Le Vieux Port offers easy access to shopping. Summer temperatures average in the 70s, but on spring and autumn cruises, a jacket will be a necessity.

Quebec City is delightful for fall foliage and impressive with its boughs of green and remarkable light in spring and summer - all seasons that find cruise ships in town. It remains the only walled city in the U.S. Rusted cannon balls still can be seen lodged in trees and buildings in the Old City. In the 17th and 18th centuries, several historic battles were fought there among the French, British, Americans and native peoples. Chosen as a site for a permanent trading post in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec's name comes from an Algonquin word for 'where the river narrows.' The year 1608 marked the beginning of a continual French presence in the area. Settlement occurred in four phases: Native Amerindians, the French, the British and finally, the Canadian Confederation in 1867. Lawrence River, flowing beneath the cliffs of Upper Town (dominated by the regal Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, one of the world's great hotels) swirls into the Atlantic and explains the colonization of this part of the world. Lawrence River Valley, framed to the north by the majestic Laurentian Mountains and to the south by the Appalachian foothills and mountains leading to New England. Friendly locals convey that sense of romance and Old World charm found across the Atlantic, making Quebec City a wonderfully distinctive port of call on Canada/New England cruises. Think of it as France without the attitude. Quebec City offers a savory taste of Europe right here in North America. Tropez? Non, mon ami, just a bit north of the U.S. Sidewalk cafes by the dozen, baguettes in bicycle baskets, the classic French shoulder shrug, charming pedestrian-friendly plazas and squares, and residents with a special Gallic grace and beauty.

Quebec city cruise port to airport