WINTER IN QUÉBEC, FROM CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC TO PETIT-CHAMPLAIN
From Château Frontenac, the castle-like hotel overlooking the city from Cap Diamant, to the shops lit up for Christmas, with the St. Lawrence River beyond. My memories of Québec City.
Québec City is one of the places that has left the deepest impression on me. In the historic center, the streets change direction and elevation, linking the grand buildings of Upper Town to the houses clustered at the foot of the cliff. The photographs capture these changing perspectives, from sweeping views of the river to narrow lanes where the façades seem almost to touch.
Château Frontenac, now a five-star Fairmont hotel, opened in 1893, designed by Bruce Price for the Canadian Pacific Railway. I remember the pleasure of stopping at the bar for an afternoon aperitif, taking in the view from those elegant surroundings. Beside the hotel runs Dufferin Terrace, a long wooden boardwalk following the edge of the promontory.
Between the Frontenac and the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral lies Rue du Trésor, the artists’ street. Watercolors, prints and paintings are displayed here, particularly in the warmer months; nearby, Rue Sainte-Anne is home to portrait artists and caricaturists. These are streets to rediscover on foot, pausing along the way, without rushing to complete an itinerary.
Descending into Lower Town brings you to Petit-Champlain, beside Place Royale, in the area where Samuel de Champlain founded Québec in 1608. The scale changes: broad views of the St. Lawrence give way to stone façades and shops close enough to touch as you pass. The relationship between these two levels is part of the character of Old Québec, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985.
In the photographs, Rue du Petit-Champlain is recognizable by its narrow roadway, hanging signs and illuminated fir trees outside the doors. Snow gathers along the edges of the street; the yellow glow of the shop windows spills onto the paving. Decorations follow the lines of the houses and, in the evening views, pick out window frames and entrances. I like this intimate scale of Christmas, so closely tied to the life of the shops.
The views from the top of the street bring to mind the Casse-Cou stairway: 59 steps linking Côte de la Montagne to Rue du Petit-Champlain. The name, “Breakneck,” aptly describes the steepness. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Rue Sous-le-Fort offers a view of the Frontenac from below, framed by stone houses. In the evening photographs, people walk beneath red and white decorations as the light from the shops takes over from daylight.
GALLERY
Québec City at dusk, with illuminated streets and the city’s rooftops.
Québec City under snow: Château Frontenac rises above the rooftops of the old town, with the St. Lawrence River beyond.
The illuminated tower of Château Frontenac appears between the façades of Upper Town.
Château Frontenac lit up above the buildings of Old Québec, amid snow-covered trees and streets.
Snow falls at night in an Old Québec square, among trees, streetlamps and illuminated façades.
A street in the old town, lined with stone façades and trees laden with snow.
The shops of Petit-Champlain decorated for Christmas, with small illuminated fir trees along the street.
Rue du Petit-Champlain under snow, with hanging signs and small illuminated trees outside the shops.
Historic façades, shop windows and illuminated fir trees along the snowy streets of Old Québec.
A monument and the illuminated façades of an Upper Town square on a winter night.
A historic building and a kiosk lit up for Christmas in Québec City.
A tree-lined street on a winter night, with lamplight reflected on the snow.
A tall fir tree and a snow-covered avenue in Québec City’s winter landscape.
The shops of Petit-Champlain, with colorful façades, wreaths and illuminated fir trees.
A stone house in Old Québec, with a red door and shutters and small fir trees decorated for Christmas.
Château Frontenac appears above the rooftops of the Petit-Champlain district in the evening light.
La Fresque des Québécois: the large mural among the houses of Lower Town, near Place Royale.
A lane in Petit-Champlain lit up with Christmas trees and wreaths.
Overhead lights and Christmas decorations outside the shops of the Petit-Champlain district.
Château Frontenac lit up on a winter night above the snow-covered old town.
Stone façades and illuminated restaurants in Québec City’s historic center.
One of Québec City’s fortified gates on a winter night, with people walking through the snow.
A small church flanked by fir trees lit up for the holidays.
A red-roofed house lit up for the holidays, with snow outside its entrances.
A historic building with Christmas lights and decorations on its façade.
A stairway and the entrances to Old Québec’s stone houses, amid snow and small illuminated trees.
Rue du Petit-Champlain at night, with snowflake-shaped lights along the shops.
Shop windows, doorways and Christmas decorations in the Petit-Champlain district.
Christmas decorations outside the shops of Petit-Champlain, with wreaths and snow-laden fir trees.
A snow-covered, tree-lined avenue in the warm glow of the streetlamps.
Rue du Petit-Champlain during the holidays: people walking among the snow and illuminated shops.
Rue du Petit-Champlain seen from the area around the Casse-Cou steps, with Christmas decorations and shop signs.
Rue du Petit-Champlain at night, with small illuminated trees and snowflake decorations suspended above the street.
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Sure-com America – Alessandro Sicuro
Brand Strategist | Photographer | Art Director | Project Manager
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