Gare du Palais, Railway and bus station in Old Quebec, Canada.
Gare du Palais is a major transportation terminal in Quebec City that handles both VIA Rail passenger trains and intercity bus services connecting the region to destinations across eastern Canada.
The first Palais Station was built around 1872 by the North Shore Railway, whose assets passed to the Quebec government in 1875. The Canadian Pacific Railway began the present building in 1915 to the design of architect Harry Edward Prindle, and it was inaugurated on 10 August 1916. Expropriated by the city in 1976 for the Dufferin-Montmorency highway, it reopened on 8 November 1985 after a CA$28 million renovation.
The station's name comes from Palais Street, named after the destroyed palace of the Intendant of New France; the main entrance is now on rue de la Gare-du-Palais, renamed in 1986. Inside, red bricks bearing the Tudor rose, Scottish thistle, Irish shamrock or maple leaf, and blue bricks with a golden fleur-de-lys, form a border around the hall. The building has been a Heritage Railway Station of Canada since 1992.
The main entrance opens onto rue de la Gare-du-Palais, with place Jean-Pelletier, named for former mayor Jean Pelletier, in front of the building. Trains run on the north side of the Saint-Charles River and reach the station by crossing it. La Québécoise coaches to Victoriaville and Sherbrooke stop at 222 Rue Saint-Paul, about 500 m southeast.
The station's name refers not to the building but to Palais Street, named for the destroyed palace of the Intendant of New France nearby. The main entrance now sits on rue de la Gare-du-Palais, renamed in 1986. Look up: the roof clock dial measures eight feet across and is topped by the city's arms.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,830 contributors worldwide.
