Quebec City in winter: A glorious wonderland
QUEBEC CITY – The castle-like château dominates the landscape, snow-covered and majestic; the St. Lawrence River undulates under frozen ice caps, back and forth, forward and back; the charming shops line snowy streets with hints of brick and cobblestone poking through. Quebec City in winter weaves a spectacular spell of sheer magic.
Its mix of architecture, history, art and French culture make the Canadian provincial capital feel like Europe, and for those in North America, at half the travel time and a fraction of the cost. One of North America’s oldest European settlements, Quebec City may be rooted in its French heritage, but it has clearly created its own identity.
“It’s not Europe, but it sure does look like it,” said our guide, Tony Gagnon, who gives tours with Il etait une Fois Kebec. Gagnon speaks both English and French fluently, as do most people in the tourism sector in Quebec. But the native language is French. “I always say the best way to see Quebec is to eat and drink your way around.”
With that in mind, I’d recommend starting your visit with a dinner at Ciel, or “sky” (Cielbistrobar.com), on the trendy Grande-Allee (clear weather is a must as are reservations on a weekend). Not just another rotating restaurant on the upper floor of a tall building, its menu is a successfully eclectic twist on French cuisine.
But the reason to visit the restaurant is the view, especially in winter: A 360-degree look at the river, mountains and city. The St. Lawrence River, which was important for Quebec City – commercially, historically and militarily – has tides that keep the ice caps flowing all winter long. They also cause it to flow forward and back. It’s a sight to behold, especially from 28 stories up.
All around are historic buildings – Parliament, Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame, the Citadelle – but it was the area with no buildings that caught my attention: the snowy fields of the Plains of Abraham, commemorating the 1759 battle between the French and British Empires in North America. In the summer, it’s a 240acre green space that includes gardens, greenhouses and a museum that tells the story of the battle. But in the winter, especially from above, it is just fields and fields of snow. You can take a guided snowshoe tour or cross-country skiing tour on its trails, or skate on its rink. Skis, snowshoes and skates are available for rent if you want to tour on your own. (Theplainsofabraham.ca)
Winter may seem like an odd time to travel here. Indeed, I’m sure Quebec City is lovely in the other seasons, but the wonders of winter, with 4 feet of snow covering everything, gave it a magical, pristine feeling. Winter wonderland isn’t just an expression here. The average yearly snowfall is more than 13 feet, and snow is usually on the ground from Thanksgiving to April.
THE CHÁTEAU
Called the “most photographed hotel in the world” by several tourist websites, the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac (fairmont.com/Frontenac/ Quebec-City) sits on the Dufferin Terrace near the Citadelle and towers above the river. It is the most prominent feature in the Quebec skyline and first opened in 1893. Portions were added over the years, so it now hosts 611 upscale hotel rooms, a number of conference rooms, restaurants, as well as a spa. It is currently undergoing a renovation that blends its charming past with modern amenities. The rooms – which start at about $309 Canadian during the 2018 Winter Carnival – aren’t large but are well-appointed, and the service is impeccable.
Outside the hotel is an ice-skating rink (bring your own skates) where kids can play hockey until the wee hours, then warm up with a hot cocoa at the Au 1884 Coffee Shop. Get tickets there ($3 Canadian each) for the famous toboggan next door. Grab your sled and haul it up a fairly steep hill. An attendant helps you with everything, but don’t forget to take in the view of the gorgeous St. Lawrence River, because you won’t notice it as you fly down the ride at 70 mph, landing right back at the coffee shop.
Aside from the ornate beauty inside the hotel’s common areas, its location is the big draw. It is within walking distance of Parliament, the parks that host the Winter Carnival, the shops and restaurants along Rue St. Louis and Rue St. Jean, and a funicular (an angled elevator built in 1879) ride to the Petit Champlain at the lower area near the river – my favorite part of the city.
As soon as your foot hits the brick streets of the Petit Champlain, you know you are in for a treat. To the right, rows of stone buildings are home to adorable shops (some, kitschy and touristy, some with wares by true artisans) and quaint restaurants. To the left, is a pub that looks straight out of a Dickens novel, with stone walls, a cozy fireplace and a friendly bartender. Straight ahead, there are more shops, restaurants and ice sculptures leading to a park with cannons aimed toward the river. The streets stay decorated for Christmas throughout the winter.
Stroll down the street ahead and turn left to enter an open courtyard known as Place Royale.
The site of the first permanent French settlement in North America, Place Royale is full of history, starting in the early 1600s. On the square you will find Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, the oldest stone church in North America, built in 1688. According to Gagnon, our guide, it takes more than two years to book a wedding there.
Just past that, stop to admire one of the city’s gorgeous murals. The 420-square-meter Fresque des Quebecois mural recounts the story of Quebec City and pays homage to historic figures, authors, artists and even hockey players.
THE CARNIVAL
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, Old Quebec is the only walled city north of Mexico. And the area inside those walls is surprisingly walkable, even when it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit. But even for Canadians, the winters can get long, so Quebec City leaders decided to do something to make the end of winter a little more exciting. After being held intermittently since 1894, the Carnaval de Quebec has, since 1955, been celebrated annually. It coincides with what may be the city’s second-biggest event: the Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament, the largest in the world, bringing in thousands of the world’s best 12-year-old players, some of whom will someday play in the NHL.
So with thousands of visitors and locals looking for fun, why not throw a carnival? The two-week event (January 26 through February 11, 2018) takes place in several parks in the city, most of them fairly close to one another. One area contained only ice sculptures, another had an area for dance, music concerts and drama performances, while another hosted a hockey-shooting contest, axe-throwing and more. The carnival features a number of noteworthy events, such as the ice canoe race, singles night, snow sliding and pond hockey. Several nights are set aside for the famous nighttime parade, led by Bonhomme Carnival, the festival’s mascot, a somewhat creepy snowman who bears a striking resemblance to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. For $15 Canadian dollars, you can buy an effigy that attaches to your coat and gets you into nearly everything. (carnaval. qc.ca)
THE FOOD
Poutine – french fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds – is the most well-known Quebec food specialty. If you ask Quebec City locals where to go, they’ll suggest both Ashton, a fast-food chain, and Le Chic Shack, a burger joint next to Chateau Frontenac, as the places to try. I didn’t find a single poutine that I didn’t like. The upscale Restaurant 1640 at L’Auberge du Tresor served it with duck confit and Gouda cheese curds. At the lovely and quaint Le Lapin Saute in Petit-Champlain, they served it with tenderly cooked rabbit.
But we found more specialties to love: BeaverTail and maple syrup taffy. A BeaverTail, or queues de castor, is a pastry covered in all sorts of sweet goodness, almost like an open-faced doughnut. We first spotted them at the carnival, which is also the first place we sampled the taffy. Servers line up behind a flat counter of snow on which they ladle maple syrup in a line. You wait a few minutes, then use a wooden stick to wrap the gooey goodness around it. Heavens, it’s messy, but divine.
And how can we forget crêpes? In Old Quebec, it seems you can find a crêperie around just about every corner. On one cold, snowy night, after dining at the Italian Le Parmesan Restaurant, we wandered a few streets over to Le Casse-Crepe Breton, on Rue St. Jean. We sat down at a booth, stone walls around us, windows fogged by the toasty warmth. We wanted only sweet crepes, we told the server. She returned with an enormous one filled with strawberries and chocolate, one with butter and sugar and one with the Canadian staple, maple syrup. As I sat around looking at my family on this spur-of-the-moment stop, enjoying the quaint shop, I realized that our guide was truly right: the best way to see Quebec is to eat and drink your way around it.