Car Hire in Quebec City, Canada
Québec City, A Flavor of Old Europe in North America
By Clint Leung
One could possibly get an idea of old Europe right in North America when
visiting Québec City throughout Canada. Québec Metropolis is definitely the main city on the
province of Québec. It can also be effortlessly achieved with a short flight
from points in the northeastern United States as well as eastern Canada.
It is really a 3 hours drive through Montreal. The high season could be the
summer whenever tourists from around the globe visit. Recently, the
number of vacationers from the United States and Europe offers
increased dramatically. This can be partly due to the reality that
even some luxury cruise ships via eastern US ports are now
including Québec City as a port of call.
Back in 1608, explorer Samuel de Champlain saw the opportunity of
the natural citadel right here and also set up a fur buying and selling post. With the
fortifications of the Upper Town of Québec City became the area
where government and religious establishments setup. Meanwhile,
merchants as well as craftsmen settled in the Lower Town along the St.
Lawrence River. Québec City was fought over by the English and
the French often times throughout conflicts in the 17th and also 18th centuries.
The English ultimately had taken the town over in 1759 resulting with New
France becoming a British colony. Québec City remains to be considered
as the particular cradle associated with French civilization in North America. The previous
quarter in the city ended up being proclaimed a world heritage site simply by UNESCO
in 1985 and is particularly the sole fortified city within North America.
Today, the turning streets and walkways in the old quarter of
Québec City is filled with sophisticated restaurants, bistros, cafes,
museums, galleries and retail outlets. There are artists
selling their own artwork in certain of the alleys. Most of the
restaurants within the old quarter are generally smaller, self-sufficient enterprise
instead as compared to large chains and they replenish rapidly during hectic
intervals so advance bookings are recommended. One of the
landmarks of Québec City will be the huge medieval looking hotel, the
Château Frontenac which along with the adjacent Terrasse
Dufferin, overlooks the St. Lawrence River. A one of a kind
funicular links the Upper Town with the Lower Town. There are
also several more compact hotels right in the old quarter. The previous
quarter can be visited by car where there are parking areas
strategically located.
Just outside of the walls of the old quarter will be the remainder of downtown
Québec City where more recent high rise hotels such as the Hilton and
Loews are located. Along the major street of Grand Allée is
another portion of restaurants and cafes, many of them coasted a
bit less than the ones within the old quarter which gives
guests much more cuisine choices. It is a very easy stroll from Grand
Allée towards the old quarter.
Still another alternative for each accommodation and also dining is in
the Sainte Foy area that is a 10 minute travel west of downtown
Québec City. In fact, Sainte Foy is in fact closer to the
airport and is well symbolized by lower priced hotels for example
Best Western, Travelodge, Comfort Inn and Days Inn. During the
high period, a few of the hotels in Sainte Foy offer free shuttle
bus service to the old quarter of Québec City. Sainte Foy also
has two shopping malls side by side along the main street of
Laurier Boulevard.
Guests may also desire to drive 30 minutes east of Québec City to
the small village of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré which has among the
most famous churches in North America, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Basilica. This site was built-in the mid 17th century and
receives 1.5 million visitors each year. Along the way is really a 272
foot high water falls visible in the highway called the Chute
Montmorency.
Although summer time will be the high season, Québec City gets a fair
number of visitors to its Carnaval festival in February and also the
major ski resort Mont Sainte-Anne is busy using the ski and
snowboard crowds all winter. Most skiers and snowboarders going
to Mont Sainte-Anne use Québec City as the base for
accommodations and dining. An added winter attraction during the
last couple of years has been the Ice Hotel near Lac Sainte-Joseph
which was modeled after the one in Europe.
Québec City became one of Canada's top tourist destinations
with points of interest all year round catering to both summer and
winter visitors. With the added old European charm, it is the
closest thing to finding yourself in Europe without really leaving North
America.
About the Author:
Clint Leung is who owns Free Spirit Gallery
http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing
in Inuit Eskimo as well as Northwest Native American art including
carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous
information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and
Native Indian art as well as free eCards.
JMV-10-11v2
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