جولة في المدينة مدينة كيبك — كيبك القديمة، كندا

Old Quebec on Foot: The Walls, the Château and the Lower Town

A five-kilometre loop through the only walled city north of Mexico: along the ramparts, across the Château Frontenac's terrace, down the Breakneck Stairs to Place Royale, and back up the hill.

صورة: Xavier Fournier-Blais · CC BY-SA 4.0
المدة
1 يوم
المسافة
5 كم
مستوى الصعوبة
سهل
أفضل موسم
June–October, plus February for the Winter Carnival
طباعة بطاقات الأيام قائمة التجهيز

Old Quebec is two towns stacked on a cliff. The Upper Town sits on the promontory of Cap Diamant inside a ring of stone walls, with the Château Frontenac on its eastern edge; the Lower Town is squeezed onto the strip of shore below, where Samuel de Champlain built his first habitation in 1608. The whole district has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, and its ramparts are the only intact colonial city walls in North America north of Mexico. This loop links both levels in the order that makes the climbs easiest: walls first, then the terrace, then down the stairs, then a slow walk back up.

The distances are short, but this is not a flat walk. The drop from Dufferin Terrace to Petit-Champlain is close to 60 metres, and Côte de la Montagne, the street that brings you back up, is steep and winding. You can shortcut either direction with the funicular. Give it a relaxed half day, or a full day if you go inside the churches, stop for lunch in the Lower Town and linger on the terrace at sunset.

What makes the route work is the contrast. Up top it is fortifications, government buildings and the long river view; below it is narrow lanes, 17th- and 18th-century stone houses and the square where French America began. Walk it early in the morning in summer, before the tour groups arrive, and Rue du Petit-Champlain is almost empty.

Getting there. Start at Porte Saint-Jean, the gate at the top of Rue Saint-Jean. From the Gare du Palais (VIA Rail trains from Montreal take about three and a quarter to three and a half hours) it is a short uphill walk. If you drive, leave the car in a public lot outside the walls; parking inside the old town is scarce.

Permits & tickets. The streets, walls, terrace and stairs are free. The funicular charges a small fare per ride, and the Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux archaeological site under the terrace is a Parks Canada site with its own seasonal hours and fee. Check the official sites before you go.

Good to know:

نصائح ومعلومات لهذا المسار تخططون لهذا المسار؟ اقرأوا نصائحنا العملية قبل الانطلاق — 9 نصائح. اقرأوا النصائح
تنزيل نقاط الطريق (GPX) نقاط اهتمام بترتيب المشي — وليست تتبّعًا للدرب.

يومًا بيوم

اليومالمسافةالصعودالهبوطوقت المشي
اليوم 1 أصعب يومPorte Saint-Jean to Place Royale and back
المسافة5 كمالصعودغير مسجّلالهبوطغير مسجّلوقت المشيغير مسجّل
اليوم 1

Porte Saint-Jean to Place Royale and back

Porte Saint-Jean ← Rue Saint-Jean 5 كم

A loop that walks the walls, crosses the Upper Town to the Château Frontenac, drops to the Lower Town by the oldest stairway in the city and climbs back past the basilica-cathedral.

مقاطع

  1. Along the ramparts 0.9 كم خريطة

    Porte Saint-Jean ← Porte Saint-Louis

    Walkway on top of the city walls and park paths

    Climb onto the walls near Porte Saint-Jean and follow them south past the Parc de l'Esplanade. The first walls went up in 1690; the line you are on dates from 1745, rebuilt and strengthened by the British in the early 19th century. In the late 1800s there was a push to tear them down as obsolete, and Lord Dufferin, then Governor General, persuaded the city to keep them. The whole circuit is 4.6 kilometres; this stretch shows you how the Upper Town was sealed off on its only side not protected by the cliff. Porte Saint-Louis, at the end, was first built in 1693 and took its present form in 1880. About 25 minutes.

    عن هذا المكان

    The ramparts of Quebec City is a city wall that surrounds the western end of Old Quebec's Upper Town in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The ramparts date back to the 17th century, with the ramparts having undergone a succession of modifications and improvements throughout their history. The city walls extend 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi), with the southern portions of the ramparts forming a part of the Citadelle of Quebec.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Judicieux · CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Rue Saint-Louis to Place d'Armes 0.7 كم خريطة

    Porte Saint-Louis ← Place d'Armes

    Old-town streets

    Walk down Rue Saint-Louis, the old town's main street, past stone houses and small hotels, to Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac fills its southern side: a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel designed by the New York architect Bruce Price, opened in 1893 and often called the most photographed hotel in the world. Its copper roofs sit about 80 metres above the promontory. Detour into narrow Rue du Trésor on the north side of the square, where local artists hang their prints. About 25 minutes.

