Lévis
A short ferry ride
29 August 2007
According to our guide book the best way to get a view of Québec is to take the ten minute ferry ride across the Saint-Laurent to the town of Lévis on the far side.
What a surprise to get to the port you have to go all the way down - with the fun prospect of climbing back up on the return trip.
So, down the cliff we went, passing one of the famous murals near the Place Royale where Champlain had his first cabin built and so founded the new town.
It is possible to take a cruise around the area but for our purposes the ferry was going to do the job and for a lot less money. They run about every thirty minutes and provide an easy method of traversing the river.
Once on the far side we found that there wasn't much to be had at all - without having first climbed the hill to the lookout point.
We followed the road up a way and then came across a set of steps which we decided to climb. Well, those took us to a very pretty row of houses but there was still no real sign of the town centre.
We did find the lookout though and recovered our breath whilst looking across at the outline of Québec, with the citadelle to the left and the Château Frontenac hotel on the right.
The Château Frontenac has become as much of a symbol for Québec as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris and appears on almost every postcard you can buy of Québec.
From the lookout we were also able to see the church spire in Lévis which gave us an idea as to which direction to head in search of something to eat. We soon found a small bar called Le Barricade which was offering a good range of meals.
Its clientele appeared to be locals with a few wearing the checked shirts with which we associate Canadians. The thing that immediately struck JJ and I however was not so much the decor or the food - which was very good - but the fact that they were listening to Edith Piaf.
We remarked a couple of times in Québec that lunch menus seemed to come with a complimentary soup and it was always the case that as soon as you said you were going to eat you were served a glass of water - something that didn't happen in Toronto (and with similarly hot temperatures would have been very welcome).
Our rather large lunch eaten and a beer taken the pair of us were just about fit to wander along the cliff top amongst the houses before finding somewhere to sit and just look out across the river.
The climb down was facilitated by yet another staircase which must have had the best part of a hundred steps but left us just short walk from the ferry terminal. A second short cruise across the Saint-Laurent and we were back in Québec.
The Place Royale and Petit-Champlain
The Sun King in the Place Royale
The weather had turned very warm again so we took a moment to walk around the maze of wee streets which surrounds Champlain's original town. The word quaint almost springs to mind but it doesn't feel old enough. It is all very open and clean and the stone buildings at times reminded me of parts of Armagh.
This entire sector of the lower town is a warren of alleyways and for those who cannot face the climb back up the hillside there is also a funicular railway. The stairway from the main road leading from the upper town is called Casse-Cou or Break-Neck so as our guide book says - you have been warned.
The buildings are 17th and 18th century and house a Visitors' Centre as well as one of the oldest churches in the town: Notres-Dame des Victoires.
It is also very touristy with cafés and boutiques everywhere. Jean-Jacques bought himself a tub of ice-cream and then it was: oh dear ! back up the hillside to the Musée du Fort where they have a panorama showing the battles around Québec.
We were the only two there for a French commentary and it was actually very interesting. At least with the ground laid out in front of us like a large 3D map with soldiers and boats the history was a lot easier to follow. Puffs of smoke poured out of the town as it was bombarded by the Royal Navy and selective lighting guided you to where the action was taking place. All in all it was well worth the few dollars it cost us for the half hour show.
The day had remained very hot and it was thankfully slightly down hill to the hotel where full use was made of their indoor swimming pool. Tonight the pool, tomorrow: the sea.
See also