This article explores Québec City as a place shaped less by modern France and more by a preserved and altered vision of French North America, tracing how history, empire and chance created one of Canada’s most unusual cities.
Québec City and the myth of Frenchness
Few places instigate as much rampant cognitive dissonance as Québec City. People, particularly the needlessly up-pulled socks-clad American cruise ship passengers, come because it’s supposedly the most European city in North America. Its USP is that it’s a lost slice of France on the wrong continent.
But it doesn’t take long there to realise that the only French thing about Québec City is the language spoken. And maybe the food served up in the restaurants. The city doesn’t resemble or feel like any in France.
A city shaped by idealisation
It’s like the dream of someone who’s never actually been to France, got a few things mixed up with German, Scottish and Disney castles and decided that’s close enough.
It feels like a centuries-out-of-date idealisation of what a very narrow band of pre-Revolution French society might propose for a model French city.
Québec City history and French North America
It’s only when you start delving into the history of Québec City that you realise this is not too far off the mark.
Across from the Notre Dame cathedral, which celebrates its 360th birthday this year, is the Musée de l’Amérique Francophone. Given that French-speaking North America essentially means Québec and bilingual New Brunswick, the existence of such a museum may seem like an exercise in puffed-out parochialism.
The reach of French colonisation in North America
But before 1760, when the French stretches of what is now Canada capitulated to the British, the French influence on the continent was huge.
Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City in 1608, following decades of French exploration. King François I saw North America as a possible gateway to riches and a route to Asia. What he got was fur, trade networks and strategic footholds.
Why waterways mattered to French expansion
Those footholds were crucial. While the British clung to the east coast of what is now the USA, the French established themselves along the continent’s two great waterways.
In the south, they controlled New Orleans and Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi. In the north, they settled along the St Lawrence River, pushing deep towards the Great Lakes.
French alliances with Indigenous peoples
The French explorers, backed by Catholic missionaries and envoys, formed strong alliances with Indigenous groups.
Skirmishes were relatively rare. Knowledge exchange flourished. Indigenous communities received metal goods and tools, while the French gained snowshoes, survival skills and accurate maps. Intermarriage was common.
The forgotten French foundations of the United States
While the British colonies gestated along the east coast, the French were founding settlements north and south.
Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo were founded by the French, while St Louis became a meeting point between Louisiana and New France.
What the museum reveals
The Musée de l’Amérique Francophone is at times revelatory.
At one point in the 19th century, the Mayor of Los Angeles was French Canadian, and up to 20% of the city’s population was Francophone.
The turning point at the Plains of Abraham
History took a decisive turn after the French defeat at the Plains of Abraham in 1759.
Montreal fell a year later, and the United States eventually purchased vast tracts of what had been French Louisiana.
Québec City as a preserved anomaly
Over time, the French American story faded into a footnote. But Québec City remained.
The fortified city doesn’t resemble modern France because its template was frozen for over two centuries, then reshaped. First by the British, then the Irish, and finally by a Canada navigating the complexities of confederation.
A city shaped by chance
Approximately 40% of today’s Québécois have Irish ancestry.
Québec City is neither prototype nor pastiche. It is something partially preserved and partially reshaped by the unpredictable whims of fate.
Nearby attractions
- Plains of Abraham, the historic battlefield overlooking the St Lawrence River
- Château Frontenac, the city’s most recognisable landmark
- Old Québec, the fortified historic district and UNESCO site
- Citadelle of Québec, an active military fort and museum
- Petit-Champlain, a historic neighbourhood with narrow streets and shops
Québec City: Frequently asked questions
Is Québec City really French?
Québec City is French-speaking, but it does not closely resemble modern French cities. Its character reflects a preserved and altered version of French colonial society.
Why is Québec City so old?
Because it was founded in 1608. Québec City is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.
What is the Musée de l’Amérique Francophone about?
The museum explores the history and influence of French-speaking North America, far beyond modern Québec.
Why did France lose Québec City?
France lost control after defeat by the British at the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the Seven Years’ War.
Why does Québec City feel different from France?
The city’s layout and architecture reflect a historical snapshot preserved through British rule, Irish immigration and Canadian confederation.
Disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links. Book through them, and I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
More Quebec travel
Other Quebec travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
- A complete guide to visiting Montmorency Falls near Quebec City.
- Watching black bears in Duchesnay Forest near Quebec City.
- River surfing on the St Lawrence River in Montreal.
- Five great places to stay in Vieux Montreal.
- Three great places to stay in Montreal’s Centre-Ville.
