Travel guide Québec

Beware, this is a highly sensitive subject! Quebecers, who are at home here, consider that it is the French who have an accent. We can't prove them wrong on this point. So to discover the local kindness, the rule is simple: leave your prejudices about the Quebecois language when you get your suitcase at the airport.

It is THE fast food chain in the Quebec City area, with more than twenty branches with late closing hours. For only a few dollars, you can clearly satisfy your fast food cravings. But please, if you've never tasted the famous poutine, don't try your first experience here.

It's hard to get past the mascot-emblem of the Quebec Winter Carnival! A true ambassador of Quebecers' joie de vivre, everyone, including tourists, directly associates his image with that of the Carnival. Several songs have been composed in his honour, including the unavoidable Salut Bonhomme that you will surely hear.

Named in honor of the governor of New France, it has stood on the side of Cap Diamant since 1893. Now a 5-star hotel owned by the Fairmont Group, it has more than 600 rooms, several restaurants, stores, etc. To see: the documentary Vie de château which goes to meet the workers and admirers of the castle.

It's an obligatory pilgrimage for any self-respecting visitor: you must go and see the famous Montmorency Falls up close. It is certainly not as wide as Niagara Falls, but it is about thirty meters higher. The site is also absolutely magnificent, facing the St. Lawrence River and the Île d'Orléans.

Québec City has a steep incline between Lower Town and Upper Town. So be prepared to get some exercise when you visit Quebec City, especially if you're going up the slopes - some of which are very steep - on foot. If necessary, you will find an elevator at the end of rue de la Couronne and a funicular in the Petit Champlain.

These small Quebec businesses open very late at night and every day of the week. Some even work day and night. You can buy newspapers, cigarettes, beer, milk, canned food, some fresh produce, sweets, etc. The prices are higher there than in the supermarket but, as their name suggests, it's a convenience store.

Québec City's fortifications are an architectural ensemble that recalls the city's military past. They were erected under French and English regimes and encircled Old Quebec for 4.6 kilometres, thus securing the heights of Cap Diamant. Quebec City is the last fortified city north of Mexico.

Hockey is the national sport par excellence. Since the departure of the Quebec City team in 1995 (the Nordiques, now the Colorado Avalanche), fans in the capital have been crossing their fingers for the return of the sport to the city. This is the main reason for the new multipurpose amphitheatre, the Centre Vidéotron. To be continued...

An Aboriginal nation lives in the vicinity of Quebec City: the Huron-Wendat of Wendake. The Wendat, known as the Huron by the French, are a people of farmers and hunters, skilled warriors and diplomats, democrats and outstanding merchants. They have earned the respect of many communities living in eastern Canada for centuries.

A major river axis and vital commercial link, the St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean over several thousand kilometres. Quebec City is built on its shores, with Cap Diamant and the Château Frontenac overlooking it. Kébec also means "where the river narrows" in the Algonquin language.

This is probably the biggest topic of conversation among residents of the region. Elected officials from different levels of government are currently working on the construction of a tunnel linking Quebec City to Levis to relieve the daily traffic on the two bridges. Opposition is strong, but the project should go ahead anyway