Quebec celebrates its 400th anniversary

Bells rang out across Canada Thursday to mark the founding of Quebec City, at the exact time that French explorer Samuel de Champlain is thought to have landed on these shores 400 years ago.

Rooted in the early days of the fur trade, and once the cradle of French civilization in North America that spanned from Acadia in easternmost Canada to Louisiana in the southern United States, Quebec City is now a bustling metropolis with a population of 700,000.

Its old quarter, perched atop a cliff that overlooks the point where the Saint Lawrence widens on its way to the open sea, remains the only fortified city north of Mexico and a UNESCO world heritage site.