Quebec travel guide — Quebec tourism and travel information

Quebec travel guide

about Quebec

Quebec City (officially, Québec), a Canadian city, is the capital of Quebec. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux Québec), the only fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The city has a population of 169,076 (2001), while the metropolitan area has a population of 682,757 (2001).

To differentiate between Quebec the city and Quebec the province, the city is referred to as Quebec City. In French, the province is called le Québec ("in Quebec" = au Québec) while the city is simply Québec without the le. "In Quebec City" is à Québec. Officially, the city is called Québec (with an acute accent, no "city") by both the provincial and federal governments in both languages.

The mayor of Quebec City is Jean-Paul L'Allier.

Quebec geography

The city is perched on Cap Diamant, a large rock outcropping at the edge of the Saint Lawrence River, whose topography encouraged its defensive use. The thinness of the strait between Quebec City and Lévis on the opposite shore give the city and consequently the province its name (kebek is an Algonquian word for "narrow passage").

Quebec history

Quebec City is the oldest extant European settlement in Canada. It was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 on the site of a First Nations settlement called Stadacona. It was to this settlement that the name Canada refers (kanata is an Iroquoian word meaning "village").

Quebec City was captured by the British in 1629 and held until 1632.

As mentioned above, this city was the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham during the Seven Years War, in which British troops under General James Wolfe defeated the French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and took the city. France later ceded New France to Britain.

During the American Revolution, the British garrison at Quebec City was assaulted by American troops in the Battle of Quebec. The defeat of the Americans put an end to their hopes that Canada would also rebel.

Quebec City was capital of Canada from 1859 to 1865, the last before Ottawa. The Quebec Conference on Canadian Confederation was held here.

In World War II two conferences were held in Quebec City. The first one was held in 1943 with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (United States' president), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom's prime minister), Mackenzie King (Canada's prime minister) and T.V. Soong. (China's minister of foreign affairs). The second one was held in 1944 and was attended by Churchill and Roosevelt. They took place in the buildings of the Citadelle and of nearby Chateau Frontenac.

In April 2001, Quebec City hosted the Summit of the Americas to discuss the Free Trade Area of the Americas; it also hosted massive anti-globalization demonstrations, provoked both by the summit and by the decision to wall off a large portion of the historic city with a four-metre-high chain-link fence for the duration. Police forces were widely accused of excessive use of force during the demonstrations.

On January 1, 2002, Quebec City and 12 other municipalities of the Communauté urbaine de Québec were merged into to the new Quebec City "megacity," which is divided into 8 boroughs:

Residents of Quebec City are called Québécois. To avoid confusion with Québécois meaning an inhabitant of the province, the term Québécois de Québec is sometimes used (as opposed to Québécois du Québec - in French, the city is Québec and the province, le Québec.)

Near cities to Quebec

• Levis travel guide 4.2 km
• Trois travel guide 110 km
• Sherbrooke travel guide 170 km
• Terrebonne travel guide 220 km
• Longueuil travel guide 230 km
• Edmundston travel guide 230 km
• Montreal travel guide 230 km
• Laval travel guide 240 km
• Caribou travel guide 240 km
• Berlin travel guide 260 km

Near webcams to Quebec

• Montreal webcam 230 km
• Montreal - Old Port webcam 230 km
• Montreal webcam 230 km
• Montréal - iSci webcam 230 km
• Montreal - Old Montreal webcam 230 km
• Montreal - Botanical gardens webcam 240 km
• Presque Isle webcam 250 km
• Farmington - Streetcam webcam 260 km
• Jackson Ski Touring Area webcam 300 km
• Huntington webcam 310 km

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Quebec travel services

cheap flights to Quebec

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City Travel Guide is exclusive partner of four main cheap airline tickets and cheap flights online booking systems. We are happy to offer cheap airline tickets Quebec, cheap flights Quebec, also available cheap airline tickets to Canada and to the whole world. Up to date cheap flights Quebec deals also available.

cheap Quebec hotels

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City Travel Guide is exclusive partner of main cheap hotels and accommodation online booking systems. We are happy to offer cheap hotels in Quebec, Canada hotel guide and cheap hotels and accommodation in lot of other world-wide destinations. Up to date cheap Quebec hotel deals and discount accommodation tips also available.

cheap Quebec vacations

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City Travel Guide is exclusive partner of main cheap vacations online booking systems. We are happy to offer cheap vacations in Quebec, Canada vacation rentals and cheap vacations in lot of other destinations world-wide. Up to date Quebec vacation deals also available.

cheap car rentals in Quebec

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City Travel Guide is exclusive partner of main car rentals online booking systems. We are happy to offer car rentals in Quebec, car hire in Canada and cheap car rental in lot other world-wide destinations. Up to date cheap Quebec car hire deals also available.

Quebec travel insurance

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City Travel Guide is exclusive partner of Essential Travel Ltd., leading online travel insurance company, we can offer you health travel insurance for Quebec, accident health Quebec travel insurance, all using our online Quebec travel insurance form. We also offer travel insurance for other cities in Canada. This offer is available for UK residents only.

Quebec real estate

• Quebec real estate guide »
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City Travel Guide comes with Quebec real estate guide with several tips on home valuation, realtors comparison, secrets on finding the "right" home, loans guide and other helpful real estate advices. Our partners also maintain Quebec property for sale and rental listings, real estate laws and reviews. We will try to help you with buying property in Canada, choosing real estate agents, property finders, relocation help, and information for English speakers wanting to buy real estate in Quebec.

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Quebec travel books

Quebec travel guide books

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Quebec maps and atlases

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