Crimes of New France Animated Walking Tour Quebec City

Morrin Centre, Old Quebec's former jail

Your evening begins in front of the Morrin Centre on Chaussée des Écossais in the Upper Town. The site first held a French military redoubt in the early 1700s; in 1808 to 1813 the present stone building went up as the city's common jail, and it held prisoners until 1867. Hangings took place outside its walls, and the cramped cells in the basement are still preserved. The building later became a college and today houses an English-language cultural centre with a historic library.

It is the perfect stage for the first scene of this Quebec City ghost tour: your actor-guide appears in period dress and explains how a man accused of crimes ended up wielding the rope himself. The Morrin Centre also runs its own daytime visits of the cells and library; check its opening hours if you want to see the interior on another day.

Justice in New France

From 1663, serious crimes in the colony were judged by the Sovereign Council in Quebec, applying French royal law. Sentences ranged from fines and public shaming in the pillory to whipping, branding, banishment, service on the galleys and hanging. Interrogation under torture was legal, and the accused had no lawyer. Executioners were hard to find, so the post was often given to a condemned man in exchange for his pardon, and he lived apart, shunned by the town.

These are the stories your guide tells between the stops: counterfeiters who copied the colony's playing-card money, soldiers accused of theft, and trials that ended in the market square. The tone is dark and lively rather than gory, and every case is based on real records. This Old Quebec history tour gives you a picture of daily life that few daytime visits show.

The Upper Town streets at night

After dark, the Upper Town of Old Quebec changes character. Stone houses with tin roofs, narrow lanes and the walls of convents and seminaries are lit by lanterns, and the crowds of the day thin out. The route follows the old streets between the former jail and the edge of the cliff, pausing where prisoners were held, judged or led to punishment, while the actor stays in character and draws the group into the scene.

If you are looking for things to do in Quebec City at night, this walk fits well after an early dinner in the Upper Town. Expect around 90 minutes on foot with several stops, slopes and a descent towards the river. The tour runs in all weather, so in autumn and winter dress warmly: evenings here are cold, and the wind off the St. Lawrence can bite.

Down to the Lower Town

The second half of the walk leaves the Upper Town and heads down towards the river along the historic route that has linked the two halves of the city since the 1600s. Stairways and steep streets cut through the cliff of Cap Diamant, and from the bends you catch glimpses of the lights on the St. Lawrence and the far shore at Lévis. Your guide uses these darker corners for some of the most chilling tales of the evening.

This part is the steepest of the tour, so sensible shoes with good grip matter, especially on wet or icy nights. The descent takes you into Basse-Ville, the oldest part of Quebec City, where merchants, sailors and soldiers of New France rubbed shoulders and where the story reaches its final act.

Place Royale, the final scene

The tour ends in Place Royale, the square where the first French trading post was built in 1608 and which became the busy market place of New France. Market squares like this one were where sentences were proclaimed and offenders exposed to the crowd, so it is a fitting stage for the last scene. At night the restored stone houses and the façade of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church, completed in 1688, are softly lit.

From here you can stroll the nearby lanes of Quartier Petit Champlain or ride the funicular back up to Terrasse Dufferin. Note that the start and finish points are different, so plan how you will return to your hotel. The square is open at all hours, and it is worth coming back in daylight to see it at its liveliest.