Quebec City School Trip: [Le Chateau Frontenac]
Whether it is for a foreign language experience or simply for a school trip with something a little different, Montreal and Quebec City are excellent options to consider. Planning French immersion trips to Quebec City for your school provides students an opportunity to discover a new culture and language. The vibrant French culture of these cities can be sampled during a 3, 4 or 5 day trip to one or both of these cities.
Louis de Buade
Quebec City is a little more of French than Montreal and you can bask in typical architecture going back to the 16h century as you walk the streets of Lower or Upper Town.
Perched on Cap-Diamant Quebec was a perfect natural location for defending the mighty St-Lawrence. Here the effects of the tides can be seen and felt.
Today the Chateau Frontenac is an imposing structure, not a caste as the name implies but a hotel built in the late 19th century.
Is is near the site of the original Fort St.Louis of 1690 where the Comte de Frontenac defended the city against the naval attack of English Admiral Phipps.
The RUSE
Severely short handed Frontenac used a very interesting tactic when he greeted Phips’ emissary. While walking the blindfolded English envoy up to the fort and Frontenac cleverly had his troops walk with cannons and horses around the blocks near the emissary.
Upon meeting Frontenac in his office, he was defiant during the meeting and told him as they concluded: ‘Tell your Admiral, I will answer him by the mouth of my canons’.
Hearing the troops marching and parading he felt that Frontenac’s forces were very strong and judging from Frontenac’s tone he was very confident.
He reported this to Phips, and Phips would eventually lift the short siege and hastily return to Boston.
Fittingly, on the site of the Fort is now a very well known hotel called the Chateau Frontenac.
The Hotel
The Chateau Frontenac was built as a hotel in 1892 and owned by the Canadian Pacific railroad for many years. It offers magnificent views of the river. The green roofing comes from oxidized copper. When copper is initially installed it is very brownish in tint and as it is exposed to the elements the copper slowly oxidizes and turns green.
The Chateau hosted a significant event in 1943 during World War 2; the Quebec Conferences where the initial outlines of Operation Overlord were discussed by President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Prime Minister Mackenzie King which would lead to D-Day in June of 1944.
It is said to be the most photographed hotel in the world by the Guinness Book of World records.
As you can see a visit to the Chateau Frontenac is a definite must on your next student trip to Quebec City. We place it 10th on our Top Ten things to see in Montreal and Quebec City.
And for those Foreign Language and French Teachers:
Nous parlons Français- demandez pour Stefan lorsque vous nous contactez pour une proposition de voyage. A bientôt.
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