Promenade des Gouverneurs
07/23/2010
In front of the Château there is a long boardwalk (Terrasse Dufferin) along the St. Lawrence River. It was very hot and humid, so the ice cream vendors (la crème glacée) were very popular. There are several gazebos along the boardwalk to offer shade and at the end of the boardwalk you'll find the Promenade des Gouverneurs (Governors' Promenade).You can see a photo of the Terrasse in 1895 here. The terrace sits on the cliff of Cap Diamant (Jacques Cartier mistakenly believed that Cap Diamant contained diamonds, but they were only quartz). I had never heard of a funicular railway, but after I saw it I decided to take the stairs. There were only 310. Not that I was counting or anything.
The Ville de Lévis sits on the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence River. In the distance, you can see the Laurentian Mountains.The narrowing of the river between the two cities is the origin of the name Québec, from the Algonquin word Kébec.
After I caught my breath, I checked out more of Vieux Québec. -Dorotha
