Quintessential Québec City: The City’s “Champs- Elysées”

Québec City will always stand-out from amongst the other big cities in Canada. Its charming quaintness emanates from a blend of North American and European cultures that is not intrinsically and purely North American, but not comprehensively European either. Rather, it has a unique characteristic that embraces the combined heritage of all the peoples that have lived in that land while never losing touch with its French connections. The result is a seamless amalgamation of various elements of culture that gives it its very own distinct identity.

It is not unusual to hear first time visitors say that being in the city is like being in Europe, but after at least half a day, they’d realize that they are very much still in North America. It happened to me.

The first time I set foot in Québec City on a cruise many years back, I felt transported to another continent as our ship docked at the Saint-Lawrence River and I got a glimpse of the old stone houses in the distance. It was nothing like Vancouver or Toronto…and even its sister city, Montréal.

The architecture, the language, the vibe, the air of antiquity, particularly in the Old Town, all scream, “I am ancient and I have a long, colourful story to tell…” Yet, after my encounter with the locals, I knew I was still home. This is still Canada…but the wonderfully whimsical part of Canada. And I never get tired of exploring it every time I go back.

Our 2017 visit to Québec City was the longest one, out of our other trips. That time, we stayed for five days to watch the parade and enjoy the festivities of Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France (The New France Festival). We spent a lot of time wandering around and getting to know its neighbourhoods a little better.

In 2018, we went back to accompany our son when he participated in a national chess tournament. We stayed for four days. In between matches and after the last match of each day, we’d go for walks and sightseeing.

This series will be about the neighbourhoods that we explored.

Grande Allée

Grande Allée is said to be Québec City’s very own Champs-Elysées. This tree-lined street is renowned for its elegant shops, restaurants with sidewalk patios, and lively nightlife.

Since our hotel, Hôtel Château Laurier, was only a block away from Grande Allée, we had plenty of choices for fine dining.

On the night of our arrival, we just ate in our hotel room since it was late and we were tired. My boys had their take-along pork sandwiches, while I bought a set chicken meal from Rôtisserie St-Hubert that had a restaurant on the ground floor of our hotel.

On our second night, we had our take-along bread and German sausages for dinner as we spent most of the afternoon and evening exploring the city after our son’s last chess match.

On our third night, we decided to eat well.

We chose to dine at Restaurant Louis-Hébert, known for its fine French cuisine. Situated in a 95-year-old house, customers can pick the ambiance for their dining experience – a cozy, dining room inside with exposed stone walls and warm wood accents, a more private meeting room; a bright solarium with bamboo chairs, or the more casual outdoor patio that spills along the sidewalk. It was a warm, summer evening, so we decided to ask for a patio table.

I ordered the house specialty, Lobster Navarin (open-shelled whole lobster on a bed of linguini with lobster butter sauce and roasted asparagus), which I had read about from a couple of restaurant reviews. The chef is from the south of France, so seafood dishes are his specialty. My husband opted for a bison steak with rice pilaf, and our son, his regular steak with fries and roasted veggies.

For that lobster dish alone, I would surely go back there. But service was also more than excellent. When our server noticed that my son did not touch the green pea gazpacho that they served as a starter, he gave him a complimentary bowl of fresh mushroom soup. He also gave him an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert.

On our fourth night, my boys were so intent on playing several rounds of chess to prepare for the final match and were contented with eating leftovers inside the hotel room. My husband prodded me to go out since I was getting bored and restless (and distracting them).

I decided to just sit at the patio of Le Grand Café at the corner of Grande Allée and Grande Allée Estate, literally just across the street from our hotel, people-watching while enjoying the fresh breeze. I ordered an appetizer plate of their salmon tartare with tempura flakes and a glass of red wine sangria. Such a rejuvenating moment!

Sometimes, all you need is a few minutes of alone time with good food and refreshing drink. And even if you spend it just sitting and looking out the street, there is a quiet excitement that you derive from observing the goings-on in a new environment.

