Walled Cities and Gated Streets

[ghYHZ]

Quebec City, with its Walls and Gated Streets is a fascinating place for the history buff.

Here on the Grande Allee outside of the Fortifications.....it's a modern city.





But turn 180 deg. at the Porte (Gate) St-Louis.....enter the old town and you'll find narrow streets lined with building dating from the 1600s & 1700s. This is the real thing.....no Disney re-creation! Some of the streets are just too narrow for traffic so it's pedestrian only and in summer they're lined with sidewalk cafes and bars.

[ghYHZ]

Steep winding streets, staircases and a funicular railway connects the upper and lower towns where a ferry crosses the St. Lawrence River to Levis on the south shore.

[ghYHZ]

We had been staying at the former Canadian Pacific Railway "Chateau Frontenac Hotel"  (now a Fairmont) along the Boardwalk high on the cliff above the St. Lawrence and skiing at nearby Mont-Sainte-Anne. Now it was time to board the train at VIA's "Gare du Palais"  (Station) and head for home:

[xcellntbuy]

Absolutely wonderful pictures.

[1995hoo]

Absolutely wonderful pictures.

I'll second that. Been to Quebec City once (in summertime) and I've wanted to go back to see some more during the winter. Ms1995hoo has never been. It's a pretty easy drive from Virginia, it's just a case of finding time and budgeting money.

[ghYHZ]

Absolutely wonderful pictures.

I'll second that........

Thanks!

Summer's nice......with a walk along the boardwalk on a warm evening but my favorite time is the winter (and even better during Carnaval in February) After a day of skiing and with a light snow falling.....a walk through the narrow streets.....stopping into one of the restaurants or bars.......sitting next to the fireplace and enjoying a "Caribou"  to warm you up!


http://carnaval.qc.ca/en/about/traditions/caribou/

[ghYHZ]

Here's a map from the mid 1960s. The Fortifications are the heavy lines surrounding the town. The map hasn't changed too much except the elevated Autoroute 440 approach over the Riviere St-Charles and some railway relocation.

[leroys73]

I plan to ride up to Quebec City this summer.  These pics fire me up.  Thanks.

Is this NA only we are talking about?
 
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.  Sorry no pics but I visited a few times during HS and college while an Army Brat.  My sister and brother-in-law lived not far from there.

Of course one could think of a military base as a walled city while living in government quarters. 

[akotchi]

The pictures are great, especially the wintery scenes.  My family was there in the summer of 2007, but our only full day there was rainy, so we were not able to partake in the outdoor dining.  Figures that the travel day in and travel day out were beautiful . . .

My wife and I might go back next summer (2014) for our 25th anniversary.

[kphoger]

By far, the most scenic I've been to is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria.  The original walls were destroyed by earthquake in the 14th Century and partially again during World War II, but a couple of the towers have survived from their construction in the 13th Century.  I've had the blessing of visiting the town two times, but that was before the age of digital photography (or at least before my age of digital photography).

The most fascinating thing I got to do there was actually walk along inside the wall at one location.  Evening tours are led by folks dressed in Medieval garb who are very knowledgeable and proud of their town's history.  I highly recommend it as a tourist destination for anyone visiting the southern half of Germany.

Here's the scene that appears most commonly on image searches:

[agentsteel53]

Hainberg an der Donau, Austria is very similar to the German city which kphoger just posted.  alas, I know nothing about its history, nor do I have a photo offhand.

[wphiii]

Great stuff, I've only been to Quebec City during the warm weather months, but I'd love to check it out during the winter sometime. I love how European-feeling even some of the areas outside the Old Town walls are. Such a unique experience in the U.S./Canada.

[empirestate]

Great stuff, I've only been to Quebec City during the warm weather months, but I'd love to check it out during the winter sometime. I love how European-feeling even some of the areas outside the Old Town walls are. Such a unique experience in the U.S./Canada.

It is pretty unique among North American cities. A cruise ship I worked on was doing a New England/Atlantic Canada season, and the northern turnaround port was Quebec City. So every 20 days we would have a double overnight stay in port there, and as my work schedule would have it, they would both be off days.

One of the stops ended up being right around Columbus Day, high autumn for the area and absolutely stunning to walk along the city walls. Spring is probably lovely also, but I can't think of much to beat the fall!

[roadman65]

Old San Juan in PR.  It is real neat with its sentry boxes every 100 yards or so that became the symbol on the PR tags.