This guide follows the classic line through Old Quebec, from the Upper Town on top of Cap Diamant down the cliff to the Petit-Champlain quarter: the Notre-Dame basilica-cathedral with its Holy Door, Place d'Armes, the Château Frontenac, Dufferin Terrace, the Breakneck Steps and the Fresque du Petit-Champlain. They sit side by side, they are all stops on our scavenger hunt, and together they cover faith, government, grand tourism and everyday life in the oldest part of the city.
Notre-Dame de Québec and its Holy Door
The first church on this site, Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, was built in 1647. The parish was founded in 1664, and in 1674 the church became the cathedral of the new diocese of Quebec, the oldest diocese in the Americas north of Mexico. It has been destroyed twice. British guns wrecked it during the siege of 1759, and it was rebuilt from 1766, with an interior made by the Baillairgé family of craftsmen in the late 18th century. In 1874 it was raised to the rank of minor basilica. A fire in 1922 left only the walls standing, and it was rebuilt between 1923 and 1930 using the old plans and photographs.
On 8 December 2013 a Holy Door was opened in the facade, for the 350th anniversary of the parish, with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. It is the only Holy Door in North America. Like the Holy Doors of the great basilicas of Rome, it stays sealed between jubilee years and is only opened during them; the door was designed by the Montreal sculptor Jules Lasalle.
- The gilded baldachin over the high altar, first made by the Baillairgé workshop in the 1780s and 1790s and recreated after the 1922 fire.
- The tomb of Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of Quebec, inside the basilica.
- Below the church, a crypt with the tombs of most of the bishops of Quebec and of four governors of New France, including Frontenac.
Place d'Armes
The square next to the Château Frontenac was laid out in the 1640s by Governor Montmagny as a parade ground for the troops. It lost its military role after the Citadel was built in the 19th century and became a small public park in 1865. In the middle stands the Monument de la Foi, a monument about 12 metres high from 1916 marking 300 years since the arrival of the Récollet friars in 1615. Around the square you see the former courthouse and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on the west side, and the Château Frontenac on the south.
- The open lawn of the old parade ground, with the towers of the Château Frontenac rising behind it.
- Rue du Trésor, the narrow lane on one side of the square, where artists hang their prints and paintings.
Château Frontenac
The hotel that defines the skyline of Quebec opened on 18 December 1893. It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, to a design by the New York architect Bruce Price, as one of a chain of grand railway hotels across Canada, and it is named after Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, governor of New France in the late 17th century. It replaced the Château Haldimand, an older official residence pulled down in 1892. The hotel grew in stages, and its central tower, designed by William Sutherland Maxwell, was added in 1924.
In 1943 and 1944 it hosted the two Quebec Conferences, where Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King as host, planned the Allied strategy of the Second World War. It has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1981, and today it is run as a Fairmont hotel.
- The green copper roofs, turrets and brick walls in the Châteauesque style, later copied by railway hotels across Canada.
- The inner courtyard at the main entrance, which you can see without being a guest.
Dufferin Terrace
The long wooden boardwalk in front of the Château Frontenac runs along the edge of the cliff high above the St Lawrence. It was built at the wish of Lord Dufferin, Governor General of Canada, and named after him, and it was inaugurated on 28 June 1879 by his successor, the Marquess of Lorne, and Princess Louise. Under parts of it lie the remains of the Saint-Louis forts and of the Château Saint-Louis, the residence of the French and then British governors, which can be seen through glass openings in the boards.
- The six gazebos along the boardwalk, named Frontenac, Lorne, Princess Louise, Victoria, Dufferin and Plessis.
- The statue of Samuel de Champlain at the north end, and the view down to the Lower Town and across the river to Lévis.
- The wooden toboggan slide at the south end, used in winter, and the start of the Governors' Promenade, a cliffside walkway that leads towards the Plains of Abraham.
Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Steps)
These steep steps link Côte de la Montagne with Rue du Petit-Champlain in the Lower Town, and they are the oldest stairway in the city: they were already in place by the 1660s. The French name means what the English one says. In the mid-19th century English speakers began calling them the Break Neck Steps, and the name stuck in both languages. Next to the foot of the steps, the Maison Louis-Jolliet houses the lower station of the funicular, which climbs the cliff to Dufferin Terrace.
- The view from the top landing down Rue du Petit-Champlain, a favourite viewpoint over the street.
Fresque du Petit-Champlain
At the far end of Rue du Petit-Champlain, a whole side of the building at number 102 is covered by a trompe-l'œil fresco of about 100 square metres. It tells the story of this quarter at the foot of the cliff, with scenes of the British bombardments of 1759, landslides and fires, and the people who lived and worked here. At first glance it is easy to mistake the painted windows, stairs and figures for real ones. It is the last stop of our scavenger hunt.
- The way the painted street seems to continue the real one, best seen from a few steps back.
- The scenes of disasters that shaped the quarter, from the bombardments to the rockfalls from the cliff above.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Notre-Dame basilica-cathedral and look at the Holy Door on the facade. Walk along Rue De Buade and Rue du Trésor to Place d'Armes, then cross to the Château Frontenac and its courtyard. Go round the hotel to Dufferin Terrace and walk along the boardwalk. Come back to the north end and either take the funicular or walk down Côte de la Montagne to the Breakneck Steps. At the bottom, follow Rue du Petit-Champlain to the fresco at its far end. In winter, the steps and the terrace can be icy, so wear shoes with a good grip.
See Old Quebec with World City Trail
Our Quebec City scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from City Hall to the Fresque du Petit-Champlain, and all six places in this guide are among them: the Notre-Dame basilica-cathedral, Place d'Armes, the Château Frontenac, Dufferin Terrace, the Breakneck Steps and the Fresque du Petit-Champlain, along with City Hall, Montmorency Park, the Fresque des Québécois and Place Royale. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Quebec City, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Quebec City scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Quebec City →
Play the outdoor escape game in Quebec City →
Facts checked in October 2026.