Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The skyline in Old Québec. getty It’s rare for a city to attract visitors in the middle of a frigid winter but Québec City succeeds in that every year. The reason and reward for those hardy travelers is a Winter Carnival (next year: February 7-16) featuring sledding runs down the hills of this clifftop, Upper and Lower Town city, canoe races through the icy St.
Lawrence River, an intricate ice palace to wander through, skating obstacle courses and various other wacky and/or entertaining activities. But this city, Canada’s oldest, the capital of the province of Québec and known for its cobblestone street/old town charm, French history and creative culinary scene has reasons to draw visitors, which it does, at all times of year. (Summer also gets its own festival, the very popular 11 day music festival Festival d'été de Québec in July.
) The Petit Champlain District of Old Quebec designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. getty It’s a common sight to see visitors year round on walking tours through 416 year old, UNESCO designated World Heritage Site Old Québec, radiating out from Place Royale, the former fur trading post where the city was founded in the 17 th century. It’s easy enough to wander around on one’s own but private tours with Cicérone Tours are particularly helpful, involving a great deal of engaging detail about the city’s founding and often a guide in period costume who will be stopped frequently to be photographed by other sightseers.
A farm on the Île d’Orléans. getty Also available all year (but especially appealing in the summer, prime season for fruit and vegetables, and the fall with the background of changing colors) Conciergerie du Terroir co-owner Dany Labrecque, a discriminating former hotel concierge, designs culinary tours around visitors’ interests on Île d’Orléans, the bucolic island 20 minutes outside of the city. Stops can include vineyards such as Cassis Monna & Fils run by sisters who grow and create products around this blackcurrant liqueur, produce farms, artisan cheese producers and bakeries and La Maison de Thé, an idiosyncratic, whimsically decorated barn-a mix of antiques and farm implements- with different salons for classic afternoon tea.
On the way, a stop to admire Montmorency Falls cascading down 272 feet, is usually included. MORE FOR YOU New Password Hacking Warning For Gmail, Facebook And Amazon Users Trump Vs. Harris 2024 Polls: Harris Leading Likely Voters By 2 Points In Latest Survey Samsung Slashes Galaxy S24 Price Ahead Of iPhone 16 Release The Strøm River pool at Strøm Spa Nordique in Old Québec.
Laurie Werner Another, more direct water experience is a day spent in the various thermal pools and Icy Nordic baths and waterfalls at Strøm Spa Nordique , an expansive modern facility that has five locations around the city including the newest, in Old Québec overlooking the river. Couples and exhausted tourists spend all day here, alternately dipping between pools, lounging, zoning out in the flotation bath, letting the currents pull them around the oval pool Strøm River or getting a massage. Since they need sustenance for all of that activity, The Nord Restaurant on site serves colorful, healthy, fresh from the farm ingredient-laden dishes; the restaurant is also available to those not spending time in the spa.
function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.
cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.
style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.
contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.
src = '//cd.elements.video/player.
js' + '?cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.
body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.
appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.
json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok', preloadResourcesEndpoint); } return response.
json(); }) .then(data => { const cssUrl = data.css; const cssUrlLink = document.
createElement('link'); cssUrlLink.rel = 'stylesheet'; cssUrlLink.href = cssUrl; cssUrlLink.
as = 'style'; cssUrlLink.media = 'print'; cssUrlLink.onload = function() { this.
media = 'all'; }; document.head.appendChild(cssUrlLink); const hls = data.
hls; const hlsScript = document.createElement('script'); hlsScript.src = hls; hlsScript.
setAttribute('defer', '1'); hlsScript.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); document.head.
appendChild(hlsScript); }).catch(error => { console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error); }); } } loadConnatixScript(document); (function() { function createUniqueId() { return 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx'.
replace(/[xy]/g, function(c) { var r = Math.random() * 16 | 0, v = c == 'x' ? r : (r & 0x3 | 0x8); return v.toString(16); }); } const randId = createUniqueId(); document.
getElementsByClassName('fbs-cnx')[0].setAttribute('id', randId); document.getElementById(randId).
removeAttribute('class'); (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.elements.
video/tr/si?token=' + '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a' + '&cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; cnxel.cmd.push(function () { cnxel({ playerId: '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a', playlistId: 'cce06289-75b9-40f5-8676-50e517ab7eb5', }).
render(randId); }); })(); White Fish Ceviche with Nordic shrimp, lemongrass mayonnaise, cranberry relish and elderberry ...
