Quebec City Walking Tour

Quartier du Petit Champlain is a small commercial zone in Quebec City. 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. In French it is referred to as a quartier (neighbourhood) although it is not an official one recognized by the City. It is named after Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec City in 1608. The mural painted on the side of the house located at 102 rue du Petit-Champlain (currently owned by Coopérative des artisans et commerçants du quartier Petit Champlain) is a trompe-l'œil measuring 100m2 (900 ft2). It represents the history of the district, the bombardments of 1759, the landslides, and the fires which have occurred in the district. The Breakneck Stairs or Breakneck Steps (French: Escalier casse-cou), Quebec City's oldest stairway, were built in 1635. Originally called escalier Champlain 'Champlain Stairs', escalier du Quêteux 'Beggars' Stairs', or escalier de la Basse-Ville 'Lower Town Stairs', they were given their current name in the mid-19th century, because of their steepness. The stairs have been restored several times, including an 1889 renovation by Charles Baillargé'

The Place Royale is the historical heart of the city of Quebec. Located in the historic district of Old Quebec, which was classified World Heritage in 1985 by UNESCO, Place-Royale, whose SODEC owns 26 buildings, is bounded by the Saint-Pierre street, the coast of Mountain and Petit-Champlain Street. It includes several historical, tourist and cultural buildings. Nowadays, the square is bounded by the Rue des Pains Bénits, Notre-Dame Street and Rue de la Place. The Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, the oldest still existing stone church in North America, closed the Place Royale in the south. In the center is the bust of Louis XIV, king during the rise of the colony of New France. Nicknamed 'the cradle of French civilization in America', Place Royale extends to the site where Samuel de Champlain started the construction of a fortified post in 1608, the first habitation of Quebec City thus creating the oldest French settlement permanent in America 1, 2. The buildings that are then built, like the stores of the Roy, serve in particular to the fur trade with the Amerindians, who occupied the places occasionally to fish and exchange their products.

The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec ('Our Lady of Quebec City'), located at 16, rue de Buade, Quebec City, Quebec, is the primatial church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. It is the oldest church in Canada and was the first church in Canada to be elevated to the rank of minor basilica, by Pope Pius IX in 1874. Four governors of New France and the bishops of Quebec are buried in the crypt, including François de Laval, Quebec's first bishop. The church is a National Historic Site of Canada, and located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic District of Old Québec. Located on this site since 1647, and was given the name Notre-Dame de la Paix. The cathedral has twice been destroyed by fire throughout the centuries. The building is located on the site of a chapel constructed by Samuel de Champlain in 1633. A previous iteration of the church was destroyed during the Siege of Quebec in 1759. It was rebuilt from plans by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry draughted in 1743. The belltower, however, was designed by Jean Baillairgé, who also oversaw construction. The interior was designed by Jean Baillairgé and his son François from 1786–1822. In 1843, François' son, Thomas, suggested a reconstruction of the façade to resemble the church of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, resulting in the finest Neo-classic façade in Québec. The cathedral was richly decorated with impressive works of art: baldaquin, canopy, episcopal throne dais, stained glass windows, paintings, and chancel lamp (a gift of Louis XIV). In 1922 the church was again gutted by fire, this time by the Canadian faction of the Ku Klux Klan, and restored by architects Maxime Roisin and Raoul Chenevert. Raoul Chenevert added a presbytery beside the Cathedral in 1931-32. In 2014 the cathedral celebrated its 350th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, a holy door was constructed—the second outside Europe and only the eighth in the world. The holy door was opened on December 8, 2013 and remained open until December 28, 2014. It again opened from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016 for the Year of Mercy after which it was sealed until 2025. The cathedral was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 1989 because '...of its long and close associations with the history of New France; its influence on subsequent ecclesiastical architecture and interior decoration in Québec.

The Ramparts of Quebec City are the only remaining fortified city walls in North America north of Mexico. The British began refortifying the existing walls, after they took Quebec City from the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. The wall, which runs on the eastern extremity on the Promontory of Quebec, surrounds most of Old Quebec, which was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1985. The fortifications were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1948. The ramparts have four surviving gates: Porte St. Jean: dates back to at least 1694, was demolished in 1791 because of its poor condition and rebuilt. This gate lasted until 1865 when it was demolished and rebuilt again. The present gate was built in 1939. Porte St. Louis: dates back to at least 1694 was demolished in 1791 because of its poor condition and rebuilt. This gate lasted until 1823 when it was replaced. It was eventually removed altogether in 1871 before being replaced by the present gate in 1880 by Lord Dufferin. Porte Prescott: erected in 1797 by, and named after Robert Prescott. It was demolished in 1871. The current gate was built in 1983. Porte Kent: erected in 1879 was named after Queen Victoria's father The Duke of Kent.