May 2024 Quebec Trip (Day 1 of 3)

 

While everyone was enjoying their brat summer, I wound up exploring and went to quite a few different places in the process. Over Memorial Day Weekend in 2024, the destination for the long weekend was Quebec, which isn't a long haul from my home base in the Albany, New York area, but it's a place I haven't explored enough. On this first day of the trip, I took the Northway (I-87) into Quebec, made my way up to the Montreal suburbs, and then leisurely trekked to Quebec City. I went by way of Shawinigan, where I didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be very interesting. Plus there were some surprises along the way, which is typical for the types of multi-day road trips I take.

Here is a collection of photo highlights from the first day of that three-day adventure. 

Early morning driving north on the Adirondack Northway (I-87). The ferry in question here is the Ticonderoga Ferry, which takes you across Lake Champlain to Vermont, but first you have to pass through Paradox and Ticonderoga to get there. As a bonus, NY 74 used to be part of NY 73, a highway that takes you through the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks to Lake Placid.

The Northway is really a pretty road.

Plus it was named America's Most Scenic Highway in 1967 by Parade Magazine.

Keeseville is home to a few interesting really old bridges.

Now entering "La Belle Province" of Quebec. My wait at customs at the crossing near Champlain, New York took about 15-20 minutes, but the key is to show up early.

If you realized you made a mistake, you can turn around and head back into the United States, but be prepared for another wait at the border to speak with customs.

I did not spend much time on Autoroute 15 (A-15), as I wanted to head to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is home to Fort Saint-Jean, an important fort in the 17th and 18th Centuries used by both the French and the English.

Pont Gouin, a drawbridge over the Chambly Canal. The Chambly Canal was built from 1831 to 1842 between Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Chambly, connecting to the Richelieu River at both ends. Watercraft can continue north towards the St. Lawrence River, or to the south towards Lake Champlain. It is also part of a system of waterways and canals that connect to the Champlain Canal and Erie Canal in New York State, as well as the Hudson River.

Autoroute 35 shield, which is a highway that crisscrosses its way through Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Drawbridge for the Chambly Canal at Bridge 9.

Bridge 7 over the Chambly Canal.

Bridge 7 is the only bobtail swing bridge that crosses the Chambly Canal.

Getting close to QC 112 and time to start finding my way onto other roads.

Now heading west on Autoroute 10 (A-10) towards the Montreal suburbs. I have a little bit of time to decide if Vermonting was a better idea for the weekend, apparently.

Instead, I continued on A-10 westbound, inching ever so closer towards Montreal.

A-30 is a good bypass of Montreal along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Along with a good way to get to the Lafontaine Tunnel under the St. Lawrence River. We'll revisit this in just a bit.

But first, I hopped onto Boulevard Taschereau (QC 134) in Brossard to pick up some groceries and sundry items for the next few days.

QC 134 runs pretty close to the St. Lawrence River, and as such, has exits for roads that lead to the Champlain Bridge, Victoria Bridge, and Jacques Cartier Bridge.

Working my way to A-20. Apparently, unnumbered exits get a blank exit picture on the signs.

Plenty of construction heading into the interchange at A-20, A-25, and QC 132.

One of the many malfunction junctions around the Montreal metropolitan area.

QC 132 eventually goes to Sorel-Tracy and much further away, to the Gaspe Peninsula. 

About the Lafontaine Tunnel that I mentioned earlier, here it is in all of its concrete goodness as it gets ready to descend underneath the St. Lawrence River. There was construction ongoing on the other side of the tunnel, at the intersection with Avenue Souligny.

I wound up taking A-25 northbound to A-40 eastbound. This is at the northernmost exit on Montreal Island.

My heart will go on by exiting at QC 344 in Charlemagne, which is the childhood hometown of singer Celine Dion.

Quebec has a strong tradition of Catholicism stemming back to their days as a French colony. Places like L'Assomption (Assumption), L'Epiphanie (Epiphany) and Saint-Sulpice (named for a cathedral in Paris, France) are pretty mainstream across Quebec.

An older style of Quebec rest area signage. This particular rest area is in the median of the highway and I've also discovered that a number of rest areas have playgrounds as well.

Autoroute 31 goes north to the city of Joliette, which is named for a noteworthy local businessman. The Chemin du Roy is a 280-kilometer-long tourist route that follows the first road constructed between Montreal and Quebec City, back when Quebec was still a French colony. The road is not named for the famous hockey goaltender Patrick Roy, but rather it's the French translation for the "King's Highway".

