Domaine Cataraqui, Heritage estate in Sillery, Canada
Domaine Cataraqui is a heritage villa built on a hillside in Sillery, with gardens and courtyards surrounding the main building. The property includes a winter garden, greenhouses, and vegetable patches arranged across the sloping terrain with views toward the Saint Lawrence River.
James Bell Forsyth founded the estate in 1831 on land that had formerly belonged to the Jesuits. He named it Cataraqui after the indigenous name that Kingston, Ontario once used.
The estate displays architectural features from the 19th century that visitors can see throughout the property, showing how people lived during that era. Walking through the rooms and gardens reveals how the owners combined comfort with the construction techniques available to them at the time.
The estate sits on Chemin Saint-Louis in Quebec City and provides parking on the grounds at no cost. Since the property hosts both private and public events, it is worth checking ahead about which areas are open to visitors on any given day.
The property contains one of Quebec's rare surviving historical gardens, with restored vegetable beds and a rose garden designed by landscape expert Peter Lowe. These preserved planting areas reveal what crops and growing methods the residents relied on during the 1800s.
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