Grande Allée is always busy and teeming with tourists who are intent on sampling the city’s gastronomic delights, as well as with young people enjoying the vibrant nightlife in the trendy clubs and discotheques. At the time of our visit, the street was also extra festive in anticipation of its annual summer festival, the Festival D’Éte de Québec. In fact, the Place George V park across from our hotel was in the thick of setting up the concert stage and concession tents for the following week’s shows. It was just one of the many concert venues around the city. It was too bad we were not staying for another week.

But apart from its reputation as today’s party place in the city, Grand Allée has always been renowned for other reasons. From a simple country road in the 17^th century, it was transformed in the mid-19^th century into a glamorous neighbourhood. The rich, fleeing from the epidemics and the risk of fire in the densely populated residences within the city walls, moved here and built a new community.

Grand Allée provided them with more space and fresh air to build their chic homes – villas and townhouses along the lines of the English terrace house, an architectural style that you can still admire there today.

And when the soldiers, who took over the meadows in front of the ramparts left, more land was freed up. The Québec provincial government, which was created when Canada was founded in 1867, acquired a big plot of land to build the Parliament Building. Local dignitaries, rich businessmen, high-ranking officials, and prominent politicians followed suit in building luxurious homes close to the stately building.

In the 1880s, inspired by some of Europe’s prestigious streets, city authorities widened Grand Allée and lined it with American elms. Electric streetlights were also installed, and the city’s first electric tramway lines were built here. It became the major thoroughfare where official parades and processions passed through this street (until now). Many refer to this street as the Champs-Élysées of Québec City.

The Parliament Hill, seat of the Québec government, obviously dominates this street. Erected between 1877 and 1886, it is an imposing structure whose four wings form a large square with a courtyard in the middle. Its architecture, inspired by The Louvre in Paris, makes it the only French-style institutional buildings in the city.

Free tours inside are conducted all-year round but we have not done it. I heard that inside, you will see the National Assembly Chamber (known as the “Blue Hall”) and the Legislative Council Assembly (known as the “Red Hall”). There are also several works of art, stained-glass windows, and portraits of all Québec Premiers to look at.

We only had the chance to take pictures outside where there is a garden featuring a collection of bronze statues of prominent figures in Québec City. Particularly noteworthy are the suffragettes or the women of Québec who fought for the right to vote in the early 1940s.

This also became our rendezvous point after I was done venturing out on my own and the boys were done with their chess game practice in the afternoons.

Someone told me that we should one day try dining at Restaurant Le Parlementaire, which is open, not just to Parliamentarians and visiting dignitaries, but also to the public. It is done up in regal Beaux Arts décor and the menu is quite inventive. In the summer, they even serve dishes using produce harvested from the Parliament Gardens and honey from its beehives.

Directly in front of the Parliament building is the stately Fontaine de Tourny in the middle of a roundabout with sculpted figures and water jets. Tourists flock here especially in the summer for the refreshing waters. This fountain was a gift to the city by a prominent Québec businessman on the occasion of Québec City’s 400^th anniversary in 2008.

Originally installed in Bordeaux, France in 1857, it was removed in 1960 and was discovered by chance in a flea market by the donor in the early 2000s. He fell in love with it and thought it would be the perfect unique present to his beloved city. He then had it shipped to Québec City, restored, and presented to the city officials.

Across the fountain, Esplanade Parc was also being prepped as another concert and party venue for the upcoming festival. It was also during this visit when I noticed that the caleché tours within the city could be booked from there.

The horse-drawn carts and carriages that ruled the road until the early 20^th century have been reinvented as tourism vehicles. Visitors who opt for a more nostalgic tour can book these caléches for a leisurely ride around the city and imagine going back to the “good, old days.” I doubt if my boys would go on this ride. Much as they love horses, they are not big fans of the horse manure smell. But I must admit seeing these calechés in the historic areas of the town does take one back in time and make for a good photograph.

Grande Allée is a long street and I’m sure there are plenty of places to discover, but from our limited stay, I was only able to explore where my feet could take me. I mostly just walked to admire the old, stately homes that boasted a variety of styles, depending on when they were constructed. The oldest ones were in the Neo-Classical style, while the next generations were built in the Second Empire style. The more recent ones were an amalgam of styles, branded as Eclecticism. Some of them remained residential, while some have been converted into commercial spaces. Two of the most notable ones, in the most recent style, were House #575 and House #600.

