Parc des Champs-de-Bataille

On the morning of 13 September 1759, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, a short fight on a field outside the walls of Quebec City, decided the fate of New France. British troops under General James Wolfe climbed a path from the river in the dark and formed ranks on the Plains of Abraham, where the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, came out to meet them. The fighting lasted perhaps fifteen minutes, and both generals were mortally wounded. The ground where it took place is now part of Parc des Champs-de-Bataille, usually called Battlefields Park, one of the great urban parks of North America.

The park covers about 108 hectares along the clifftop above the St. Lawrence River, west of the old walled city. It was created in the early 20th century, after a movement to save the battlefield from development, and it is managed by the National Battlefields Commission. The Plains of Abraham occupy the central part of the park, with wide lawns, shady paths and long views over the river. Gardens add colour, including the Joan of Arc Garden, a formal garden with a bronze statue of the saint, and the landscape is dotted with monuments, cannons and interpretive panels that tell the story of the 1759 battle and of the French victory the following year at Sainte-Foy.

Two Martello Towers, defensive structures built by the British in the early 19th century, stand on the plains, and one of them can be visited for a small fee. Guides explain how the towers were designed to resist artillery and how soldiers lived inside. The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec sits at the western edge of the park, an excellent museum that combines art from Quebec with a modern wing, and the Citadelle rises on the eastern edge.

Today the park is the city's playground. Joggers, cyclists, picnickers and families fill the paths on summer days, and in winter the slopes become a place for skiing, snowshoeing and sledding. Large outdoor concerts and festivals take place here in the summer months, and the Winter Carnival uses the grounds as well. The park can be reached on foot from the old city, by bus, or by car with parking at several points.

Walking the length of the park takes a couple of hours, and the sunsets over the river are memorable. The grounds are free to enter, and individual attractions have their own schedules.