Quebec City Episode

Québec City is one of the oldest cities of North America. Capital of Québec, the French province of Canada, this small city was built on the banks of Saint Lawrence River. This charismatic city has been declared as a World Heritage Centre.

Our trip to Québec province (Montréal and Québec City) was part of our South East Canadian Trip in May’10. We decided that it should be a road trip as we both enjoy driving around so much. Hence we hired a car at Toronto. The drive to Québec City was uneventful but not very picturesque. We noticed that sign boards written boldly in French as we entered the province. We knew the journey had almost ended that way. We reached Québec City late afternoon. We stayed at a quaint little hotel 10 minutes away from the old walled city.

One of the cobbled streets of Québec City

Most of the places of visit are within the walled city. So we decided to walk within for rest of the day. As one can imagine, parking is a big problem and is expensive within the walled city. The walled city is divided into upper village (Hauté Ville) and lower village (Bassé Ville). We walked around Hauté Ville all evening, admiring the narrow and cobbled streets, old-fashioned buildings. This place had such a European feel to it – so different from rest of Canada or even North America. We hopped on a couple of pubs and settled in a lovely Italian restaurant with live music for dinner (before you ask - we were reserving Québecois French food for the next day).

The next morning, we booked ourselves to a walking tour that we had heard so much about. We decided on taking the grand tour - What better way to see the old city! Our guide was a Quebecois (naturally) Professor who spoke good English. He had thorough knowledge about local history, an excellent sense of humor and patiently answered all questions. We were a group of 8 people in the tour. Since it was a walking tour, we didn’t go into any buildings. But the guide specified which ones were worth returning to. More details about the tour can be found here. After the tour, we had our lunch at a local favourite – a French café in 1 of the back alleys of Hauté Ville.

We then returned to the places that we wanted to re-visit, as per our walking tour guide:

• Rue du Petit-Champlain - the main street in Bassé Ville for shopping, food & street performances.
• Quebec City Mural – This is a five story three dimensional painting on the side of a building in Bassé Ville that displays a very successful trompe-l'oeil (to trick the eye) effect. It depicts several notable people in Quebec history
• Sainte Anne de Beaupre Basilica in Hauté Ville
• Funiclair - old time elevator between Hauté Ville and Bassé Ville
• Le Château Frontenac - A palace in Hauté Ville overlooking Saint Lawrence River. It has been turned into a hotel & is owned by Fairmont (Surprise! Surprise!)
• La Citadelle – The Royal 22e Régiment museum. We missed the changing of the guards (10:00 am daily in summer) as we went there in the evening.

But there is so much more to write about, to see around. We couldn’t cover all that we wanted to in the 2.5 days we were there (e.g., Museum of Civilization).

View of the walled city of Quebec from the Levis ferry

That evening, our 2nd in Québec City, we took the ferry to the other side of Saint Lawerence River – to Levis. Not that there is much to do in Levis, but the view of the walled city from Levis (or even the ferry) is breathtaking! Right next to the ferry docks at Levis, there is a micro-brewery called Corsaire Microbrasserie. We tried different types of beer (I think I counted 10 or 12) before we took the ferry back to the old city.

Our 3rd morning was spent driving around L' Île d'Orléans, an island formed in the middle of Saint Lawrence River. Though we didn’t go to any of the vineyards, wineries or museums, we drove around the whole island. We found the island to be a very quite and charming place with various small villages. We noticed that wind surfing and kite surfing were extremely popular off the island beaches.

Montmorency Falls

We then headed to Montmorency Falls. Its 11 kms (7 miles) from the walled city and on the way (back) from L' Île d'Orléans. The first thing one notices about Montmorency falls is its striking height - It is higher than the Niagara (one wouldn’t expect) and quite broad too (though not as much as Niagara or even American falls). There is a nice park around the waterfalls – with few walking trails that are good.

Hurons entertaining visitors at Wendake

The last stop around Québec City was Wendake is a reserved area (for native Indians from Huron tribe). A reconstructed Huron village called Onhouä Chetek8e (where 8 is pronounced as Oua - as in ‘wh’ of what) is the main attraction there. These natives are always dressed in native clothes and perform a dance to welcome people. They sell souvenirs, art & crafts made by the tribe. Guides explain their customs, tradition, trading practices. This place also has a restaurant serving native Indian food – but unfortunately we reached just after the restaurant closed.

Thus our 3 days in and around Québec City ended - totally overwhelmed by this old-world city and its surrounding areas. But we were also looking forward to our last leg our South East Canada Trip – Montréal

Montréal Fren(ch)zy

The Montréal comes from Mont-Royal – a hill located in the heart of the city. It was call Ville Marie (City of Mary) before that. Montréal is the 2nd largest city in Canada, after Toronto. This city is located on an island formed between Saint Lawrence River and Ottawa River.

