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Quartier Petit-Champlain : An Historic and Commercial District
Craftspeople, merchants and artists have shaped Québec City’s Quartier Petit-Champlain. Four hundred years later, the district is as inviting as ever and budding with life.
In the heart of Old Québec, you can have the pleasure of shopping in the oldest French district in North America. It is named after Samuel de Champlain, who founded Québec City in 1608, and is located next to Place-Royale, with its marketplace and the small church Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. More than 1,500,000 visitors stroll through the district every year. It’s the first commercial district on the continent.
The boutiques offer everything you can dream of. Whether you like a sporty, classic, romantic or trendy look, you’ll find big names in fashion, unique creations, new items, leather, skins, wool and more! Transparence, Le Jardin de l’Argile, Brin de Folie, La Dentellière, Berceuse Dugal et Cie, Aux Belles de Nuit and Marin Marine are just a few names that you’ll most likely see here. Learn about the district’s history and culture through the works of the artists and craftspeople on display in the boutiques and art galleries. The merchants are tuned into visitors’ needs and are more than happy to offer them advice. And then there’s the small cafés, restaurants and snack bars: a real treat!
Quartier Petit-Champlain also has a very historical character. Walk along the sidewalks and narrow streets and take the Casse-Cou (break-neck) stairs, wedged in between two buildings going from Côte de la Montagne down to rue du Petit-Champlain. The house of explorer Louis Jolliet, built in 1683, is located at 16, rue du Petit-Champlain. Today, it houses the funicular which takes visitors up to Terrasse Dufferin. Picturesque Quartier Petit-Champlain is easy to visit on foot, and you can relive the era of our ancestors who were building the future of a country !Jules Paquin
2007-11-20
