Quebec City A Taste Of Old Europe In North America

O ne can get a taste of old        Meanwhile, merchants and           Europe right in North           craftsmen settled in the Lower     America when visiting           Town along the St. Lawrence        Québec City in Canada. Québec      River. Québec City was fought     City is the capital of the            over by the English and the        province of Québec. It can be       French many times during wars in   easily reached by a short flight      the 17th and 18th centuries. The  from points in the northeastern       English finally took the city      United States and eastern Canada.     over in 1759 resulting with New    It is a three hour drive from        France becoming a British colony.  Montreal. The high season is         Québec City is still considered  the summer when visitors from all     as the cradle of French            over the world visit. Recently,      civilization in North America.     the number of tourists from the       The old quarter of the city was    United States and Europe has          declared a world heritage site by  increased dramatically. This may     UNESCO in 1985 and is the only     be partly due to the fact that        fortified city in North America.   even some cruise ships                                                   originating from eastern US ports     Today, the winding streets and     are now including Québec City as     alleys of the old quarter of       a port of call.                       Québec City is filled with                                              elegant restaurants, bistros,      Back in 1608, explorer Samuel de      cafes, museums, art galleries and  Champlain saw the potential of        retail shops. There are artists   the natural citadel here and          selling their artwork in some of   founded a fur trading post. With     the alleys. Most of the           the fortifications of the Upper       restaurants in the old quarter     Town of Québec City became the       are smaller, independent business  area where government and             rather than large chains and they  religious institutions set up.        fill up quickly during busy        periods so advance reservations       Still another alternative for      are recommended. One of the         both accommodation and dining is   landmarks of Québec City is the      in the Sainte Foy area which is a  huge medieval looking hotel, the      10 minute drive west of downtown   Château Frontenac which along        Québec City. In fact, Sainte     with the adjacent Terrasse            Foy is actually closer to the      Dufferin, overlooks the St.           airport and is well represented    Lawrence River. A one of a kind      by lower priced hotels such as     funicular connects the Upper Town     Best Western, Travelodge, Comfort  with the Lower Town. There are       Inn and Days Inn. During the      also several smaller hotels right     high season, some of the hotels    in the old quarter. The old           in Sainte Foy offer free shuttle   quarter can be visited by car and     bus service to the old quarter of  there are parking areas               Québec City. Sainte Foy also     strategically located.                has two shopping malls side by                                           side along the main street of      Just outside the walls of the old     Laurier Boulevard.                 quarter is the rest of downtown                                          Québec City where newer high         Visitors may also want to drive    rise hotels such as the Hilton        30 minutes east of Québec City    and Loews are located. Along the      to the small village of            main street of Grand Allée is        Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré which has  another section of restaurants        one of the most famous churches    and cafes, many of them priced a      in North America,                  bit lower than the ones within        Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica.  the old quarter which gives            This site was built in the mid    visitors more dining choices. It     17th century and receives 1.5      is a very easy walk from Grand        million visitors per year. Along  Allée to the old quarter.            the way is a 272 foot high water                                         falls visible from the highway     called the Chute Montmorency.         the last few years has been the                                          Ice Hotel near Lac Sainte-Joseph   Although the summer is the high       which was modeled after the one    season, Québec City gets a fair      in Europe.                         number of visitors to its                                                Carnaval festival in February and     Québec City has become one of     the major ski resort Mont             Canada's top tourist destinations  Sainte-Anne is busy with the ski      with attractions all year round    and snowboard crowds all winter.      catering to both summer and        Most skiers and snowboarders          winter visitors. With the added   going to Mont Sainte-Anne use         old European charm, it is the      Québec City as the base for          closest thing to being in Europe   accommodations and dining. An        without actually leaving North     added winter attraction during        America.                           About the Author: Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and 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. Source: www.isnare.com