The city of Québec, one of the most beautiful in the Western Hemisphere, is 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Montréal. Nestled on a historic rampart, Québec is antique, medieval, and lofty, a place of mellowed stone buildings and weathered cannon, horse-drawn calèches, ancient trees, and narrow, steeply angled streets. Here and there, the 20th century has intruded, but Québec has preserved the ambience of the past.

Québec is a split-level city. Above is the sheer cliff and rock citadel that once made Québec "the Gibraltar of the north." The Upper Town, built high on the cliff and surrounded by fortresslike walls, has one of the city's best-known landmarks, Le Château Frontenac, a hotel towering so high that it's visible from 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. The Lower Town is the region surrounding Cape Diamond and spreading up the valley of the St. Charles River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence. The two sections are divided by the Funicular, which affords magnificent views of the harbor, river, and hills beyond.

In soul and spirit Québec is French; the population is nine-tenths French. Although French is the official language, English is understood in many places. The city streets are perfect for a casual stroll and many of the things you'll want to see are convenient to one another. Winters here are quite brisk.

The first known visitor to what is now Québec was Jacques Cartier, who spent the winter of 1535 at what was then the local village of Stadacone. Undoubtedly, Cartier recognized the strategic significance of this site, but a European colony was not established until 1608, when Samuel de Champlain, a French nobleman acting in the name of the King of France, established Kebec (native for "the narrowing of the waters"). The French began to put down roots in 1617 when Louis Hebert, the first agricultural pioneer, arrived with his family. The first settlement was wiped out in 1629 by British seafarers, but was later ceded back to France. For more than a century, Québec thrived despite constant harassment and siege from both the English and the Iroquois.

The decisive date in Québec history—and in the history of the British colonies to the south—was September 13, 1759. After a heroic ascent up the towering cliffs, General James Wolfe led his British troops to the Plains of Abraham (named after an early settler) and engaged the forces of the brilliant French General, Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm. In 15 minutes the battle was over, both generals were among the fatalities, and French dreams of an empire in America were shattered. (The last siege of Québec took place in 1775, when American troops under the command of Benedict Arnold attacked and were repelled.)

From its earliest days, Québec has been a center for military, administrative, religious, educational, and medical activities. Today the provincial capital, it still is a center for these endeavors and also for industry.