[+] liqueur vierge at Chez Rioux & Pettigrew. Laurie Werner Elsewhere in town, the restaurant scene is buzzing with young chefs creating improvisational menus from the wealth of local ingredients. At Chez Rioux & Pettigrew in the Lower Town’s Old Port, the tone is friendly and the décor is casual: wooden tables, flowers, artifacts such as tea tins and wooden boxes, vestiges of this room’s previous existence as a general store.
Culinary Director Dominic Jacques crafts lively combinations that meld seamlessly together even if they read as overly complicated such as White Fish Ceviche with Nordic shrimp, lemongrass mayonnaise, cranberry relish and elderberry liqueur vierge and Cavatelli with mushrooms, two year aged Cheddar sauce, pickled red and fresh grapes, toasted walnuts, maple syrup and mushroom vinaigrette. The restaurant’s cocktails also match the creativity of the cuisine. Grilled brocolettes accompanied by asparagus, basil broth, aigrelette sauce and Avonlea cheese at .
.. [+] Légende.
Laurie Werner Down the street, Légende dedicates its menu to local, sometimes historical traditions, and takes local produce so seriously that the restaurant won’t use anything not grown or created within the province. Chef/co-owner Elliot Beaudoin wrests exciting flavors out of seemingly simple ingredients such as the Grilled brocolettes accompanied by asparagus, basil broth, aigrelette sauce and Avonlea cheese that stole the thunder in a recent six course creative menu from other dishes that would usually get the attention such as scallop and shrimp ceviche or spiced bavette steak. The main buildings of Auberge Saint-Antoine.
Francis Fontaine @All rights reserved Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in the Upper Town (reachable from the Lower Town by funicular or stairs) is the most famous hotel in the city and its signature landmark, a turreted behemoth looming over both tiers of the city. There’s also much more activity surrounding it in the Upper Town—more restaurants, more shops patronized by locals, many of the festival sites. But it’s more atmospheric to stay in the Lower Town, especially in residence at Auberge Saint-Antoine , a Relais & Chateaux member composed of several centuries old buildings a short walk from Place Royale.
It’s also something of a museum: during the excavation to build a parking garage below the hotel, artifacts from as far back as 1600 were unearthed and are now displayed in cases embedded in the walls. A room with original brick and stone walls at Auberge Saint-Antoine Francis Fontaine @All rights reserved The 95 rooms also display this history-each has an artifact and a description of what it represents. They’re all different with some featuring original wood floors, wood beams, brick walls and terraces overlooking the river.
The largest, the 807 square foot Panoramic & Spa Suite is situated on the top floor with a 600 square foot river view terrace. And the hotel is expanding: the adjacent 18 th century Union Bank Heritage building has recently been acquired with plans to open 25 more rooms and suites, some with their own hammams. A 120 seat ballroom, Presidential Suite, spa with a thermal circuit and swimming pool and rooftop bar and restaurant are also part of the plan due to be completed in late 2026.
For now, the hotel’s restaurant Chez Muffy is the gastronomic outlet, featuring menus with ingredients grown on its farm located on the Île d’Orléans. The room with its rough stone walls and wood beams, formerly a warehouse in the 1800s, instantly transports diners back into history just like the city itself. Chez Muffy at Auberge Saint-Antoine.
Francis Fontaine @All rights reserved.
