Quebec: Forget Paris

By Jennifer M. Eisenlau

Feel like sitting on a terrace, glass of wine in your hand?   Feel like hearing French wash over you as you walk down the street or listen to a radio? Feel like visiting Paris, but lack the money and time?  Who needs France, when you have Nouvelle France?  Let me count the ways to love Québec in the springtime:

Le Francaise

First of all, the Canadian Francophones speak French with vigor and charm.  Thanks to the Québec Ministry of Language and Culture, Québecers proudly protect their heritage, starting with their language. Recently, a great squabble broke out over Shrek III.  You see, the folks in Hollywood dubbed the flick in Parisian French.  The Québecers want Québecois French, a form they insist is a truer and purer form of the language.  Québec is now filming its own movies, directed and produced by native speaker.

This Québecois patriotism is brightly displayed on June 24th, the Feast of St. John the Baptist (the province's patron saint).  Everywhere in Québec, the blue and white fluer-des-lis flags fly—from cars, balconies, and even as capes from people's backs.  Concerts, fireworks, and BBQ's celebrate the fête over a long weekend.

A visit to Québec City, the capital of the province, certainly will test your high school French. Few signs are posted in English.  Even the stop signs are in French, with the word " Arrêt" (which, I think, is a noun, and not a verb.  However, it is French.  That's what matters most in Québec). Getting around as an English-speaking visitor, however, is not too difficult because most Québecers speak some English.  And this leads to my next reason to go north….

Les Personnes

Québecers are really friendly.  While legend still has it that the French of Europe are notoriously rude, nothing could be less true of Québec City. Waiters, hotel staff, and shop clerks will be really nice to you.  I base this assertion on my own trip in June 2007. Strangers nodded hello to me on the street.  Locals asked my family where we were from, what has we seen, and where we would be off to next.  And even when I met with a young woman who spoke no English, we conversed in two languages (those being her poor English and my awful French).

Our bilingual conversation happened in front of the excellent Québec Visitors Center.  A crowd gathered as several Navy reservists in period 17 th century costumes shot muskets as part of the July 24th fête.  After the display, the sailors milled about for with the tourists.  I asked one girl about the uniform she was wearing, and soon we fell to chatting about food (talking about food is something Québecers love to do). 

"You eat yet the poutaine?" she asked me in broken English.

"I have! It is delicious," I replied in French. 

She then rapidly told me about the best, authentic place for the Québecois treat of fries, gravy, and cheese curds.  And later that week, my family and I wandered into that diner off the tourist path. And this leads me to food….

La Cuisine

French equals food.  And this is as true in New France, as it is on the Continent.  Québec City has many fine eateries.  According to my friend and Montréal native Jacques, "I have eaten all over the world. And in Québec, the restaurants are equal to any I've tried."

Not only did I enjoy great poutaine, but I also loved the Thai, Italian, and German cuisine.  For Québecois cuisine I recommend Aux Anciens Canadiens (one of the city's oldest restuarants, established in 1677).  Like many other restaurants in town, Aux Anciens offers a table d'hôte menu, which translates as "the guest's table." For a set price of $16.00, diners receive a glass of wine or beer, starter, entreé, and dessert.  I had soupe crème de legume, paté au viande, and tarte sucre.  Having a French Canadian grandfather, I delighted in these dishes set before me: a hearty vegetable soup, a meat pie served with minced apples and squash, with a slice of maple sugar pie for dessert.  Served on blue and white china set upon a blue checked table cloth, my meal was a tasty immersion into French Canadian culture.

L'ambiance

When I travel on a vacation, I want to "feel" like I am some place different from home.  Québec feels like special a destination.  Built atop a great rock, the city sits like the Gibraltar of North America. The Château Frontenac watches over the river and city below.  The hotel was modeled on a Loire Valley castle by the Victorian railroad magnates—a luxurious destination for railway travelers. I took the funicular located near the bottom of the hotel down to Quartier du Petite-Champlain, where the city was settled in the early 1600's.  In fact, Breakneck Stairs (these connect the Upper and Lower parts of the city) are mentioned as early as 1698—when Québecers were forbidden to walk their animals on the stairs.  This small city has been a bustling, busy place for nearly 400 years.

Nearby, the Museé du Fort re-enacts the 18th century battles between the French and English, clearly explaining why Québec is indeed New France.  It is a fascinating notion to realize that this uniquely French culture capital is just an hour's drive from Highgate, Vermont, USA.  

One other fine museum is the Museé du Québec, which encapulates the city's cultural heritage: Québecois art, Indian sculture, and Colonial paintings.  As a visitor, you'll gleen an understanding of the people who shaped this belle province.

So, there you have it: French in its food, friends, and feeling.  What more could any traveler want?  Well, then how about an exchange rate far superior to that of the euro?  Or perhaps, how about a short flight from most U.S. cities? Whatever reason you go, you'll fall in love with Québec.

If you go…
Tourisme Québec       info@tourismegouv.qc.ca
                                                          Or
                                       www.bonjourquebec.com

Air Canada                   (888) 247-2262