The mother church of Catholicism in Canada, occupying the same site since 1647 — though the current building dates from a 1925 restoration after fire damage, in turn modelled on a 19th-century version that was itself a reconstruction of earlier structures. Despite this layered history of destruction and rebuilding, the interior is genuinely impressive: a triple nave of grey stone with paintings and furnishings accumulated over three centuries.
The cathedral's crypt holds the remains of more than 900 people, including most of the governors general of New France and the bishops of Québec from 1674 onward. The excavated crypt is open to visitors and is one of the more unusual spaces in the city — a cool stone basement containing three and a half centuries of colonial history stacked in orderly vaults.