The Petit-Champlain District

To the left, you’ll see the beautiful Petit-Champlain mural, created by the Mural Création collective. The artwork depicts life in Cap Blanc, Quebec’s old working-class port district. It marks the entrance to Rue du Petit-Champlain—the most iconic tourist street in Old Quebec. Today it’s a must-see, but the area had a very different reputation in the past. It was once considered run-down and unsanitary, and often hit by dangerous landslides from the cliffs above. In the 17th century, the street was just a path leading to Champlain’s fountain. During the 1800s, waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine settled here, near the shipyards where many of them found work. They began calling the street Little Champlain Street, to distinguish it from the larger Rue Champlain. French speakers later translated that as Rue du Petit-Champlain, and the name stuck. The area was transformed in the 1970s, thanks to a restoration project that brought new life to this historic district and revived its commercial roots. A cooperative of shopkeepers, artists, and artisans came together to breathe life back into the street, and their efforts paid off. What you see today is a bustling street, full of life, art, and good cheer.