Plains of Abraham

Quebec City, Battlefields Park. On September 13, 1759, British troops under Wolfe defeated Montcalm's French army here, and both commanders died of their wounds. The battle handed Quebec City to the British, who took the rest of Canada the following year. Everything else on this list after 1759 follows from this field. Today it is a park of about 98 hectares, set aside in 1908 as Canada's first National Historic Site, and the Plains of Abraham Museum is the place to get the battle explained before walking it. In winter it may be the best visit of all: groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoe and walking routes, and Winter Carnival events on the very ground where New France was lost.