Old Quebec by Private Horse-Drawn Carriage

Follow the routes carts once climbed between port and ramparts, and see North America's walled city as it was built to be seen.

A City Built Upward

Your carriage sets off from the upper town, near the fortified edge of Quebec City, where height shapes everything. Old Quebec was built in two tiers, an upper and a lower town with different roles, linked by steep streets, stairways and zigzag routes first designed for horses and carts.

Riding above the foot traffic, you can see along the ramparts, across junctions and down the slopes in a way that’s hard on foot. Because the carriage follows the old routes rather than walkers’ shortcuts, the city explains itself: walls that follow the land, streets that curve for a reason, gates placed where entry needed controlling.

Capital of New France

Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, and it became the capital of New France and the stronghold of French power in North America, its position on the St. Lawrence controlling the way into the continent. Its bastioned walls, gates and ramparts were built and expanded mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries, following European military engineering of the time.

After the British conquest in 1759, the defenses were strengthened rather than torn down, so while other colonial cities were rebuilt, Old Quebec kept its walls, street plan and stone buildings. Convents, military buildings and merchants’ houses still stand where they always did, and horse-drawn traffic helped shape the routes you’ll follow.

From the Ramparts to Place Royale

The ride often starts along the walls near Dufferin Terrace, where the link between city and river is clear at once. You pass former government buildings, convents and military sites, with the Château Frontenac marking a site that was strategically important long before it became a hotel.

Heading down to the lower town, you follow steep lanes once used to haul goods up from the port. Place Royale marks the site of the original settlement, where church, trade and civic life met in one tight space, and along Rue du Petit-Champlain the buildings crowd the street, with overhanging upper floors, ironwork balconies and carved stone lintels shaped by rules, climate and density. All along the way, repaired stonework shows a city cared for as a living place, not a museum piece.

Your Route, Your Season

Shared carriage rides are short and scripted. Travelling privately, your guide can stop wherever a view or a detail deserves it, and the route can follow your interests, from military engineering to colonial town planning. Early or late in the day the streets are quieter. In winter, snow shows how the city adapted to its climate; in summer, open carriages give long views over the river.

It’s a romantic way to see the city as a couple. Your Out Of Office specialist arranges the timing, pickup and carriage, and our Canada guide covers LGBTQ+ rights and practical advice.