Our Montréal visit was the third and final phase our South East Canadian Trip in May’10. Hiring a car at Toronto, we first drove to Québec City and then to Montréal before heading back. Though the journey from Québec City to Montréal is just 145 kms or 2 hrs away, we unpredictably got stuck in a traffic jam close to an hour if not more. It reminded us of good old Bangalore and its ways.

There is lot to do and see in Montréal depending on interests. Here is a list of what we covered:

Montréal Olympic Stadium

Biodome – On the lines of Eden Project in UK, Montréal’s biodome is divided into 4 ecosystems – each hosting flora and fauna specific to different climatic conditions – marine, temperate, tropic and polar. Since we had seen other biodomes, we weren’t thrilled with this one. The only highlight for us was seeing Penguins. They are as cute as they are portrayed in happy feet movie but it was an EXTREMELY pitiable situation for them.

Olympic Stadium – Montréal hosted the 1976 winter Olympics and one can visit this multi-purpose stadium. Nicknamed as the big O due to its shape and cost (o=owe), this is one of the sour-spots for localities.

St. Joseph's Oratory

St. Joseph's Oratory – Located in Mont Royal, this is the biggest Basilica in the province. We were surprised to see many visitors had come there on a pilgrimage. We quickly learnt that this Basilica was dedicated to Saint Joseph who was known for miracles and hence it is a pilgrim for believers of Saint Joseph’s healing powers.

Old Montréal – One can easily spend an entire day at the very least exploring old Montréal. Apart from various heritage buildings, old Montréal also has lovely museums, bars, restaurants, shops and other attractions like the Nortre-Dame Basilica, Place Jacques-Cartier, old port, etc. We chose a walking tour of old Montréal – though our guide wasn’t as good as the one we had in Quebec City, the tour was good enough to understand basic history and facts of the place.

Inside Notre-Dame Basilica

Notre-Dame Basilica – This Basilica is an illustration of Gothic Revival architecture. The magnificent exterior compliments the exquisite and intricate interiors. This place is known for weddings and funerals of Canadian celebrities. (E.g. Pop singer Celine Dion’s wedding)

Place Jacques-Cartier – Located in old Montréal, this is one of the most popular spots in the city having host of fine dining restaurants. During summer, you can see lot of street performances and people selling knick-knacks. Place Jacques-Cartier links old Montréal to the old port.

Inside the Cathédrale

Old Port – Once a flourishing port is now a park for different sports, recreation and artists. A very spirited place always filled with people (at least in summer). Quite often you find indi-bands playing around the park.

Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde – also known as Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World. This is a very beautiful Cathedral which is a replica of Saint Peters Basilica in Rome.

Montréal's Underground City (officially RÉSO or La Ville Souterraine in French) is the set of interconnected complexes underground in downtown Montréal. This underground city is so self sufficient that one doesn’t need to go out in the open in winters apart from catching the metro between home and here.

Cirque de Soliel – Originally from Montréal, cirque de soliel (Circus of the Sun) is an extravaganza of entertainment, aerobics, acrobatics and circus (without animals). A HIGHLY recommended show, even though it’s expensive (Weekdays are cheaper than weekends). Do ensure you book in advance though.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – This is the F1 circuit of Montréal – the reason for the city to practically shut-down in June/July every year to celebrate the yearly event. We got cheap thrills of driving around the circuit – unfortunately the speed limits (in non race times) is 30 kms per hour as people use this circuit for walking, running, skating, cycling etc.

Rue St. Laurent - is one of the most popular places for shopping restaurants, bars and night clubs. It is similar to Residency Road in Bangalore I suppose.

Mado Lamotte, drag queen

Rue St. Catherine – is on the lines of Rue St. Laurent. But most weekends (in summer), parts of this street becomes a ‘no-vehicles’ zone. We were pleasantly surprised to find a Latino festival when we visited this street with Flemenco dancers performing on one side and food/tourism stalls on another side. One end of this street is known as “the village” (for gays and lesbians). We landed up going for our first drag queen (wiki) show at Mado’s Cabaret. A unique experience for us – though we had lots of fun, we only wish that the show was completely in English so that we could enjoy all the jokes.

A bixi stand

We traveled around in local metro as always. The metro is very well connected both in downtown and suburban area. The connectivity is as good if not better than that of Vancouver. We were super thrilled to learn about the bixi (wiki) concept. Bixies (wiki) are public bicycle sharing system (like cycle rentals) in downtown & old Montréal.

