Québec - Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site Parc Historique Cartier-Brébeuf

The open-air Cartier-Brébeuf Museum stands on the banks of the St-Charles River in the city's Limoilou district, an evocative monument to events in the very early history of colonial New France. It was here, on his second voyage to Canada, that Jacques Cartier and his men passed the winter of 1535/36 aboard their ship "La Grande Hermine". There is a reconstruction of the vessel which can be visited.

Another pioneer to spend a winter here was the missionary Jean de Brébeuf, later destined to enter ecclesiastical history as Canada's first martyr (he was killed by the Iroquois at Ste Marie among the Hurons). A palisaded long-house provides some insight into the life of the indigenous peoples at that time. The influential role of the Jesuits during the early days of French colonization is one of the themes explored in the museum's information center.