants, traders, and shipbuilders earned a living. Residents later moved to the Haute Ville, at the top of the cliff, for safety. The Upper Town is still enclosed by walls and is accessible by stairs or funicular.

place royale
Place Royale, the heart of the Basse Ville, is the site of the first permanent French settlement in New France. Samuel de Champlain began work on his first fort here in 1608. Wealthy merchants built their houses in proximity to the St. Lawrence, the area bustled with economic activity, and was known as the "Place du Marché". The name changed to "Place Royale" when, in 1686, a bust of Louis XIV was erected.

During Wolfe's siege of the city in1759, the buildings on Place Royale lost roofs and interiors to enemy fire. The stone walls remained, however, and the buildings were reconstructed. Today Place Royale has been beautifully restored and is one of the oldest districts on the continent. The cobblestone square with its narrow streets, lovely church and stone houses testifies to four centuries of history. In the summer, concerts, plays and festivals can be enjoyed in the picturesque square.

notre-dame-des-victoires
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a charming stone church and the oldest in the city, was begun in 1688. When Admiral Phipps was defeated in 1690, thanks to the cannons of Place Royale, the church was named "Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire". (The Ursuline nuns had prayed for the city's deliverance, which they attributed to the Virgin Mary.)

When Admiral Walker's fleet was shipwrecked in the river in 1711, the church's name changed to "Notre-Dame-des-Victoires". The church's altar is sculpted in the form of a castle. A side chapel is dedicated to Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. Suspended from the ceiling is a model of "le Brezé", the ship which transported the Marquis de Tracy and soldiers to New France in 1664. Their mandate was to fight the Iroquois.

maison louis jolliet
This house was designed in 1663 for Jolliet, who co-discovered the Mississippi River with Father Jacques Marquette. Jolliet became a successful fur trader and navigator. In his later years he became hydrographer (one who charts bodies of water) for Louis XIV. He lived in this house until his death in 1700. It now serves as the lower station of the funicular, which provides transportation to the Dufferin Terrasse in the Haute Ville.

batterie royale
The Batterie was part of Louis XIV's defense system against the British. It was built in 1691; the cannons were added in 1712. Destroyed during the siege of 1759, it has been rebuilt several times.

quartier petit champlain
"The oldest shopping area in America" is a lively mix of boutiques and restaurants on quaint, narrow streets in the Basse Ville. The rue du Petit Champlain provides access to the Haute Ville by stairs and funicular.

statue de champlain
This monument to the Father of New France was created by French artists Paul Chevre and Paul le Cardonel. It was unveiled in 1898. Note that Champlain is facing towards the vast continent lying to the west, which awaits exploration. This statue is a good place for a group rendez-vous or photo when you are in Québec City.

UNESCO monument
Near the Champlain statue is a diamond shaped monument identifying the city as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Classified as such in 1985, it is the only city in North America with this distinction.

château frontenac
The most famous landmark of the city, the Château Frontenac was built in 1892 and1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, as part of a chain of luxurious hotels which would lure rail passengers across Canada. New York architect Bruce Price designed the hotel to resemble a château of the Loire Valley. Named for Louis de Buade, le comte de Frontenac, it occupies a site near where Governor Frontenac and subsequent governors lived in the Château Saint-Louis.

place d'armes
This square was known as la "Grande Place" under the French régime. It was a site for military parades and public speeches. The monument at the center commemorates the arrival of the Récollet missionaries in 1615.

rue du trésor
The street is so named because it once held the Royal Treasury where colonists went to pay their taxes. This narrow alley is now an open air art gallery and market, where one can find souvenir sketches of the city or stop to have a portrait done.

basilique-cathédrale notre dame
Built in 1647, this is the oldest Catholic site of worship in North America. It is the ecclesiastical seat of the archdiocese of Québec City and was once responsible for the religious administration of all New France, stretching to the Mississippi River. The interior of the church is richly decorated. Among its treasures is a chancel lamp given by Louis XIV. Governors Frontenac, de Callières and de la Jonquière, as well as most of the bishops of Québec, are buried in the crypt. The church was reduced to ruins during the British Conquest of 1759; rebuilding began in 1768 by Jean Baillarge, the first of four generations of the Baillarge family to contribute to the church's reconstruction.

séminaire de québec
Founded by Bishop Laval in 1663 as a training center for priests, the seminary had great influence on the intellectual and cultural development of the colony. It became the most important boys' school in Canada and later became Laval University, the first French speaking university in North America. Although the university has moved to Ste-Foy, its faculty of architecture still uses the original seminary buildings. This part of town, rues Couillard, Garneau and St-Jean, is sometimes referred to as the "Latin Quarter".

ursuline chapel and museum
The Ursuline nuns arrived in New France in 1639. They founded a convent and a girls' school, the first in North America, which still operates today. The museum's collection includes crafts, handiwork and artifacts of the 120 years of Ursuline life during the French régime (1639-1759). There are also artifacts made by native North Americans. The Ursuline chapel has been restored, but does contain much of the interior of the 1723 chapel. It houses the remains of Marie de l'Incarnation, co-founder of the convent, as well as those of General Montcalm, killed in the 1759 battle against General Wolfe.

porte st-louis and city walls
The cliffs provide a natural defense from the river, but early settlers wanted protection from a landbased attack as well. The French built a wooden palisade fence in 1690 along the western side of the city. In 1745, ramparts of dirt and stone were erected. It was the British who built the walls along the north and east sides which were completed by the early 1800's. At one time the gates were removed to provide for better traffic flow. Porte St-Louis and Porte Kent were rebuilt as château style structures during the beauti-fication program of Canadian Governor General Lord Dufferin (1872-1878). The Porte St-Jean was built in 1936 and Porte Prescott in 1983. Near the St-Louis Gate, the Poudrière de l'Esplanade serves as a reception center for Québec's fortifications. The ramparts can be explored via a three mile walkway along the top. Québec City has the distinction of being the only fortified city in North America, north of Mexico.

parc des champs-de-bataille
Today Battlefields Park covers 266 acres, stretching over Les Plaines d'Abraham, where Wolfe and Montcalm fought their crucial battle in 1759. The park is named after farmer Abraham Martin, who obtained the land between rue Claire Fontaine and rue Ste-Genevieve in 1646. The park was created in 1908 to celebrate Québec City's 300th anniversary. It is a favorite spot for bicycling, jogging, walking and cross-country skiing.

the citadelle
The first fort on this site, high above the St. Lawrence, was built in 1783 to protect the city from an anticipated invasion by the American colonies, who had tried to gain control of Québec in 1775. The present fortification was built in 1820 and became part of the walls around the city. The Citadelle is still occupied by troops, the Royal 22nd Regiment of the Canadian Army. On summer mornings they perform a changing of the guard ceremony. The Citadelle may be visited as part of a guided tour.

montmorency falls
Seven miles northeast of Québec City, where the Montmorency River joins the St. Lawrence, the Montmorency Falls plunge 83.5 meters (274 feet) over a cliff. The falls are higher than Niagara, although not as wide. A provincial park surrounds the waterfall, which may be viewed from a variety of platforms, a cable car, a footbridge at the top, or stairs which descend down one side from the top to near the bottom. In the winter, the freezing spray sent up by the falls builds a mountain of ice at the base called the "Sugarloaf" ("pain de sucre").