Jacques

Languages: French and English

The Tours I do: The Grand Tour and private walking tours

My favorite Anecdote : A few years ago, I had on one of my French tours, three clients from the Haute-Savoie region in France. It was a middle-aged couple with their daughter- in-law. It seems that they like my Quebec City tour, since they refered me afterwards to the parents of their daughter-in-law, then to their brothers and sisters, and on the next year, even their cousins took my tour ! I now know a few people in Haute-Savoie !

Travelling experiences : A few trips to Europe for work, but visiting at the same time Berlin, Brussels, Munich, Cologne, Strasburg, and many little towns and villages.  Also, a trip to Normandy to visit Caen and the nearby 1944 Normandy Landing beaches.

Before becoming a guide : TV reporter and producer for the Quebec City Community Television. And since the year 2000, owner of a video and film production company.

Why did I become a guide? I like history, and I like a lot our old city of Quebec. So it is nice to have the chance to talk about it to my clients as we are walking, and looking at old buildings and historical sites. In addition, I like very much to meet people from various countries, and I am certainly well served in that respect with our walking tours!

IN MY TOURS, I LIKE TO INSIST ON: I usually put the emphasis on the military history of Quebec City. In second, as important themes : the city’s architecture and its religious heritage. Contemporary life in Quebec City and the story of Aboriginal people would come equal in third place. Then I usually put in emphasis on the social history of our city, especially on immigration. Finally, among important themes, I talk about the preservation of our city’s heritage.

My favorite readings on Quebec City : Everything published on the history of our city by the Quebec City based publishing company Septentrion. This firm is led by a famous historian, Denis Vaugeois, and its books are often simply remarkable...if you can read French !