Lévis, QC

I ran into Lévis completely by chance. At the conclusion of my trip to Quebec City, I looked across the St. Lawrence River and saw interesting features of a red staircase and a terrace with pavilions at a town. I decided to drive over the next morning to see what it was – it was Lévis.

The name isn’t pronounced like the famous jeans or the tribe of Israelites. The name came from its first European name Pointe-Lévy, and the town was known as Lévy in some paintings before the 19th century. The fort at Lévis protected the other side of the St. Lawrence, but pales in comparison to the mighty fortifications of Quebec City. It was part of a system of fortifications designed to protect the colony from an American invasion, the only other fort still standing is in Chambly.

The town is most well known for having the first credit union started by Alphonse Desjardins. The 1884 gothic revival house was home to the Desjardins family with their ten children. Desjardins ran the credit union from his home starting in 1900. Today, Desjardins is the largest collection of credit unions in North America, and still headquartered in the same town where it was founded.

What’s not so well known is that the town was named after François Levis, who was a day too late to arrive in Quebec City after the battle of the Plains of Abraham to save it from British conquest. The failed commander of French forces in New France also has a terrace name after him, and I think it’s the best place to view Quebec City.

Our Lady of Victory Church still functions as a religious building, but the Pierre Georges Roy Library now occupies a former church. The A.C. Davie National Historic Site is in a restored building facing the water fountains on the former Paquet Pier. The pier was in use for over 150 years before it finally closed in 1989.