Grande Allée, Main avenue in Quebec City, Canada
Grande Allée is a wide boulevard in Quebec City that runs from Parliament Hill to Saint-Louis Gate, lined with elm trees along its length. Victorian and Second Empire-style buildings frame both sides of the street, creating its distinctive architectural character.
The street began as a rural road in the mid-1600s, connecting the governor's home at Cape Diamond to territories farther west. It gradually transformed into an elegant avenue as the city grew and important families built their homes along it.
The avenue became the address where wealthy Quebecers wanted to live during the late 1800s, and this choice shaped how the street looks and feels today. Those grand homes still signal the prestige the city has always attached to this location.
You can walk the length of the boulevard easily, as it is filled with restaurants, bars, and venues hosting regular events and music performances. During summer weekends and festivals, several stretches become closed to traffic, making it more pleasant to stroll.
In the late 1880s, the boulevard received electric streetlights and one of Quebec City's first electric tramway lines, making it one of the city's most modern streets at that time. This early adoption of new technology set the avenue apart from other parts of the city.
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