Place d'Armes: Quebec City Travel Guide (4.6★)

The square everyone walks past

Stand with your back to the Château Frontenac and you’re looking at the oldest open space in Upper Town. Place d’Armes is a compact, roughly triangular square of lawn, paths and flower beds. Its centre is a pale stone neo-Gothic spire rising out of a fountain basin.

Most people see it as the bit of grass before the hotel photo. They take the picture, turn toward Dufferin Terrace and keep going. That works in your favour. A bench here, a few steps from one of Canada’s most photographed buildings, is often easier to get than you’d expect.

A parade ground turned garden

The name tells you its first job. Under the French regime this was the military parade ground beside the governor’s Château Saint-Louis, the fortified residence whose ruins now lie under Dufferin Terrace. Soldiers drilled where the flower beds are now.

The monument in the middle is the Monument de la Foi (Monument to the Faith). It went up in 1916 to mark three centuries since the Récollet friars arrived in New France in 1615. Look for:

• the slender Gothic pinnacle, carved like a church spire
• the figure of Faith near the top
• the fountain basin around the base, a common spot to sit in summer

All of this sits inside the Historic District of Old Québec, which was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985.

What frames the square

The edges of the square are the real reason to stop. Turn slowly through 360 degrees and you’ll find:

• Château Frontenac to the south, its copper roofs and turrets filling the sky
• The old courthouse on Rue Saint-Louis, a heavy stone civic building from the late 1800s
• Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral just behind, on Rue des Jardins, the first Anglican cathedral built outside the British Isles
• Rue du Trésor, a narrow lane off the square’s north side where artists hang prints and watercolours of the city on the walls

Rue du Trésor is short enough to walk in five minutes. Prints of the very square you just left hang on its walls. Unlike the shops on Rue Saint-Jean, it isn’t selling souvenirs; the artists are often right there beside their work.

Getting to Place d’Armes

There’s no metro in Québec City, so you’ll come on foot. From Porte Saint-Louis or Place d’Youville, walk east along Rue Saint-Louis or Rue Sainte-Anne. Both roads run downhill into the square in about 10 minutes.

From Lower Town, ride the Funicular up from Rue du Petit-Champlain. It lands on Dufferin Terrace, a minute’s walk from the square. Climbing the Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou) gets you to the same place if your legs are willing.

Driving into the old town is slow and parking is tight. RTC buses stop near Place d’Youville, which is the simplest way in.

Sitting it out on the square

This is a place for lingering, so here’s how to do it well. Google currently lists the square from 6am to 11pm. City park hours can change with the season, so check the city’s posted hours if you’re planning a dawn or late-night visit.

• Go early for the light. Soon after opening, the morning sun hits the Château’s façade and the tour groups haven’t come up from the buses yet.
• Speak a little French. Québec is French-speaking. A “bonjour” before you ask a question goes a long way with the calèche drivers and the artists on Rue du Trésor.
• Know about the carriages. Horse-drawn calèches wait at the edge of the square. Agree on the route and the fare before you climb in. Most drivers take cards, but ask first.
• Respect the monument. People sit on the steps around the fountain. Climbing the stonework is a quick way to get waved off.
• Tip if you buy. If you stop for a coffee or a meal on the nearby streets, tipping around 15% is normal in Québec. The card terminal will usually prompt you.

Where to wander next

Place d’Armes sits where the main walks of Upper Town meet, so it makes a good starting point. Walk out to Dufferin Terrace for the boardwalk views over the St. Lawrence River, then follow it to the Governors’ Promenade along the cliff below the Citadelle.

You can also head north up Rue des Jardins to the cathedral and on to Basilica-Cathedral Notre-Dame de Québec. Or take the funicular down to Place Royale in Lower Town, where Champlain founded the city in 1608. For a slower loop, spend half a day on all three and come back to the square to rest.