Fortifications of Québec, Colonial fortification system in Old Quebec, Canada.

The Fortifications of Québec are a 4.6 km line of ramparts enclosing almost all of Old Québec's Upper Town on the eastern end of the Québec hill. The walls run along the cliff of Cap Diamant, with a lower retaining wall and an upper rampart capped by a low parapet of dark flat stones. A rectangular opening spanned by a bridge pierces the lower wall, and a black iron cannon inscribed "E. DEY" stands on a grey carriage.

The walls began in 1608 and were expanded and modified by French and British forces over centuries to protect the growing city. The site withstood multiple attacks and still retains key features from its founding period.

The four gates seen today are not the originals: the narrow French and British gates were demolished in 1871, and Lord Dufferin, governor general from 1872 to 1878, had wider, ornamented ones built so the walls could stay. The ramparts, with the Citadelle and the Lévis forts, became a national historic site in 1948 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

You can explore the walls on foot, with sections directly walkable and others viewable from above. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since the paths are uneven and climb across several levels.

The walls held out in 1760 when British troops waited inside for reinforcements by sea, and again in 1775 against American forces. Around 300 cannon pieces lined the rampart in 1837. Look for the black iron cannon marked "E. DEY" on its grey carriage, set before the lower retaining wall and its bridge.