CA-736784 Autumn and Winter scenes of Montreal, Canada

This lovely postcard shows autumn and winter scenes of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Montreal officially Montréal is the most populous municipality in the province of Quebec and the second-most populous in Canada. The city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters.
Legally a French-speaking city, 60.5% of Montrealers speak French at home, 21.2% speak English and 19.8% speak neither. Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada.
Historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film and world affairs.
It is on my bucket list of places to visit.
Thanks to Shelley (27 July 2017) for this great postcard. 

SW FT-540 Château Frontenac in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

The Château Frontenac is a grand hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, which is operated as Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. The Château Frontenac offers 611 luxury guest rooms and suites and four restaurants. The hotel contains 18 floors and stands 77 metres (253 ft) high.

The hotel is generally recognized as the most photographed hotel in the world, largely for its prominence in the skyline of Quebec City. Although several of Quebec City's buildings are taller, this landmark hotel is perched atop a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, affording a spectacular view for several kilometres. The building is the most prominent feature of the Quebec City skyline as seen from across the Saint Lawrence.

The Château Frontenac was designed as the prototype of a series of château-style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. CPR's goal was to promote luxury tourism by appealing to wealthy travelers.

Château Frontenac's fortress-like design is derived from the medieval chateaux of France's Loire Valley and is enhanced by its imposing cliff-top location overlooking Quebec City.

This structure was honoured in June 1993 when Canada Post issued a 43¢ stamp "Le Château Frontenac, Québec" featuring an image of the Château Frontenac. The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981.

This postcard came from Isabelle (11 September 2015) Swap-bot.

CA-558505 Beautiful scenes of the Gaspésie in Quebec

The Gaspésie is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the east of the Matapédia Valley in Quebec, Canada. This peninsula extends into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick on its southern side by the Baie des Chaleurs (Chaleur Bay) and the Restigouche River.

The peninsula is one of Quebec's most popular tourism regions.  This postcard has 34 small scenes which are too tiny to do justice to the beautiful scenery.  This postcard came from Valérye (7 September 2015) Postcrossing.

The flag of Quebec, the Fleurdelisé

The flag of Quebec, called the Fleurdelisé, was adopted for the province by the government of Quebec.  It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada.  The Fleurdelisé flew for the first time on January 21, 1948, at the Parliament Building of the National Assembly in Quebec City.

The Fleurdelisé takes its white cross from the ancient royal flags of France.  Its white fleurs-de-lis (symbols of purity) and blue field (symbolizing Heaven) come from a banner honouring the Virgin Mary, reputedly carried by French-Canadian militia at General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's victory at Carillon.

The flag's official ratio is 2:3 (width to length), but the flag is very often seen as a 1:2 variant to match the flag of Canada in size when flying together.

This postcard came from Sophie D. (9 February 2015) Direct Swap Postcrossing.