The stone-paved square at the foot of the cliff in the Lower Town marks the spot where Samuel de Champlain built his habitation in 1608 — the origin point of New France. The square is surrounded by 17th and 18th-century stone buildings in better condition than anything comparable in North America, largely because the French crown invested heavily in the area's prestige.
At the centre stands a bust of Louis XIV. On the square's eastern edge, the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church (1688) is the oldest stone church in North America still standing in its original form. The Musée de la civilisation nearby presents Québec's cultural history with considerable sophistication — a better history museum than many cities ten times the size have. The interpretation centre on the square itself explains the archaeology of the original 1608 settlement.
story: "Place Royale was known as Place du Marché until 1686, when an intendant had a bronze bust of Louis XIV erected at its centre and renamed the square in the Sun King's honour. The bust was copied from a Bernini original. The original was lost; a replica now stands in its place."