Visiting Quebec with Blount Small Adventure Cruise

I thought the Plains of Abraham referred to a Biblical site. A bus tour of Quebec City was part of the Blount’s “Lakes, Legends and Canals” cruise John and I took. One place the bus stopped was high above the city at the Plains of Abraham where we learned that in 1759, during the Seven Years’ War, the British victory led to France losing possession of Canada. Most likely it is named after Abraham Martin who moved to the area in the 1600s.  Located high above the St. Lawrence River it was easy to see why the area was of military significance. It was called the “Gibraltar of the Americas.” The Citadel is located nearby. We learned about the war and enjoyed a great view.

The tour started in Old Quebec which was like wandering an old French town.  There is a full-wall mural that depicts many aspects of Old Quebec.  It made a great place for the guide to explain various aspect of the old city. Someday I want to stay at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel which towers over the old city. There is a funicular connecting the lower city to

the upper city.  The tour included a side trip to Montmorency Falls. The falls were named for Samuel de Champlain who was the Duke of Montmorency and the falls are 98-feet higher than Niagara Falls.  There is a cable car to the top of the falls and a hiking trail but we didn’t have time for either. The tour covered all the highlights of the city and ended at the Marie-Guyart building where we went to the 31st floor for great views of the city. There were interactive multimedia displays that covered Quebec City’s history. A great place to end the tour.

After the tour we returned to the cruise ship (it only had 31 passengers – I liked that) there was time for us to walk the short distance back into town to the Museum of Civilization. We wandered through “The People of Quebec – Then and Now.”  It was a great multimedia presentation that traced the history of Quebec from the earliest days to the present with more information on how the French colony became British; however, the French culture is alive and well in Quebec. I was especially interested in their section of the museum dealing with what the Canadians call “The First People” and we call Native Americans.  At one time there were Iroquois villages along both sides of the St. Lawrence. There was also an interesting Egyptian exhibit.

Before our cruise vessel left port to head up the St. Lawrence to Montreal John and I went to the Navel Museum of Quebec.  It was literally just steps from the ship.  While small it was still interesting and had facts and images about the Battle of Oswego during the War of 1812.