The very name Québec conjures up images of gracious living, historical riches, world heritage treasures, and incomparable tourist appeal. Québec City is as unique as they come.

It is on Money Magazine's list of North America's top ten tourist destinations, a distinction the CNN publication attributes above all to the French experience, the rendez-vous with history the city offers, and the extraordinary beauty of its setting.

Québec City's topology, it is true, is one-of-a-kind. The city stretches out from the shores of the St. Lawrence, one of the largest rivers in the world. It extends north as far as the foothills of the Laurentians, which is the oldest mountain range on Earth, and east as far as Montmorency Falls. To the west, it reaches beyond the bridges that link the city to the south shore, past Jacques-Cartier beach, and on to the municipalities of Neuville, Pont-Rouge and Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier.

Québec City is centered in an area where the river narrows before opening into an estuary. The city's rocky high point, Cape Diamond, towers 103 meters above the river, adding to the unique flavor of the area. The plain is fed by a number of smaller rivers, including the Saint-Charles, which winds its way lazily down toward the St. Lawrence. The old city is divided into two parts, Upper and Lower Town.

Some 400 years of history are woven into the very fabric of the city, a history it carries with it into a promising future. Québec City is both the cradle of French civilization in North America and a major economic center. It is also the capital city for over 7 million Quebecers.

ref.: Québec city. Ville de Québec - Exploration, [Online] (page viewed november 18th, 2002)