The annual Défi des Escaliers, or Staircase Challenge, sees some 2,600 runners and walkers enjoy stunning views while climbing more than 30 staircases.Louis Charland/Supplied
Lost among the clichéd descriptions of Quebec City – its cobblestoned streets, its European cachet, its terraced restaurants – rests one obvious yet often-overlooked geographic fact – it is located on a promontory whose upper and lower towns are connected by more than 40 staircases. Each snakes up the vertical escarpment that makes up the city’s natural defences.
Scampering up and down these staircases allows for unique glimpses of Quebec City’s past, which goes back more than 418 years. Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, the original fort was built in the Lower Town by the river, but within his lifetime he constructed a new fort on the high ground in front of today’s Château Frontenac.
The annual Défi des Escaliers (Staircase Challenge), which takes place this year on June 20, is a somewhat strenuous event where locals and visitors climb more than 30 staircases in one afternoon, on what organizers describe as the only urban trail in the province of Quebec.
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The route of the Staircase Challenge changes slightly from year to year, but includes many of the shorter stairways well-known to tourists and residents alike. Some 2,600 runners participate, in staggered starts. Participants all run in the same direction, starting near the Tourney Fountain in front of Quebec’s National Assembly.
The route offers great views of the town of Lévis from the Promenade des Gouverneurs staircase and the steps lead to the famous Citadelle of Quebec – the fort built to protect British North America – and end on the Plains of Abraham.
This is truly a great way to get to know Quebec City’s backyard.
As the runners make their way up and down the many steps, they may temporarily forget that these staircases link Quebec City’s Lower Town to Upper Town.
The Staircase Challenge route takes participants past the historic Château Frontenac hotel.Louis Charland/Supplied
Local resident Caroline Longchamp, an ambassador of the event, has her own reason for participating: “When we were kids, we were often told not to run on the stairs, but during the Challenge, the big kids can have a go at it.”
Julien Yamba is from France but has lived in Quebec City for 10 years. He became interested in the annual run because he works near one of the staircases. “It’s another way to rediscover Quebec City and allows us to go past numerous symbolic and historic sites of the capital,” he said.
Each staircase has a name and a story. The Breakneck Stairs are the oldest in the city and date back to Champlain’s era. This picturesque staircase even appeared in the 1953 Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess. In the movie, Hitchcock makes one of his famous cameo appearances at the top of the stairs.
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Although I am fond of many, my favourite is the Lépine Stairway, with 118 steps that connect the working class neighbourhood of St. Roch with the Upper Town.
It particularly stands out because of its wrought iron arches, located at the top and bottom staircase entrances. There’s a local legend that, once upon a time, stair walkers could see inside the morgue at the nearby funeral parlour.
Another favourite is the Du Bois-de-Coulonge Staircase, with 294 steps. It connects the bottom of Gilmour Hill with a well-hidden park, Bois-de-Coulonge. Long the residence of Quebec’s Lieutenant-Governor, it is now a beloved park for walkers where all forms of transit are prohibited, even bikes.
“When we were kids, we were often told not to run on the stairs,” says one local resident, “but during the Challenge, the big kids can have a go at it.”Louis Charland/Supplied
Au pied de la pente douce, a novel by author Roger Lemelin, gives the Escalier de la Pente-Douce (or, “at the foot of the gentle slope” staircase) its name. The story contrasts life between the two echelons of Quebec City society.
A final example is the Cap-Blanc Staircase, coming in at 398 steps. Almost invisible for motorists driving along the four-lane road that follows the St. Lawrence River, it is constructed in a straight line between Champlain Street and the Plains of Abraham.
The staircase owes its origin to the needs of the workers in the first decades of the 20th century who lived in the Lower Town and used it for the daily trudge up and down the steps to their jobs at the Cove Airfield munitions factory.
There are platforms along the way, and I would recommend using them to pause, catch your breath and admire the St. Lawrence River.
Scampering up and down the staircases allows for unique glimpses of Quebec City’s past, which goes back more than 418 years.Louis Charland/Supplied
If you go
Runners attending this year‘s Défi des Escaliers (Staircase Challenge) on June 20 can choose from routes of 19 kilometres and under. Walkers can set off on shorter routes starting at 14 km. There’s also a two-kilometre run for kids. Entry fees run between $57 and $103. The registration deadline is May 21. jecoursqc.com
