Vacation: Outside Quebec City

One of our days in Quebec City we drove around the surrounding countryside. We went to Canyon Sainte-Anne and hiked around the waterfall and canyon there. The canyon has three bridges over it. Mom only went over two of those bridges, because the third one was down A LOT of steps. She never would have made it!

The Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River carved the canyon.


From the first bridge, you get to see the top of the falls.


The waterfalls from one of the viewing points on the trail. The melting snow made them tremendously powerful during May.


In the town of Sainte Anne de Beaupre, we went to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. This church was absolutely breathtaking - outside and in. Pictures could never do it justice. The church rises above the surrounding buildings and the twin spires can be seen for miles around.




The basilica had a very Orthodox feel to it inside. The mosaics and tile work looked like pictures I've seen of Eastern Orthodox churches.


This included a relic from St. Anne herself - bone from her arm, I think.


Underneath the main sanctuary, there is another smaller chapel with more paintings on the walls and decor in a gorgeous shade of blue.


This is where the replica of the Pieta is. You can see it up close. Having never seen the original, I can only say that the replica is stunning. I could have stood there looking at that for quite some time.

Even the ceiling above the replica was gorgeous. Look at the tile work!


We also stopped briefly by Montmorency Falls, right outside Quebec City. This waterfall is right on the side of the highway. These falls are actually higher than Niagara Falls on the U.S.-Canada border.


Next stop: New Brunswick!