House #575, a building with two semi-detached homes, used to be home to the son of Pierre Garneau, a former mayor and an influential Québec government minister. The son, named George, was an engineer, chemist, and businessman rolled in one. The other occupant of the building was a notary by the name of Meredith and was the son of the Chief Justice. This house, known as the Garneau-Meredith House, was inspired by the Loire Valley castles in France, just like the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. It is characterized by sophisticated brick work, a steep sloping roof, and château-style, cone-shaped turrets. Now, it houses the Maurice Discothéque on one side, and an Italian restaurant called, Patrizio & Co. on the other. Downstairs, the basement level houses a cigar store on one side, and Cosmos Café on the other.

House #600 is known as the Grand Price Manor. It was built by the Price family who owned Price Brothers and Company. William Price moved there in 1901 when he took over his uncle as the head of the family enterprise. He was the one who relaunched the company and brought it up from bankruptcy in 1905. He was also the chair of the local board of trade and sat on the board of several businesses. The grandeur of his house reflected his stature. The Neo-Tudor home featured a monumental porch adorned with sculptural motifs, half-timbered pediment, and a colonnade balcony with a candlesnuffer roof. Now, it houses Chez Dagobert, a popular nightclub.

All the interiors have been changed, of course, but the façade of the old homes have been maintained. It is the same with the rows of terraced townhomes in the area. In fact, the restaurants we’ve been to in the past couple of days were part of this neighborhood.

Before we left Grande Allée, we had a wonderful late lunch at Bistro L’Atelier, yet another restaurant housed in a centuries-old building row and is known for its excellent food and impressive cocktail menu created by mixologists and given cheeky names.

As we were there for lunch, the atmosphere was more laid-back compared to the party vibe it has at night, especially on weekends when a DJ livens things up with hip music. But despite the much “tamer” crowd, the interior design still oozes with industrial chic. 

I ordered their specialty – the tartares, even though I just had salmon tartare the previous day (I love tartares, and I was in Quebec, so why not?). On hot summer days, I like my food served fresh, and for certain kinds of fish, like salmon and tuna, and shellfish like oysters, I usually prefer them raw or rare – sashimi, ceviche, tartare. In my opinion, one can only enjoy the real essence and most authentic flavour of the food in its purest form. Cooking adds another dimension to the taste but somehow also diminishes the epicurean innocence.

I ordered a trio of tartares from amongst six choices, served with garlic toasts and a small bowl of Caesar salad. After much deliberation, as they all seemed tantalizing to me, I settled on tuna, salmon, and beef.

The tuna tartare came with grilled pineapple, edamame, and avocado with soya and cilantro dressing. Very summery! The salmon tartare I chose had green apple bits and is flavoured with yogurt and dill. There was one other salmon tartare version with more robust accompaniments – passion fruit, lobster oil, and tarragon – but I wanted to try the lighter one.

I don’t normally order meat tartares, but this time, I adventurously tried their old-school beef tartare with chorizo. There was a version with truffle, parmesan foam, and potato chips, but I wanted to go with the classic flavours. Interestingly, they also had a bison tartare with cranberries, marinated mushrooms, and mustard dressing. I decided to stick with beef, though. Game meat, served as tartare, would be a little bit overpowering for me.

The server gave me a medley of sauces…mostly hot, and recommended tartare and sauce pairings. Wow, this place really aces its game when it comes to tartares. I heeded his advice and used a different sauce for each of them. The added zing surely elevated the wonderful complexity of the raw dishes. I was in tartare heaven!

My husband ordered a plate of steak with pancetta, roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus, but skipped the Jameson and peppercorn sauce that’s supposed to come with it. But even sans sauce, the steak was superb. It was so juicy and flavourful that my husband, for a second, considered ordering another steak. Our son, on the other hand, very much enjoyed his burger served with fries.

Our young gourmand, after the first bite, even said, “Now, that’s what you call a burger!” There were a few more restaurants along that row that I wanted to try. Next time we go back to Québec City, we’d surely check them out.