Montréal is such a happening city that, one can never finish covering the city in just 3 days especially if interests are as varied as ours. Some of the local attractions we wanted but couldn’t explore were Jean Drapeau Park, Île Notre-Dame, Casino de Montréal, Mont Royal and Museum of Fine Arts. Here is a good but essential Montréal attractions list we found during our research.

A self-confessed food lover that I am, I was pleased to try various restaurants/Pubs/Bars around the city (and still didn’t get enough of it). Here is a gist -

La Sala Rossa: a Spanish Tapas bar at Rue St Laurent. We really enjoyed our Sangria as well as the tapas we ordered. [Tapas – are small quantities of food].

Jardin Nelson: This place is at Place Jacques-Cartier. Known not only for its excellent food but also for live jazz, this delightful place has garden seating as well as terrace seating.

Olive and Gurmando: a bakery and café on Rue St. Paul in Old Montréal. We found this local favorite absolutely cool.

Dunn’s – Montréal is known for its smoked meat and Dunn’s smoked meat sandwich is a local favorite since early 1900s. There are many outlets throughout the city but we went to the one in downtown. I must say I didn’t enjoy it much probably because I haven’t developed a taste for it.

Jimbo’s Pub/Comedy Works – For those who love standup comedy, this is a good place to go to – It was not only in English but was of good standard as well. It is located on Rue Bishop in downtown, right next to Habibi.

Gibeau Orange Julep - colloquially as OJ or The Big Orange, is a popular hang out for locals at Boulevard Décarie (especially to show off cars & bikes). The Julep (orange milkshake) is very refreshing.

Habibi – is a Lebanese restaurant on Rue Bishop in downtown, this place bustling with activity even at 2:00am. I had some excellent kebobs. The usual Sheesha and live music was also available.

Byblos – is in Mont Royal (ave.Laurier E/Le Plateau) serving some lip-smacking Persian/ Iranian food.

Montréal Bagels – Apart from smoked meat, Montréal is very famous for the Montréal style bagels. These bagels are usually hand made and baked in wood-fired ovens. We tried bagels sandwiches in one of the many bagel establishments scattered all over the city.

No wonder Montreal quickly became one of our preferred cities– perhaps second only to London which is our most favorite city (so far). For anyone travelling to Montréal, we would recommend 2-3 days at the very least to enjoy and explore the city. Montréal is a very cosmopolitan city we think. Even though it is in the French province of Canada, it is easy to travel around. We picked up a few French words here and there, but could easily manage just speaking English. Perhaps as Indians, people pardoned our French :)  

South East Canada Trip

Ever since we reached Calgary or probably ever since it was decided we were coming to Calgary or probably ever since she moved to Canada, my aunt (theoretically my grand aunt) wanted me to visit her. She has been living in Toronto for more than 25 years. So we always knew that if not any other place, we would definitely visit her for sure. We’ve always heard of her family being great hosts and aunt being an awesome cook. So justifying that Niagara Falls is a close-by tourist place wasn’t really an incentive.

We decided to visit them in early summer of 2010 and cover Montréal and Québec City as well. Our final itinerary was: Calgary-Toronto-Niagara-Toronto-Québec City- Montréal-Toronto-Calgary. So our 11 day - 3 phase approach to most vacations was put into effect again.

The first phase was Toronto and Niagara.

Our Toronto stay was a mix of exploring the city, visiting local attractions and spending time with family. More information of our Toronto trip can be found here.

The Niagara experience was a mixed bag. On one side you see one of the natural wonder of the world. There are no words to express the grandeur of this geological beauty. On the other hand there is such a bad taste of commercialization. All around the falls you see a concrete jungle filled with restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels and casinos. More information of our Niagara experience is here.

Québec City was the second phase of our trip. The Québec City episode was heartwarming especially after the Niagara experience. This city not only has the historic value but also gives a very European touch be it through architecture, art or culture. We loved walking through the old walled city and exploring the surrounding areas as well. More information of our Québec City episode is here.

Our third and final phase was the Montréal Fren(ch)zy. It was the most fun and remarkable phase in the entire trip. We would easily rate this city second only to London – our most favorite city in the world (so far). We found this city to be pulsating. Be it walking around old Montréal or visiting local attractions or checking out various festivals (through out the year) or experiencing the foodie paradise or getting a sense of the night life… the list is endless. This city doesn’t sleep, there is something for everyone and it keeps you on a high (no pun intended) always. More information of our entertaining Montréal episode is here.

Here is a link to our album: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/akshatakaranth/SouthEastCanadaTrip2131May10#