In Old Québec, artists exhibit and sell their watercolours, engravings, paintings and reproductions along rue du Trésor, a side street resembling an open-air art gallery.

With its European cachet, this cobblestone street linking the Château Frontenac and the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral is one of the best places in the city to buy a souvenir. The cross street at the upper end of rue du Trésor, called rue Sainte-Anne, is also an artistic hub in its own right. Here, numerous caricaturists and portraitists practise their craft in a picturesque setting.

Every day from mid-May to mid-October, rue du Trésor is lined with artists who are often present until 9 p.m. to handle the flow of visitors. The artists are free to set their own hours. During the rest of the year, a few artists are present on holidays, as well as on weekends when large crowds are expected in Old Québec.

What is there to do at rue du Trésor?

• Purchase an original work of art as a souvenir
• Meet local artists

The history of rue du Trésor

During the French Regime, colonists came to this street to pay their taxes at the royal treasury once located here (hence the name du Trésor). In the 1960s, a pair of artists decided to exhibit some of their paintings in this side street. Other artists soon followed suit, all interested in displaying their works to tourists and amateur art lovers. Rue du Trésor became so popular as a venue for selling art that the Association des Artistes de la Rue du Trésor (AART) was founded to promote and supervise the business activities of the site.