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The Château Frontenac, a grand hotel, is one of the main attractions of Québec City, Quebec.
The Château Frontenac was one of the first of a long series of "chateau" style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. It opened in 1893. The railway company sought to encourage luxury tourism and bring moneyed travelers to its trains. Château Frontenac is a "cousin" to Chateau Lake Louise on the shores of Lake Louise in Alberta.
The Château Frontenac was named in honor of Louis Buade, Count of Frontenac, who was governor of the colony of New France from 1672 to 1682 and 1689 to 1698. The chateau was built not too far from the historical Citadelle, whose construction Frontenac had begun at the end of the 18th century. The Quebec Conference of 1943 in which Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed strategy for World War II was held at the Citadelle while much of the staff stayed nearby in the Château Frontenac. (William Lyon Mackenzie King was invited to some meetings as a courtesy to Canada.)
The chateau is perched on a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, thus giving a spectacular view for hundreds of kilometers.
The hotel is owned and operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts of Toronto.