Terrasse Dufferin (Dufferin Terrace) is a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bri ...

that wraps around the

Château Frontenac The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, towards the Citadelle, overlooking the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

History

The terrace was built under the direction of the Marquess of Dufferin, the then

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

, and eventually named for him. It was officially inaugurated by Dufferin's viceregal successor,

John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, (6 August 1845 – 2 May 1914), usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman who wa ...

, and his wife, Princess Louise, on 28 June 1879. The terrace is maintained by

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government, agency of the Government of Canada whic ...

as part of the Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux National Historic Site.

Features

Quartier Vieux-Quebec - Terrasse Dufferin BAnQ P560S1P787

The terrace consists of a

with six

gazebos A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th cen ...

and benches from

(and previous by

Château Haldimand The Château Haldimand was a castle that stood where the Château Frontenac now stands in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed between 1784 and 1786. History In 1784, Quebec Governor Frederick Haldimand ordered construc ...

) to the

Citadelle of Quebec The Citadelle of Quebec (french: Citadelle de Québec), also known as ''La Citadelle'', is an active military installation and the secondary official residence of both the Canadian monarch and the governor general of Canada. It is located atop ...

(accessed via a set of stairs). The gazebos are named (in order from north to south): Frontenac, Lorne, Princess Louise, Victoria, Dufferin, and Plessis. On the south end of the terrasse is a ramp or Terrasse Dufferin Slides (c. 1898) used annually as a toboggan run during

Quebec Winter Carnival The Quebec Winter Carnival (french: Carnaval de Québec), commonly known in both English and French as Carnaval, is a pre-Lenten festival held in Quebec City. After being held intermittently since 1894, the ''Carnaval de Québec'' has been celeb ...

or the Carnaval de Québec from late January to mid-February.https://www.expedia.ca/Parks-Canadas-Dufferin-Terrace-Quebec.d6168135.Vacation-Attraction Also located at the southern end is access to the Governors' Promenade, a walkway to the

Plains of Abraham The Plains of Abraham (french: Plaines d'Abraham) is a historic area within the Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, anada. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took pla ...

built into the cliffs below the Citadel. Adjacent to the Frontenac gazebo at the northern end is the

Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec The Old Quebec Funicular (french: Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec) is a funicular railway in the Old Quebec neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It links the Haute-Ville (Upper Town) at Dufferin Terrace to the Basse-Ville (Lower Town) at ...

, which descends to

Rue du Petit-Champlain Rue du Petit-Champlain (English: Little Champlain Street) is a street in the Canadian city of Quebec City, Quebec. It is located in the Petit Champlain commercial district, at the foot of Cap Diamant, and contains many boutique shops. Quarti ...

in the Lower Town.

Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux

Beneath sections of the terrace are the remains of Saint Louis Forts as well as Château Saint-Louis, residence for French and British Governors. These can be viewed through three skylights built into the Terrasse and, when it is open, by a walkway that extends under the Terrasse.

References

External links

{{coord, 46.8111, N, 71.2043, W, source:wikidata, display=title Old Quebec Wooden buildings and structures in Canada Buildings and structures in Quebec City National Historic Sites in Quebec