Old Quebec

Lore & Background

Samuel de Champlain chose the Upper Town as the site for Fort Saint Louis in 1608, and it remained the city's military and administrative centre due to its strategic position atop Cap Diamant. After the British Conquest, it was occupied mainly by British government officials and Catholic clergy, while French and English merchants lived in Lower Town. Military use hampered growth in the Upper Town, and a late-19th-century movement to demolish the fortifications was successfully opposed by Lord Dufferin, who persuaded officials to preserve and rebuild them. The area declined in the 1950s but saw new building construction beginning in the 1970s.

The Lower Town, at the bottom of Cap Diamant, contains the remains of Champlain's 1608 habitation, with Place Royale as its centre. The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires was started in 1687 and completed in 1723. The historic district was established by the National Assembly of Quebec on July 10, 1963, under Quebec's provincial legislation (the Cultural Property Act, later the Cultural Heritage Act), and was expanded the next year to 135 hectares. UNESCO declared the Historic District of Old Quebec a World Heritage Site on December 3, 1985.

Reader's Guide

Old Quebec's significance lies in its well-preserved colonial architecture and fortifications, representing a rare example of a fortified colonial city in North America. The Upper Town, with its 19th-century buildings and institutions like the Quebec City Hall, Séminaire de Québec, and Château Frontenac, contrasts with the Lower Town's restored French-flair district centred on Place Royale. The area's preservation was shaped by public debates from 1945 to 1965, leading to its designation as a provincial historic district in 1963 and UNESCO recognition in 1985. The historic district includes 1,400 buildings within La Cité, covering the promontory of Cap Diamant and a strip of land below the cliffs. Its legacy as a tourist destination and administrative centre continues, with the Old Quebec Funicular providing transport between the Upper and Lower Towns. The district's fortifications, once threatened with demolition, were preserved thanks to Lord Dufferin's intervention, ensuring the area's character remained intact.