Berthierville, Quebec is home to the famous Villeneuve family of auto racing.

And sure enough, there is a small museum dedicated to the famous son Gilles Villeneuve.

Back on A-40 eastbound, here's a more modern sign for a Quebec rest area.

Yamachiche, named for the Little Yamachiche River, or is it the other way around?

Approaching  Autoroute 55 in Trois-Rivieres. A-40 and A-55 share a brief concurrency, before A-40 jets off to Quebec City and A-55 crosses the St. Lawrence River on the Laviolette Bridge.

I decided to take a detour south on A-55 with hopes of going to a nearby park - Parc Laviolette - in order to get some photos of the bridge. But it was too busy to even find parking.

I found this hodgepodge of A-40, A-55, QC 138, and QC 155 shields though.

Now going north on A-55 to Shawinigan.

A-55 north of Trois-Rivieres is the Autoroute de l'Energie, in homage to Shawinigan's history in hydroelectricity.

It'll be a while before I find my hat.

Let's take a detour into Shawinigan by heading into town on QC 153.

Affectionately known by locals as "Shawi", Shawinigan's history dates back to 1651 when a Jesuit priest traveled up the Saint Maurice River to Shawinigan. But it was hydroelectricity that made Shawinigan what it is today, when a hydroelectric power generating station was built near Shawinigan Falls in the 1890s. Shawinigan is also the birthplace of former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Approaching downtown Shawinigan on QC 153

The Hydro-Québec observation tower at La Cité de l'Energie, a museum in Shawinigan

Shawinigan Falls, or maybe just a shell of Shawinigan Falls, with some of the water probably being held by the hydroelectric plant upstream. Shawinigan Falls is supposed to be pretty powerful.

Heading back to A-55 by taking QC 351 after my interesting detour in Shawinigan. If I had more time to explore, Shawinigan seems like it is a neat place to spend a full day.

A-55 ends not too far north of here, at a crossing of the Saint Maurice River. If you were to continue on QC 351, it would lead you towards one of the entrances for La Mauricie National Park.

FIN! A-55 ends at the Saint Maurice River at the Pont des Piles.

At the time of my crossing (May 2024), a new Pont des Piles was in the process of being constructed. It will be an arch bridge and is expected to open in 2025.

But the more famous bridge that crosses the Saint Maurice River in Shawinigan is the Grand-Mere Bridge, designed by David Steinman and built in 1929.

David Steinman also designed the Deer Isle Bridge in Maine and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, among others, but the 1,102-foot-long Grand-Mere Bridge is one of the more noteworthy bridges on Canadian soil that he designed.

Route des Rivieres is another scenic touring route in Quebec, running about 250 kilometers between La Tuque and Trois-Rivieres.

A view from the Parc des Papetiers of the Grand-Mere Bridge. The lumber and paper industries have long been a major player in the local economy around Shawinigan, and papetier translates to papermaker in English.

There is an observation deck where one can get nice views of the bridge, and yes, there is low clearance for the bridge.

The aforementioned observation tower. I did not spy an elevator, but there are flights of stairs you can take to climb up to the top level. There are informational plaques (only in French, not in English) going up the stairs that tell the history of the industrial heritage of the Shawinigan area.

The Grand-Mere Bridge at water level.

One last look at the Grand-Mere Bridge as I continue on my merry way.

Taking QC 359 past St. Narcisse and down to the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

Looking behind me at the north end of QC 359.

Back to A-40, but I'll continue down QC 359 to Champlain and then drive the Chemin du Roy for a bit.

Église de Champlain, or Champlain Church, which is an amazing-looking Catholic church in Champlain. Apparently, the interior of the church looks amazing too, and the artwork inside of the church was painted by an artist from Montreal named Édouard Meloche in 1882 and 1883. 

Tourelle de Champlain. I took the picture because I thought the architecture of the house was neat, but apparently, it's a short-term chalet rental.

The Chemin du Roy follows QC 138 for much of its length. Also, there's a bike route along here as well.

Built in 1816, the Old Presbytery of Batiscan showcases the evolution of daily life in rural Quebec.

In Batiscan, QC 138 comes quite close to the St. Lawrence River.

QC 361 will swiftly whisk you away from Batiscan towards A-40, but I think I'll spend a little more time on the Chemin du Roy.

Because, sure, why not drive over an older truss bridge? The Batiscan Bridge crosses the Batiscan River on QC 138. The bridge opened in 1922 and was originally a toll bridge, replacing a wooden bridge at the same location.

