Québec City

Québec City offers students an immersive entry point into the foundations of French North America. As one of the oldest European settlements on the continent, the city provides a powerful setting to explore how language, identity, and political power have shaped Canada’s past and continue to influence its present.

Situated on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Québec City invites learners to examine the intersections of Indigenous presence, colonial history, and cultural preservation. Through hands-on experiences, historic spaces, and daily language immersion, students engage with the city as a place where history is not only remembered, but actively lived.

Learning through the SDGs

Click an SDG below to see examples of how select SDGs are explored on our programs.

4
Quality Education

In Québec City, students learn through immersion, storytelling, and place-based inquiry. Through museums, guided explorations, and language practice, learners examine how education shapes cultural identity, civic participation, and historical understanding.

16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Québec City provides a rich context for examining how political systems, law, and governance were established in early Canada. Students explore colonial institutions, fortified cities, and civic spaces to understand how power was organized, enforced, and resisted, while reflecting on whose voices were historically excluded and how justice continues to evolve.

17
Partnerships For The Goals

Students encounter partnership through collaboration between Indigenous communities, historians, cultural institutions, and educators working to preserve language, heritage, and collective memory. These experiences highlight how dialogue and cooperation are essential to reconciliation and cultural sustainability.

Memory, Language, and Power

In Québec City, memory is embedded in the landscape. From fortified walls and religious institutions to public squares and historic neighborhoods, students explore how language and power have shaped identity across centuries.

By engaging with Indigenous perspectives, French colonial history, and contemporary Québécois culture, learners examine how narratives are preserved, challenged, and reinterpreted. This theme encourages students to think critically about whose histories are told, how culture is protected, and what responsibility comes with preservation.

Sample itinerary

At Insight, our programs are designed to reflect the unique interests, goals, and needs of your students. Each itinerary is thoughtfully customized in collaboration with schools, ensuring meaningful alignment with your learning objectives.

Arrive in Québec City and meet your Insight facilitator. Begin with an orientation walk through Old Québec, introducing students to the city’s fortified layout, French language environment, and historic streets. Gather for a shared meal and program orientation focused on community agreements, language immersion, and historical context.

Explore Old Québec with a local historian, examining key sites such as Place Royale, the city walls, and Upper and Lower Town. Students learn how French colonial power was established, defended, and contested.

Later, visit the Musée de la civilisation to explore interactive exhibits on Québec’s history, identity, and social change. Students reflect on how museums shape collective memory and national narratives.

Travel to Wendake, home of the Huron-Wendat Nation, for an Indigenous-led experience. Students learn about Huron-Wendat history, governance, and cultural continuity through storytelling, workshops, and guided exploration of the community.

A meal and cultural activities at a traditional sugar shack just outside the city, surrounded by maple trees, highlight how geography and climate have shaped Québec’s economy and enduring cultural traditions.

Visit historic religious and civic institutions to examine the role of the Catholic Church and education in shaping Québec society. Students explore how faith, language, and governance intersected to influence social norms and political power.

The afternoon focuses on French language immersion, with guided challenges that encourage students to navigate daily interactions in cafés, shops, and public spaces, building confidence and cultural fluency.

Engage with Québecois culture through a hands-on culinary workshop, such as a poutine or macarons class, exploring how food preserves identity.

Later, explore Québec City’s arts scene through galleries or performance spaces, examining how contemporary artists engage with history, nationalism, and cultural expression. The day concludes with a traditional Québecois meal, connecting food, music, and storytelling.

Conclude the program with guided reflection, connecting themes of language, power, Indigenous presence, and cultural preservation. Depart Québec City carrying forward new perspectives on how history shapes identity and responsibility today.

Highlights

Living History

Walk the fortified streets of Old Québec to explore how colonial power, language, and identity were built into the city itself.

Indigenous Knowledge and Presence

Learn directly from the Huron-Wendat Nation in Wendake, grounding historical study in contemporary Indigenous leadership and culture.

Language Immersion

Build confidence using French daily through real-world interactions, guided challenges, and cultural exchange.

What’s included

  • All accommodations
  • All meals and water
  • All programs activities and experiences
  • All teacher chaperone costs at an 8:1 ratio
  • Comprehensive travel insurance (medical, travel and cancellation)
  • Curriculum units to accompany program themes
  • Global and locally-based facilitators
  • Pre-program orientations and post-program debriefing

Start your global
journey today

Design Your Program

Want to learn more? Contact us today

Our team is always happy to help.

Reach Out

View our Program Guide

A helpful starting point for imagining what’s possible.

Learn More

Sign up for our monthly newsletter

Stay up to date on all the happenings at Insight!

We'll never share your information, view our Privacy Policy to learn more.