Very French indeed. Quebec Ville (Quebec City). A coherent and well preserved urban ensemble, the Historic District of Old Québec is an exceptional example of a fortified colonial town and by far the most complete north of Mexico. Québec, the former capital of New France, illustrates one of the major stages in the European settlement of the cololonisation of the Americas by the Europeans." - a quote from the UNESCO's justification to inscribe Quebec's old town as a World Heritage Site. And it is definitely all true!

The inscribed old town was divided into two parts. The upper old town and the lower old town. Historically, the upper town was dominated by clergy, nobility and intellectuals - and this was where the most churches and grand mansions, as well the townhall, were erected. The lower old town had tighter ties with the harbour, where buildings were smaller and the streets and alleys were narrower and shorter.

For a while, I could not quite put my finger on what my favourite spot of Quebec was. The upper old town had a number of picturesque and magical little hidden places, which captivated me. I would have to say that it was the Sainte-Ursule street that I liked the most there. It was packed with marvellous examples of French colonial architecture with almost every other building housing a hotel, pension or a B&B. The window frames were painted in different colours, the stone structure of the facades were obvious and the proportions were immaculate.

The lower town, however, was even more photogenic, cuter. Its narrow alleys, free from traffic, flanked with small stone buildings complete with colourful wooden window shutters stimulated imagination. The Place Royale with the little church Notre Dame des Victoires and a small statue of Louis XIV was my favourite bit of this part of town - on par, perhaps with the cute buildings at the meeting point of Boulevard Champlain and Rue Dalhousie.