With its numerous restaurants, bars and sidewalk patios, this elegant, tree-lined street is the heart of Québec City's nightlife.

Known as Québec City's Elysian Fields, Grande Allée runs by or is only a block away from several major attractions, including the Plains of Abraham, the Musée national des beaux-arts and the Parliament Building. It enters Old Québec through the Saint-Louis Gate.

What to do on Grande Allée

• Go out with friends to the many restaurants, bars, microbreweries or nightclubs with live entertainment.
• Grab a bite to eat or have a drink at one of the many sunny sidewalk patios as soon as they open in the spring.
• Join the crowd of revellers welcoming in the New Year at the huge outdoor street party held on December 31.
• Admire the Victorian architecture that lends a charming cachet to this district, home to the city's upper class in the latter half of the 19th century.

Restaurants and bars on Grande Allée

The atmosphere on Grande Allée is absolutely magical, especially when this street is closed to automobile traffic on summer weekends, during the Summer Festival and in the days leading up to the New Year's Eve bash. A number of bars and restaurants can be found between rues d’Artigny and Cours du Général de Montcalm, with the more notable being:

• Dagobert: A multi-level nightclub that has been open for over 40 years.
• Voûtes Grande Allée: A bar featuring live entertainment where the best Québécois folk singers perform.
• Ciel!: This revolving restaurant on the top floor of Hotel le Concorde affords a gorgeous 360-degree view of Québec City.
• L’Atelier: A refined restaurant-bar with a relaxed ambience known for its mixology.

The history of Grande Allée

In the 17th century, Grande Allée was a country road linking the governor's residence on Cape Diamant to Cap-Rouge, 10 km (6.2 miles) to the west. In the mid-19th century, the city's wealthier residents began to build homes along Grande Allée in order to flee the epidemics and fires that were a common hazard within the stone fortifications.

In 1871, when Canada was still a young country, the Québec government purchased a sizable lot destined to be the site of the Parliament Building. This drew several notable figures to the area, who built their homes nearby in Second Empire style. Today, many of these dwellings still stand.

In the 1980s, part of Grande Allée became a hub for local nightlife, as former rental properties were replaced by restaurants, discos and sidewalk patios.