Umbrella Alley (Summer Only)

This guide to Umbrella Alley in Quebec City follows the engineering problem behind its ninety-five suspended umbrellas over Rue du Cul-de-Sac, a dead-end lane that once served the fur-trading harbor of New France. You'll hear how the Petit-Champlain cooperative and rigger Jean-Sebastien Fortin had to make the canopy beautiful, cheap to run, and safe enough for the fire department, and why a hidden mechanism sits ready above the crowd. It also covers the sponsor whose brand colors fill the sky above you each summer.