Quebec City, Quebec

Quebec City (French, Québec), a Canadian city, is the provincial capital of Quebec. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux Québec), the only fortified city in North America whose walls still exist, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The city has a population of 167,264 (1996), while the metropolitan area has a population of 671,889 (1996).

The city is perched on Cap Diamant, a large rock outcropping at the edge of the Saint Lawrence River, whose topography encouraged its defensive use. The thinness of the strait between Quebec City and Lévis[?] on the opposite shore give the city and consequently the province its name (kebek is an Algonquian word for "narrow passage").

Quebec City is known for its Winter Carnival[?] and for the massive Château Frontenac hotel that dominates the skyline of the old town. The National Assembly and the Musée de la Civilisation are also in or near the old town.

Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral[?], see of the Archbishop of Quebec, is the first cathedral and first basilica to have been built in the New World, and is the primate church of Canada.

Nearby are the Plains of Abraham, site of the battle in which the British took Quebec from France.

The mayor of Quebec City is Jean-Paul L'Allier.

History

Quebec City is the oldest European settlement in Canada. It was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 on the site of a First Nations settlement called Stadacona.

It is the site of Laval University[?]. Founded by the Jesuits one year before Harvard University, Laval was the first university in North-America.

much more about history needed! Quebec Conference, etc.

In April 2001, Quebec City hosted the Summit of the Americas to discuss the Free Trade Area of the Americas; it also hosted massive anti-globalization demonstrations, provoked both by the summit and by the decision to wall off a large portion of the historic city with a four-metre-high chain-link fence for the duration. Police forces were widely accused of excessive use of force during the demonstrations.

On January 1, 2002, Quebec City and 12 other municipalities of the Communauté urbaine de Québec were merged into to the new Quebec City "megacity," which is divided into 8 boroughs:

Residents of Quebec City are called Québécois. To avoid confusion with Québécois meaning an inhabitant of the province, the term Québécois de Québec is sometimes used (as opposed to Québécois du Québec - in French, the city is Québec and the province, le Québec.)

See also: Canada, Canadian provinces and territories, List of cities in Canada, List of communities in Quebec

External links

Ville de Québec (English) (http://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/en/accueil/index.shtml)