Lower Town (Basse-Ville): Quartier Petit-Champlain, Place Royale & Breakneck Stairs

Tucked between the base of the 60-metre Cap Diamant cliff and the St. Lawrence River docks, Lower Town (Basse-Ville) is where Canada began. Walking down the steps from Upper Town into Place Royale and Quartier Petit-Champlain leads through the oldest surviving 17th- and 18th-century stone neighbourhood in North America.

1. The Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou) & Rue du Petit-Champlain

From Dufferin Terrace in Upper Town, walk two minutes down winding Côte de la Montagne (or ride the cash-only 1879 Funicular into the former home of explorer Louis Jolliet) to reach the top of the Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou). Descending its 59 steps drops you onto pedestrian-only Rue du Petit-Champlain, one of the oldest commercial lanes in North America:

• What to See Along Rue du Petit-Champlain: lined with 300-year-old rough-stone cottages with steeply pitched dormers built so winter snow slides off, the lane houses Québécois woodcarvers, alpaca weavers, maple-butter boutiques and bistros such as Le Lapin Sauté (known for rabbit confit and duck). At 102 Rue du Petit-Champlain, admire the Fresque du Petit-Champlain trompe-l'œil mural depicting the working-class maritime history of the street.
• Umbrella Alley (Rue du Cul-de-Sac): parallel to the main lane, look up at hundreds of colourful floating umbrellas in summer and glowing evergreen trees with fairy lights from November to March.

2. Place Royale (1608 Birthplace of Quebec) & Fresque des Québécois

Walk two minutes north of the Breakneck Stairs into the cobbled courtyard of Place Royale, the exact riverfront spot where Samuel de Champlain erected his wooden Habitation in July 1608:

1. Église Notre-Dame-des-Victoires (Built 1688, Free Entry): the oldest stone church in North America. Step inside to see the scale wooden ship model (Le Brezé) hanging from the ceiling since 1664 and the altar shaped like a fortified castle wall to mark the British sieges of 1690 and 1711.
2. La Fresque des Québécois (Foot of Côte de la Montagne): one block north on Rue Notre-Dame, stand before a 420-square-metre outdoor optical-illusion mural painted on a five-storey building, featuring 16 historical figures from Jacques Cartier and Champlain to Félix Leclerc alongside Quebec's four seasons.