We have always loved old houses. We had just finished renovating one in Montreal - a "young" one of 115 years old !

We were looking for something new... (euh, just a way of speaking)... Maybe another old house in a smaller city with lots of charm and a closeness to the St-Lawrence river.

Meanwhile, our neighbor had just started a B&B....what a superb idea ! ... Meeting people from all over the world at your own breakfast table !

We put these two ideas together and after a few months, succeeded in finding another old house in Old Quebec city. This time, the "new" house was nearly 160 years old. After much efforts and care, we gave it a new life.

We are a couple: an elementary school teacher and an information systems consultant. We both have an interest in computers and the Internet world, not to mention history, architecture and interior decorating ... and renovating ! We are now proud innkeepers.

Nathalie & Paul
Old Quebec city
May 2003

Our house is located in the historic borough a few minutes by foot to the main attractions of the old city. It was re-built in 1846 after the great fire of 1845 that destroyed that part of the city. Houses existed on our street then called St-Charles street as early as in the 1720's.

The St-Charles river (flowing into the St-Lawrence river nearby) ran closely by in those years (occupying the space of St-Paul street just behind the house) which explains why our street was then named St-Charles. This street was renamed from St-Charles street to Saint-Vallier street around 1890 in honor of the second bishop of Quebec city.

(View of Cote du Palais street leading to the Du Palais gate, destroyed in late 1890's)

(image: John Crawford Young 1825-1827)

Fire has always been another of the city’s scourges

On May 28, 1845, the Saint-Roch neighborhood went up in flames, destroying 1,630 homes and stores and over 3,000 shops and warehouses. Nearly two-thirds of the neighborhood’s homes were lost, leaving 1,200 homeless and 50 dead. A month later, fire struck again in the Saint-Jean Baptiste neighborhood: two churches, three schools, and 1,300 homes burned to the ground, leaving thousands homeless.

According to contemporary accounts, the flames could be seen from as far away as Trois-Rivières! A full-time fire department was set up in 1858, but this didn’t prevent other neighborhoods from falling prey to flames in 1866, 1870, 1876, 1881, and 1889.
(source: www.ville.quebec.qc.ca)