This is kind of an odd’n ends post to give a “visual” reference to this blog.

If you like to travel, but you have never been to la ville de Québec (Québec City – the provincial capital), you may really enjoy this post.   Québec City, is about a 3 hour drive Northeast of Montréal.  It is a beautiful part of the country, and is one of the strongest economic regions in all of Eastern Canada — with full employment (a 5.5% unemployment rate by Canadian measurements, or 3.5% by US measurements.  Canadian unemployment rates are measured differently than US rates, meaning you need to subtract about 2% to obtain the US equivalent).  It also has one of the lowest costs-of-living, one of the lowest housing costs for larger urban centres, and one of the highest-standards-of-living in Canada (which is why I’m often more-than-baffled why it doesn’t attract more immigrants, and more people from elsewhere in Canada).

It’s also one of the oldest “new world” settlements in North America (400 year old history).  “Canada” gets its name from the “narrowing of the waters” at Québec City, and the city lies at the cross-roads to many different regions of the country (the gateway leading to the Saguenay region, the North Shore, SW to Southern Québec, and East to the Gaspésie and Atlantic Provinces).

For those of you who are not accustomed to using “Google Street View”, this website allows you to use your PC to “drive” down most streets in Québec on your screen (street view does not work very well on iPads).

I think you’ll enjoy this virtual voyage.  If you have never been to Québec City before, you’re likely in for a few surprises.  Although many of Québec’s urban areas look and feel much like towns and regions elsewhere in Canada, there are a still a good number of places which have a very unique look and feel.   This is one of my favourite cities in the country.  I took summer university courses in Québec City when I was doing my schooling back in Edmonton, and I’ve driven through Québec City a few times on my way from Edmonton to see friends at other destinations further East in Québec — quite a long, but amazingly beautiful drive… 40+ hours on the road.  I recommend to all Canadians from Western Canada to do this drive at least once.  I’ve done a lot of driving in different countries around the world, including a very long road drive from Islamabad, Pakistan onward by road to Beijing, China — as well as driving across many countries across the Middle-East, Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, SE Asia, Europe and South America (60+ countries in all, & 5 filled passports – lol).  And I can truly say, with some experience behind me, that there are still few drives in the world as beautiful as the one which takes you across our own country.

If you’re not familiar with Google Maps, here’s what you need to do to begin your virtual tour of a places I’ve chosen for you.

1. Go to Google Maps at https://www.google.ca/maps/
2. At the top you’ll see a white box where you can enter a physical street address.

3. Copy and paste one of the various addresses listed in bold below, and you’ll be taken to that street location. You’ll see an image in the upper right corner which says “Street View”.  Click that and you’ll be taken to street level.

4. From there, you can use your mouse on the screen to click which direction you would like to “drive” in. Hold your mouse’s right button down and move your mouse to view different directions.   Turn your mouse’s finger-wheel to zoom in and out.

5. To enter a new address, simply click the left arrow button at the top-left of the screen to go back to the address screen.

Locations to input into Google Streetview (the bolded names only):

1. 49 Rue De Buade, Québec City – A major artery which goes through the old quarter of Québec City within the city walls.
2. 118 Rue Saint Louis, Québec City – Outside of the gates which go through the walls surrounding the old city.
3. Fontaine de Tourny, Québec City – You’ll be placed at the fountain facing l’Assemblée Nationale (the provincial legislature building).
4. 14 Rue Notre Dame, Québec City – Place Royale (Royal Square), one of the oldest inhabited areas of Québec city, with 400 years of history.  Hey folks… this is the spot where Canada (and much of New World North America) started, and everything that comes with it.
5. 1 Rue des Carrières, Quebec City – You’ll be whisked into the courtyard of the iconic Château Frontenac.
6. 956 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec City – Place D’Youville (Youville Square) – outside another iconic gate in the city walls, in the arts district of the old city.
7. 264 Rue Saint-Olivier, Québec City – Not part of the “Old City” itself, but an older part of the city with many narrow streets and unique row-housing, which constituted one of the working class areas for the last couple of centuries.
8. 637 QC-175, Quebec City – “La Grande Allée”, Québec City’s “main street” downtown (not part of the Old City), lined with restaurants, bars and shopping.  Not far from the Grand Allée is the city’s business district.
9. Plains of Abraham and National Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec City – The fields (now a park) where the English Crown and French Crown fought, which lead to a change from the French regime to English regime.
10. 5306 Avenue Royale, Boischatel, Quebec – typical historic suburbs, with old-style homes on the outskirts of Québec City.
11. Chutes Montmorency, Québec City – (click “phototours” at the bottom of your screen). Higher than Niaraga Falls, Montmorency Falls is on the outskirts of the city.
12. 172 QC-368, Sainte-Pétronille, Quebec– A rural street which gives you a great view of downtown Québec City from across the St.Lawrence, as well as rural homes in the traditional style.
13. Manoir Mauvide Genest, Saint-Jean-de-l’Île-d’Orléans, Quebec – an ancient manoir seigneurie from the time of the French regime’s nobility, located on Orleans Island, across from downtown Québec City.
14. Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec City, Quebec – Campus of Laval University, one of the largest universities in Canada (where I did some summer courses back in my university years).
15. Pont Pierre-Laporte, Quebec City, QC – The main bridge across the St. Lawrence in the Québec City region, and one of the largest bridges in Canada. This is where “CANADA” gets it name from… the first nations word for the “Narrowing of the Rivers”, the narrowest point of the St. Lawrence before Montréal.
16. 141 Rue Dalhousie, Quebec City, – The old port.

Bon voyage !