Québec City

Québec City is terraced down the side of a promontory overlooking the St. Lawrence River. It is the only walled metropolis north of Mexico, and its beautifully preserved old section (“Vieux-Québec”) has been designated a World Heritage site. Built on a precipitous cliff known as the Cap Diamant, Old Québec is divided into the Upper Town (“Haute Ville”) and Lower Town (“Basse Ville”), which are connected by cable car, a network of staircases and a tortuous road laced with hairpin bends. The Lower Town’s abandoned warehouses have been imaginatively restored and now contain many new boutiques and galleries. And in the Upper Town, the captivating Rue Saint-Jean is lined with fine specialty stores, convivial sidewalk cafés and bistros.