QC 138 and all sorts of scenic touring signs in Batiscan.

Back on A-40 heading east towards Quebec City, we are welcomed to Quebec's capital region.

I could go back to the Chemin du Roy, but I'll have to save that for another trip.

Some hills on A-40 going east.

But there's a need to keep the trucks off of QC 138.

Getting welcomed to Quebec City again.

The Quebec City skyline can be seen in the far distance.

Inching closer to Quebec City on A-40 eastbound. Meanwhile, QC 367 is a route that goes north and west towards some scenic lakes.

Time to exit A-40 and head down A-540.

Sunken freeway goodness on A-540 southbound in Sainte-Foy.

Approaching A-540's southern end at A-73. I do not believe that there is an exit ramp that will directly take you to A-73 northbound, so taking the exit for Boulevard Hochelaga is probably your safest bet if you want to do that.

A-540 ends at A-73. In the distance, you can see the Pierre Laporte Bridge, which was named after the journalist, lawyer, and politician Pierre Laporte, who was kidnapped and murdered during the October Crisis of 1970.

QC 136 takes you along the St. Lawrence River to downtown Quebec City.

One of two bridges of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City, the Pierre Laporte Bridge opened in November 1970 to alleviate congestion on the nearby parallel Quebec Bridge.

Heading over to A-20 briefly (so I can check into my hotel for the weekend). If I were to continue south on A-73, I would eventually wind up on QC 173, and after that, the State of Maine. I do appreciate how Quebec will include route shields for major routes of neighboring states on their signs.

Actually, both A-20 and QC 116 will eventually take you to Montreal, or really, Longueuil. Granted, they're on somewhat different paths, but you'll eventually wind up in the same place.

Heading east on A-20 towards Lévis so I can take a ferry into downtown Quebec City

If you continue south on either QC 173 or QC 277, both highways will eventually take you to the border with the United States, as QC 173 connects with US 201 in Maine. QC 277 is a somewhat different story, as the route will eventually take you right next to a border crossing that serves mainly logging interests for Baker Lake Road at the St. John River in Sainte-Aurélie.

Heading into downtown Lévis

  

Waiting for the ferry at the terminal in Lévis, I had a chance to admire the fountains of Quai Paquet, which features 169 jets shooting water up to 9 meters high, making it the most powerful of its kind in Canada. At night, there's a light display at the fountains. The ferry crossing between downtown Lévis and downtown Quebec City is about 10 minutes long and is a fun way to get into the old city.

I won't be taking a cargo ship across the river, but the ferry terminal is a great place to watch cargo ships pass by.

The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac hotel rises tall across the St. Lawrence in the old city of Quebec.

Now firmly on land, the Chateau Frontenac still rises prominently on the hilltop.

The narrow old streets of old Quebec City. There is certainly an old French charm here.

Heading uphill on Cote de la Montagne. The Prescott Gate and the Louis St. Laurent Building are ahead.

Chateau Frontenac. It is certainly one of the most recognizable buildings in Quebec City.

Looking downhill and across the St. Lawrence River to Lévis.

La Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec dates back to 1647. This cathedral is the site of the only Holy Door outside of Europe.

Saint François de Laval Monument

Old Quebec City

A view of the Chateau Frontenac from the Dufferin Terrace.

The Dufferin Terrace Toboggan Slide, which opened in 1884, and is one of the oldest attractions in Quebec City. However, it is only open during the winter months.

A view of the Dufferin Terrace, Chateau Frontenac, and St. Lawrence River from Cap Diamant.

The Citadelle of Quebec is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. I arrived too late in the day to take a tour, but I could view the exterior walls of what's known as the Gibraltar of the Americas, due to its strategic location.

Quebec City is the only walled city in North America outside of Mexico and the historic gates to the city remain. This is St. Louis Gate, and yes, you can take a flight of stairs to the top of the wall.

Looking at old Quebec City from the top of St. Louis Gate.

Another gate in the wall, Kent Gate.

City Hall Gardens. There is a fountain show here, like at Quai Paquet.

Cardinal Taschereau Monument and the Notre Dame of Quebec Basilica Cathedral.

The day draws to a close from the top of the Prescott Gate. Time to walk back to the ferry, go to the hotel, and call it a night.

Sources and Links:

Quebec - Alpsroads.net
Quebec Trip (Day 1 of 3) / Full Album - Flickr
Quebec Trip (Day 2 of 3) - Gribblenation