Canada’s largest province joined the state of Canada in 1867. The capital of the same name, Québec, and the heart of French Canada, is the seat of the regional government and is surrounded by walls.
Montréal, the second largest city in Canada, is also in the province of Québec. It is a commercial center favored by its location on the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers. The sights are varied, and one shouldn’t miss the 18th century Château Ramezay. This former seat of the Montréal City Council houses an interesting museum. One of the most impressive churches is also in Montréal, the Catholic Basilique-Notre-Dame, dating from 1829.
In 1976, Monteál hosted the Olympic Games. The buildings and facilities created for this purpose, such as the Olympic Stadium, the Biodome or the Tour de Montréal, are impressive sights.
The official language in Québec is French, but of course you can get along with English almost everywhere. The French influence can be felt all over Québec and certainly makes the region a special vacation spot.
Quebec – key data
Area: 1,542,056 sq km, rank 2 of the provinces of Canada (land Area: 1,365,128 sq km, water Area: 176,928 sq km)
Share of water surface: 11.5%
Population: 7.78 million residents, ranked 2 of the provinces of Canada (2009, estimate)
Population density: 5.0 residents per square kilometer
Member of the Confederation: July 1, 1867 (founding member)
Capital: Quebec (491,142 residents, 2006,Metropolitan area 715,515 residents, 2006)
Biggest town: Montreal (1.62 million residents, 2006, metropolitan area 3.64 million residents, 2006)
Highest point: 1,652 m, Mont d’Iberville
Lowest point: 0 m, Hudson Bay and Atlantic Ocean
Vice-Governor: Pierre Duchesne
Prime Minister: Jean Charest
Local time: West 63º W: CET -6 h. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November: CET -5 h.
The time difference to Central Europe is -6 hours in both winter and summer.
East 63º W: CET -5 h. no time change between summer and winter time.
The time difference to Central Europe is -5 hours in winter and -6 hours in summer.
Postal abbreviation: QC
Quebec Map and Geography
Québec is Canada’s largest province and is located in the east of the country between Hudson Bay and along the Saint Lawrence River. Québec is bordered by Ontario to the west, Nunavut to the north, Newfoundland and Labrador to the east, New Brunswick to the southeast and the American states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York to the south.
With a total area of 1.54 million square kilometers it is Quebec about the same size as Germany, Spain, Portugal and France combined, but only very sparsely populated. The east-west extension of Québec is around 1,700 kilometers, from north to south the province extends over 2,000 kilometers. Québec is the capital of the province of the same name, but the largest city is Montréal. The highest point in Québec is the Mont d’Iberville, located in Monterégie on the border with Newfoundland and Labrador, at 1,652 meters.
Most of Québec lies on the Canadian Shield, a large geological region that is several billion years old and was mainly made up of rocks such as granite and gneiss. The last ice age left behind a wooded landscape, which is characterized by countless lakes and watercourses.
In the south of the province, this region rises like a plate to the Laurentides or Laurentians, a mountain range between 500 and 1,000 meters high that extends between Ottawa and the Côte Nord. Mont Tremblant, north of Montréal, and Mont Raoul Blanchard in the Parc des Grands-Jardins are the two highest mountains in this region.
The St. Lawrence Lowland forms the second large landscape in the province. This region is sandwiched between the Canadian Shield and the Appalachian Mountains and runs from the capital Québec to the Great Lakes. Because of the pleasant climate and the very fertile soil conditions, around four fifths of the total population of the province of Québec live here.
The Appalachian Mountains in the southeast form the third most characteristic region of the province. This mountain range with a low mountain range extends from Alabama along the border with Maine and runs to the Gaspé Peninsula. It is there that the Appalachians, much younger and smaller in geological terms, reach their highest elevation with the Monts Chic-Choc. The deciduous forests of the Appalachian Mountains form a visual contrast to the coniferous forest and tundra-covered region of the Canadian Shield.
Quebec Landmarks
Quebec has some interesting Attractions to offer.
A votive church was built in 1633 by the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain. This is where the enchanting Basilica-Cathedral stands today Notre Damede Quebec.
Another overwhelming masterpiece of Gothic architecture is that built between 1824 and 1829 Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal.
The Oratiore Saint Joseph Cathedral is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in North America. It was built between 1924 and 1967.
The large ice hockey arena in Montreal is absolutely impressive. It can accommodate up to 21,000 spectators.
Anyone interested in the culture and history of the Indians of Canada should make a detour to the Kakri Tekawita Museum in Caughnauaga near Montreal. An Indian reservation is located on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River.
In the Musee de la civilization you can see changing but also permanent exhibitions. All exhibitions always revolve around the history of human development. Anyone interested in art can view an extensive and interesting collection of various works of art in this museum.
The Bank of Montreal is also worth seeing. It is the oldest bank in Canada. The building itself is also worth a visit, because from an architectural point of view, the one from 1847 is truly impressive.
The oldest hospital in North America can be visited in Quebec. The hospital dates from 1654.
There are only two ice hotels in the world. One of them is in Quebec. As a guest you can use it from January to April. If you only want a tour of the hotel, you have to pay a small contribution towards expenses of fifteen dollars.
Each of the hotel’s rooms is decorated with an enchanting ice sculpture. Something very special is the ice bar, where drinks are also served in ice glasses. Anyone who has fallen in love and wants to experience something romantic can get married as a special highlight in the ice chapel.
If you like to go shopping, Montreal is the place for you. There is Place Desjardins, which is an underground shopping center. It was built in 1976.
Quebec’s fortifications are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It served under the French as well as under the English to protect the city. The complex is a special testimony to the advancement of Quebec’s fortifications between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
The old town of Quebec is also worth a visit. It is framed by the gates and bastions of the fortification.
Quebec also has natural beauties to offer. The Forillon National Park, established on the Gospe peninsula in 1970, features overwhelming mountain ranges in the eastern Appalachian Mountains. Bird lovers like to come here as numerous sea birds nest here.
The Montmoreny Falls offer a very enchanting spectacle. It is located approximately thirteen kilometers northeast of Quebec. The waterfall tumbles over a rock face 83 meters into the St. Lawrence River. In addition to being Quebec’s tallest waterfall, it is thirty meters higher than the Niagara Falls.
In 2002 the Parc Aquarium de Quebec was reopened. Here you can experience over 10,000 mammals, fish, reptiles and a variety of aquatic fauna from North America and the Antarctic.
The “Great Ocean” is particularly popular with tourists. This is a huge pool that gives visitors an interesting view from below. Polar bears and various species of sea birds cavort in the basin.
