Gare du Palais

Visitors arriving in downtown Québec City by train or motorcoach disembark at Gare du Palais, one of Canada's heritage train stations. It is housed in a building with many aspects of a French Renaissance château.

Gare du Palais, the former post office next door and the beautiful public park laid out before both buildings comprise one of the most eye-catching city scapes in Lower Town.

What to do at Gare du Palais?

• Travel to Québec City from Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto or one of many other cities by train with Via Rail or by motorcoach.
• Relax in Place Jean-Pelletier next to the sculpture/fountain created by Charles Daudelin to celebrate the power of water.
• Admire Rêver le Nouveau Monde, a work of art comprising 40 chairs onto which have been inscribed texts by Québécois writers from the 19th century to today.
• Have a drink or bite to eat at one of the many sidewalk patios onsite or nearby.

History of Gare du Palais

Inaugurated in 1916 by Canadian Pacific and two other railway companies, Union Station, as it was then called, was a prestigious building that rivalled similar structures elsewhere around the world. Despite its castle-inspired architecture in a style similar to that of Château Frontenac, the new station is modern, with its efficient though unusual Y-shaped platform able to accommodate several trains at once. Additionally, it has a major impact on the local economy, as it established a link between the port and railway network.

Soon the station would be renamed Gare du Palais in homage to the Intendant's Palace (now referred to as Îlot des Palais) located near this spot at the time of the colony of New France.

Even today, visitors are amazed by the large entry hall with its vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows and abundant natural lighting.