Upper Town

Name of two inner-city districts in the Canadian conurbations of Ottawa and Québec. In Ottawa, Upper Town is situated on the high limestone cliffs that rise above the south bank of the Ottawa River. Originally the site of a British garrison, it became home after 1859 to the capital's government buildings, on Parliament Hill. In Québec Upper Town ( French, Haute-Ville) describes the city centre, which is situated on top of the hill known as Cap-Diamant. This high ground, fortified first by the French in the 17th century, and after 1759 by the British, made Québec City the ‘Gibraltar of North America’. The Château Frontenac dominates the Upper Town's east end.