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Dufferin Terrace

Photo: Google Maps

Scenic Views · Quebec

Dufferin Terrace

4.8 · 2,508 Google reviews

The long wooden boardwalk beside the Château Frontenac in Old Québec, looking out over the St. Lawrence. Free to stroll year-round, with street performers in summer and the 1884 toboggan slide in winter.

Québec, QuebecRue des Carrières, Québec City, G1R 5J5+1 418-648-7016View: LookoutAccess: Level boardwalk in Old Québec; funicular from the lower townBest time: Evening for the lit-up Château; mid-December to mid-March for the toboggan slideFees: Free to walk; toboggan slide and Parks Canada crypt are paidFishing: This is a clifftop boardwalk with no water access, so there's no fishing here; it isn't a ban.
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What visitors say

Dufferin Terrace is a wide wooden promenade along the clifftop of Old Québec, wrapping around the Château Frontenac and running toward the Citadelle. From the railing you look straight down on the Petit-Champlain quarter and out across the St. Lawrence. Reviewers say it's just as striking at night, when the Château is lit up, as it is by day.

It's a place to walk slowly and sit. There are plenty of benches, and in summer musicians and street performers set up along the boards. The terrace is part of Parks Canada's Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux National Historic Site, and the ruins of the old governor's residence can be visited in a crypt beneath it. Visitors describe it as clean and well looked after.

Winter changes the mood. The river fills with ice floes, and the wooden toboggan runs, first built in 1884, open at the far end with a kiosk selling tickets, coffee and hot chocolate. A couple of reviewers suggest riding the funicular up from the lower town and walking down afterward.

There isn't much to warn about beyond crowds, which are part of the experience at peak times. It's an urban historic site rather than a nature spot, so come for the river view and the city, and pair it with the Governors' Promenade or the Plains of Abraham if you want a longer walk.

Summarised from visitor reviews on Google Maps. Based on 2,508 Google reviews. Conditions and rules change — check current park, access and fishing regulations before you go.