Toward the southern end of the Parc des Champs-de-Bataille (Battlefields Park), just off the Grande-Allée and a half-hour walk or a short bus ride from the Haute-Ville, the Museum of Québec is an art museum that now occupies two buildings, one a former prison, linked together by a soaring glass-roofed "Grand Hall" housing the reception area, a stylish cafe, and a shop.

The original 1933 building houses the permanent collection -- the largest aggregation of Québecois art in North America, filling eight galleries with works from the beginning of the colony to the present. On the top floor are regional landscapes and canvases of other Québec themes, with some works by North American and British painters. On the ground floor is a splendid assortment of African masks, carvings, musical instruments, and ceremonial staffs. A recent addition to the museum is the 1867 Baillairgé Prison, which in the 1970s became a youth hostel nicknamed the "Petite Bastille." One cell block has been left intact as an exhibit. In this building, four galleries house temporary shows, and the tower contains a provocative sculpture called Le Plongeur (The Diver) by the Irish artist David Moore. Unfortunately, most descriptive plaques here are only in French. Also incorporated in the building is the Parc des Champs-de-Bataille Interpretation Centre . There is a children's playroom stocked with toys and books. An accomplished cafe-restaurant serves table d'hôte lunches Monday through Saturday, brunch Sunday, and dinner Wednesday and Saturday nights. Traveling exhibitions and musical events are often arranged.