Les remparts

Québec City is the only city north of Mexico to have retained its city walls. Many cities in North America had walls. Montreal had a city wall, but that wall is long gone. New York City had a wall, but it is long gone as well; Wall Street is the sole vestige. Here in the capital of Québec however, we still have them: 4.6 kilometers of Sillery sandstone that surround the upper town.

Wherever you are in Old Québec, its ramparts are nearby to complete the scene. At the top of the Côte de la montagne, sturdy stone stands guard over the site of the city’s first cemetery. Alongside of Auteuil Street, you’ll see the walls watching westward over the National Assembly and the government buildings of Parliament Hill.  On both sides of St. John’s Gate, they form the backdrop for the artistic venues of la Place d’Youville.

In fact, the city walls are woven into the very cultural fabric of this place. Go cheer on the minor league hockey team, the Remparts, and you will see on their jerseys a stylized ‘R,’ made to resemble a fortified wall.  And don’t forget the city’s flag: a golden ship bordered by a crenelated wall, just like the city itself.

12 thoughts on “Les remparts”

  1. What a great picture. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and our wonderful city with the whole world. Thanks for being who you are.

  2. We enjoyed visiting your beautiful city this fall! Was really impressed with the friendliness that was shown us by some of the youth in Montreal one fine evening!Beautiful photo!

  3. Your beautiful picture and caption bring back the charm of Quebec discovered on our recent tour with you – one of the highlights of our QM2 cruise.

  4. Hi…our bus tour group thoroughly enjoyed your guided tour of the “Old City” this August. We were impressed with your knowledge and enthusiasm. This photo shows the night-time beauty of area…which we missed.
    Thank you for your monthly updates. Best Regardds…Dianne {*!*}

  5. And walking on the fortifications all around Québec City is certainly one of the most interesting tour to do to visit our Unesco site.

  6. What a beautiful picture. Love the idea of the photograph at night. It was amazing to walk along this wall when we visited this during early October.

  7. colette parayre

    Superbes photo et reportage, Neil. Tu es l exemple du dicton: ” “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” car ton oeil voit la beauté ! Merci du partage…Colette

  8. Thank you for the wonderful excursion of Quebec and Rapids. It was a lovely informative day. You enthusiasm for the city made it all the more interesting

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top