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Weather for Quebec City: CNN | Wunderground || Currency converter | xe.com
The cradle of French civilization in America,
Quebec City Canada was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. >>>Top
Quebec is a native word (Algonquin) meaning where the river narrows;
Quebec City is strategically situated
on the narrowest part of the 1000 kilometer long St. Lawrence river.
It was a site coveted for its ability to control maritime traffic.
No ship could sail towards the great lakes or to the Atlantic ocean without permission from whomever occupied Quebec city and placed a few cannons on both shores of the St. Lawrence river.
If you controlled Quebec City,
you "owned" the Great Lakes.Quebec City is probably the most bombed city in America; it was bombed by British, American and French forces.
Quebec City is home to the only preserved and maintained walled city in North America.
Other walled cities in North America are in St. Augustine, Florida and Charleston, South Carolina.
In Quebec City, la Citadelle is the largest military fortification in North America
Construction of the Star shapped fortress Citadelle began in 1820. It took 30 years to complete.
Military tradition is maintained by the beating of retreat and the changing of the guard in the summertime. The Citadelle is on top of Cape Diamond 320 ft above the St. Lawrence River.
The Clarendon hotel was built in 1870 is in the heart of historical Old Quebec. It is the oldest hotel in Quebec City. This hotel also houses the Charles Baillairgé restaurant, the first fine cuisine dining room in Canada.
The World's Biggest Winter Carnival. The Québec Winter Carnival is a unique and exciting event that offers up a dazzling array of world-class sporting, artistic and cultural activities that provide an opportunity to rediscover the wonders of winter.
Ile d’Orléans - The Island of Orleans is one of the earliest French settlements; more than 300 families settled on the island. It has long been known for its fertile farmlands, the quality of the island produce is still among Québec’s best.
The Quebec City Bridge.
Opened to traffic in 1917, a major engineering feat in its day, the bridge still stands as one of the world's great bridges.
Le pont de Québec, in Quebec City is the longest cantilever type bridge in the world.The Queen Mary 2 is the largest, longest, tallest and widest passenger ship ever conceived. The Queen Mary 2 is as tall as a 21-story building. She will be over a hundred feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, over four city blocks in length and she is sailed to Quebec City twice 2004 !
Official Queen Mary 2 website from Cunard.
As they say: "Relish the plethora of extravagant amenities"
Queen Mary 2 Facts and Figures
Queen Mary 2 makes first Canadian call and wows Quebec City
Quebec city is a popular port of call for many cruise ships such as the
Brilliance of the Seas, Carnival Legend, Crystal, Symphony, Constellation, Galaxy, Grandeur of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Maasdam, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Sea, Prisendam, Queen Elisabeth 2, Regal Princess, Rotterdam, Seabourn Pride, Seven Seas navigator and Silver Shadow to name a few.
Residensea - The World
The web's largest cruise ship database
2005 Schedule from Quebec City Port Authority
Mural of Quebecers or Quebec mural is a five story three dimensional painting that displays a very successful trompe-l'oeil (to trick the eye) effect.
It depicts several notable people in Quebec history such as:
François de Montmorency-Laval,
Louis-Joseph Papineau,
François-Xavier Garneau,
Jacques Cartier,
Jean Talon,
Comte de Frontenac,
Louis Jolliet,
Samuel de Champlain,
Lord Dufferin,
Felix Leclerc ...Founded in 1639, by Marie Guyart de l'Incarnation of the Ursuline order of nuns, le couvent des Ursulines - the Ursulines convent in Quebec City is the oldest still running school for girls in North America. French general Montcalm who was defeated by British general Wolfe and who died at the battle of the plains of Abraham in 1759 is buried in the chapel of the convent; General Wolfe who was also killed during this historic battle is buried in England.
Of all the hotels in Quebec City, the hotel that really stands out is a magnificent castle-like structure with copper turrets and stone towers:
Le Chateau Frontenac is over 100 years old and is the landmark of Quebec City.
It is probably the most photographed hotel in the world.
It is very luxurious; many rich and famous people have stayed in one of the 605 rooms at the Chateau Frontenac including King George the 6th and Queen Elizabeth. Some others are Princess Grace of Monaco, Charles De Gaulle, Ronald Reagan, Lady Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew, Edith Piaf, Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Karloff, Elizabeth Taylor, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Prince Philip, Richard Nixon, Nancy Lyon and many more.
The Chateau Frontenac was designed by New York architect Bruce Price for William Van Horne, President of Canadian Pacific Railways and was inaugurated on December 20, 1893.
Travel & Leisure Magazine ranks the Chateau Frontenac Hotel as one of world's 100 grandest, Condé Nast Traveller as one of the top 500 hotels in the world, and Gourmet Magazine as Canada's Number One hotel.Still published weekly, the Quebec City Chronicle Telegraph founded in 1764, is the oldest English Language
newspaper in North America.Laval University
Université Laval traces its origins back to 1663, when Monseigneur François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, founded the Séminaire de Québec. Laval University was the very first institution in North America to offer higher education in French; it is the source of all French-speaking higher education on the American continent.A few kilometers from Quebec City Canada, the Montmorency Water Falls
are 106 feet taller than the Niagara Falls.A few kilometers from old Quebec City you will also find the only Ice Hotel in America, the first one was built in December 2000 and is reconstructed every year.
The Funicular is a slanted at 45 degree elevator that travels from upper town to lower town.
Work began on the Funicular in April 1879.to be continued...
