heading north to laval laval montréal s sister island may not be far away but it s like another world at the cosmodôme s space science centre with its model rockets and multimedia show you can blast off while keeping your feet firmly on the ground back here on earth the parc de la rivière-des-mille-Îles is a lovely meandering river a bit of wilderness on the city s doorstep go exploring by canoe kayak or pedalboat the wild just two hours from montréal across the river from ottawa are the canadian museum of civilization and its children s museum they re well worth the trip while you re there you can explore magnificent gatineau park right nearby and even take a ride on a fun steam-engine train that wends its way through the gatineau valley on the way back stop in at the parc oméga in montebello and admire deer moose and other large mammals wandering free all from the comfort of your car to burn halfway between montréal and québec city is trois-rivières founded in 1634 its sites and mus
|
c uebecity q tell me about quebec city québec city is home to 650,000 residents on the north shore of the st lawrence river about 250 km 155 mi northeast of montréal it is the capital of québec the city is actually made up of two parts called the upper town and the lower town its name comes from an indian word meaning where the river narrows even this far up the st lawrence the tides can reach five metres tell me about its history when it was founded in 1608 by samuel de champlain québec was the heart of new france did you know that in the 18th century the french empire in north america stretched south to louisiana east to acadia and the atlantic and west to the rockies it was here on the plains of abraham now part of battlefields park that the french and british armies faced off in 1759 in one of the most decisive battles in the continent s history what makes quebec city unique québec city is the only fortified city north of mexico unesco recognized the importance of its historic qu
|
a real walled city there s so much to see the citadel perched on cap diamant dominating the fortified 18th and 19thcentury stronghold the walls themselves with their four huge gates and the cannons still pointing out toward the st lawrence overlooking the river and the promenade is the magnificent château frontenac easily the city s best-recognized landmark venture down breakneck stairs into the lower town to visit place royale brimming with life just as it was in the early days of the colony poke around the petit champlain district with its picturesque cobblestone streets and the old port two fabulous museums there are plenty of museums in québec city but two of them are especially worth a visit the musée de la civilisation puts on terrific exhibitions for the general public and lots of fun entertainment for kids too and the musée national des beaux-arts du québec located partly in an old prison displays the best and brightest of québec art seeing things from a different angle perha
|
c quebecity party time quebec city summer festival july grands feux loto-quebec fireworks july-august fetes de la nouvelle-france history festival august a water wonderland the valcartier vacation village 20 minutes from québec city is a super aquatic park featuring about twenty-five slides of all shapes and sizes a huge wave pool a tropical river and water games 12
|
among the hurons the wendake huron village just 15 km 9 mi from québec city is a terrific opportunity to learn about huron history and culture you can enjoy dancing storytelling and other performances test your skills with a bow and arrow and sample some authentic huron cuisine on the south shore glorious nature as you leave québec city on your way toward charlevoix you ll come to three magnificent and easily accessible natural attractions the famous montmorency falls the sainte-anne canyon and the sept-chutes waterfalls mont-sainte-anne 820 m/2690 ft in nearby beaupré is a four-season resort area with something for everyone take the ferry or one of the two bridges the cantilever québec bridge nearly a century old or the more modern suspended pierre laporte bridge and make the trip out to the forts-de-lévis national historic site or the parc des chutes-de-la-chaudière the fun tourist train through the pretty chaudière valley is a great way to spend an afternoon too the river route if
|
quebec national parks how many national parks are there in quebec there are no fewer than 27 québec national parks dotted across the province many of them are within easy driving distance of montréal and québec city the newest addition the parc national des pingualuit was just recently created way up north around the 61st parallel while the oldest parc national du mont-tremblant was opened in 1894 at the foot of its magnificent mountain 930 m/3050 ft lies tremblant one of northeastern north america s top ski resorts this is also the largest québec national park the smallest miguasha in the gaspé is barely 87 ha 215 acres there you ll find a fascinating museum displaying fossils of fish from 370 million years ago the park itself has been named a unesco world heritage site quick facts quebec has a huge marine park 1135 km2/438 sq mi at the mouth of the saguenay fjord y can take a boat tour out ou to see various marine mammals or even spot them from lookouts on the shore quebec is one of
|
what s there to do in quebec s parks lots there s outdoor fun in every season a chance to get up close and personal with nature in carefully preserved and protected environments explore some splendid ecosystems and help us take care of this priceless heritage for future generations in summer and fall you can swim paddle a canoe or kayak cycle and hike you can even take boat trips in some parks and things don t come to a stop when the snow falls you can go cross-country and downhill skiing snowshoeing and even winter camping most parks have well-equipped or more rustic campgrounds or even chalets and huts 15 15
|
ur-season fo fun red for fall the woods burst into colour in fall blazing with yellows oranges and reds indian summer brings a last spell of warm weather the perfect time to take a ski lift up a mountainside and stroll back down kids are sure to have fun visiting an apple orchard to pick their own while parents might find a tour of one of québec s vineyards tempting too there are crunchy apples juice jelly and pie for the younger members of the family and cider or wine for the grown-ups fall is a time of plenty no doubt about it green for spring when the maple sap starts to rise it s time for a trip to a sugar shack many of them set right next to maple stands do their best to recreate that old-time spirit come sample some family-style cooking from bygone days accompanied by rousing fiddle music pea soup baked beans maple-cured ham tourtière meat pie omelettes and fried delicacies dubbed oreilles de crisse save room for some syrup-drenched desserts and the traditional taffy of course y
|
white for winter it s amazing to think of all the things you can do only in winter snowboarding skiing and all their offshoots of course but skating too and tubing tobogganing and snow rafting not to mention dogsledding ice fishing and even snowmobiling and everybody loves a party the famous québec city winter carnival has been drawing enchanted crowds for half a century now and the fête des neiges in montréal is a great excuse to enjoy some fresh-air fun quebec winters ar e milder than they used to be y rs ag ea o they inspired th is humorous limerick by rudyard kipling there was a smal l boy of quebec who was buried in snow to the neck when they asked are you frizz he replied y i is es but we don t call this cold in quebec 17
|
the outdoors is truly great once you ve filled up on city life get out and see another side of quebec the tourist regions have all sorts of wonderful surprises waiting for you fur and feathers migratory birds put on a tremendous show when they stop for a rest on the shores of the st lawrence there s also an impressive gannet colony in the parc national du rocher-percé-et-de-l Île-bonaventure in the gaspé if country living appeals to you there are lots of farms to visit you can even stay at some of them at the saint-félicien zoo in the saguenay lac-saint-jean region a little train takes you around and lets you admire plenty of exotic and local species and for horseback-riding fans many camps organize guided trail rides through some of québec s loveliest countrysides quick facts there are 400 species of animals in quebec not counting insects 130,000 streams and rivers and believe it or not a million lakes crossing the st lawrence can take 20 minutes in some places and two and a half h
|