    عن هذا المكان

    The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by New York architect Bruce Price in the Château style. It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. It is considered the most photographed hotel in the world.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Dufferin Terrace 0.4 كم خريطة

    Place d'Armes ← Upper station of the funicular

    Wide wooden boardwalk

    Step onto the boardwalk that wraps around the Château and runs along the cliff edge high above the St. Lawrence, with six gazebos and a view across to Lévis. It was inaugurated in 1879 and named for Lord Dufferin, who championed it. Walk south as far as you like (at its far end it becomes the Governors' Promenade toward the Citadelle), then come back north to the statue of Champlain and the top of the funicular. About 30 minutes.

    عن هذا المكان

    Terrasse Dufferin is a boardwalk that wraps around the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, Quebec, towards the Citadelle, overlooking the St. Lawrence River.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Wilfredor · CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. Down the Breakneck Stairs 0.3 كم خريطة

    Côte de la Montagne ← Rue du Petit-Champlain

    Steep stone and wooden stairs in four flights

    From the terrace, walk a few steps down Côte de la Montagne to the top of the Escalier Casse-Cou, the city's oldest stairway, built in 1635. It picked up its English name in the mid-19th century because of its steepness, and since an 1889 renovation it has come down in four flights, with shops tucked beside each landing. If you would rather not, the funicular from the terrace lands at the same spot: it climbs 59 metres at a 45-degree angle and has run since 1879. About 10 minutes.

    عن هذا المكان

    The Breakneck Stairs, or Breakneck Steps, is Quebec City's oldest stairway, built in 1635. Originally called escalier Champlain, escalier du Quêteux, or escalier de la Basse-Ville, they were given their current name in the mid-19th century, because of their steepness. The stairs, which connect Côte de la Montagne in the "Upper Town" to the corner of Rue du Petit-Champlain and Rue Sous-le-Fort in the "Lower Town", have been restored several times, including an 1889 renovation by Charles Baillargé which converted the steps from a single flight to four.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Christophe.Finot · CC BY-SA 2.5
  5. Rue du Petit-Champlain 0.5 كم خريطة

    Foot of the Breakneck Stairs ← Boulevard Champlain

    Narrow pedestrian lane

    The lane at the bottom of the stairs runs about 260 metres along the foot of the cliff and claims to be the oldest commercial district in North America. It is lined with stone houses turned into boutiques and bistros, and at number 102 a 100-square-metre trompe-l'oeil fresco tells the story of the quarter: the bombardment of 1759, landslides and fires. Walk to the end and back. About 35 minutes.

    عن هذا المكان

    Petit Champlain is a small commercial zone in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the neighbourhood of Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–colline Parlementaire in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou, near Place Royale and its Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church. Its main street is the Rue du Petit-Champlain at the foot of Cap Diamant. It is claimed that it's the oldest commercial district in North America.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Wilfredor · CC0
  6. Place Royale 0.3 كم خريطة

    Rue du Petit-Champlain ← Place Royale

    Cobbled square

    This small square is where Champlain founded Quebec in 1608, and where the city held its first market. A bust of Louis XIV set up in 1686 gave it its name. The stone church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, begun in 1687 on the site of Champlain's habitation and finished in 1723, is named for two French escapes from British attack, in 1690 and 1711. The square was badly damaged in the 1759 siege and restored from 1970 to its French colonial look. About 30 minutes, longer if you go inside the church.

    عن هذا المكان

    Place Royale is a historic square in the centre of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Gilbert Bochenek · CC BY-SA 3.0
  7. Côte de la Montagne to the basilica-cathedral 0.9 كم خريطة

    Place Royale ← Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec

    Steep, winding street

    Climb Côte de la Montagne, the steep old road between the two towns, and at the top turn onto Rue de Buade. The Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec stands on the site of a chapel Champlain built in 1633; it was burned in the 1759 siege and rebuilt, and in 1874 it became the first church in Canada raised to a minor basilica. François de Laval, the first bishop of Quebec, is buried in the crypt. The Séminaire de Québec, founded by Laval in 1663, is next door. About 40 minutes with a visit.

    عن هذا المكان

    The Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec is the primatial church and seat of the Archdiocese of Quebec, located at 16, rue de Buade, Quebec City, Quebec. It is the oldest church in Canada and the first to be elevated to the rank of minor basilica, receiving the honor from Pope Pius IX in 1874. Four governors of New France and the bishops of Quebec are buried in the crypt, including the first, François de Laval. The church is a National Historic Site of Canada, and located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic District of Old Québec.

    اقرأوا المزيد في ويكيبيديا صورة: Sylvainbrousseau · CC BY-SA 3.0
  8. Rue Saint-Jean 0.8 كم خريطة

    Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec ← Porte Saint-Jean

    Old-town streets

    Finish along Rue Saint-Jean, the Upper Town's liveliest street, back to the gate where you started. This is the place to stop for a drink or dinner; if you still have energy, keep walking out through the gate, where the street continues into the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood, where locals actually eat. About 25 minutes.

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