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1 The Best of Montréal & Québec City

Just 10 years ago, something of a bleak mood prevailed in Québec province. It was driven by lingering recession and uncertainty over the future; it seemed possible that the province would choose to fling itself into independence from the rest of . Lately, though, something else is going on. Ripples of optimism have become waves. The Canadian dollar, as every traveler will discover, has strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. In Montréal, a billion-dollar building boom has been filling up vacant lots all over downtown. Montréal has become a modern city in every regard, with skyscrapers in unexpected shapes and bright, noncorporate colors; a historic dis- trict that has been beautifully preserved; and a large area of artists’ lofts, boutiques, cafés, and miles of restaurants. Québec City, more traditional and more French, is replacing its former conservatism with an ever-expanding aura of sophistication. American and European travelers will likely find Montréal an urban near-paradise. The subway system, called the Métro, is modern and swift. Streets are safe. Montréal’s best restaurants are the equals of their south-of-the-border compatriots in every way, but 20% cheaper. Québec City, meanwhile, with its impressive location above the St. Lawrence River and its virtually unblemished Old Town of 18th- and 19th-century houses, looks French and is almost impossibly romantic and Continental-feeling—it’s unlike any city in North America.

1 Unforgettable Travel Experiences in Québec MONTREAL or more courses for a fixed price that is • Listen to Jazz: Downtown, Old only slightly more than the cost of an Town, the Latin Quarter, all over, this a la carte main course alone. Most full- is a favorite pastime of locals and vis- service restaurants offer the option, if itors alike, especially in late June and only at midday. See chapter 6. early July during the renowned Mon- • Explore Vieux-Montréal: The old tréal Jazz Festival.COPYRIGHTED See p. 15. quarter MATERIAL has an overwhelmingly Euro- • Savor Top-Notch Cuisine at Afford- pean flavor. Wander Place Jacques- able Prices: Experience all of French Cartier, the most engaging of the cuisine’s permutations—traditional, district’s squares; explore museums haute, bistro, original Québécois— and the stunning architecture of the along with the city’s fusion hybrids churches; stroll or meander on a bike and ethnic restaurants the way the along the revitalized waterfront. See locals do: by ordering the table d’hôte chapter 7, and the walking tour of specials. You’ll get to indulge in three Vieux-Montréal in chapter 8. 05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 5

THE BEST SPLURGE HOTELS 5 • Shop: Browse the shops of world- the Grande-Allée—a quality-of-life class domestic designers, from the invention the French and their up-and-coming to the well estab- Québécois brethren have perfected. lished; search for Inuit (Eskimo) See chapter 14. sculptures of the highest order (with • Soak Up the Blossoming Lower prices to match); and take in the Town: Once all but abandoned to scores of eclectic antiques shops along shipping and grimy industry, the old rue Notre-Dame between rue Guy riverside neighborhood of Basse- and avenue Atwater. See chapter 9. Ville/Vieux-Port has been reborn, with antiques shops, bistros, and bou- CITY tique hotels filling its rehabilitated • Admire the Skyline from the Lévis 18th- and 19th-century buildings. Ferry: Approaching the city by car See chapter 15, and the walking tour from the south, the ferry provides a of the Lower Town in chapter 16. grand view for little money. Passen- • Relax in Battlefields Park (Parc des gers already in the city can start at the Champs-de-Bataille): This park is Vieux-Port side, and then stay beautifully situated, overlooking the onboard and come right back with- St. Lawrence River, and is particularly out disembarking. lively on weekends, when families • Linger at an Outdoor Café: Tables and lovers come to picnic and play. are set out at Place d’Armes in Upper See p. 240. Town, in the Quartier du Petit- Champlain in Lower Town, and along

2 The Best Splurge Hotels MONTREAL lounges, a hyper-chic restaurant, and • Hôtel Le St-James (355 rue St- a clientele composed of knockouts of Jacques ouest; & 866/841-3111): both sexes. Also in Vieux-Montréal. Setting the standard against which any See p. 76. boutique hotel in town must measure itself, this former 19th-century bank • Auberge Saint-Antoine (8 rue St- in Vieux-Montréal lets no luxurious Antoine; & 888/692-2211): Sure, detail escape its attention. From its there’s the , loom- opulent main hall to the sybaritic sub- ing up above, the very symbol of the terranean spa to its immaculately city. But for a more intimate, less trained staff, this is an experience that overwhelming visit, take the funicu- may well be the highlight of your visit. lar down to the Basse-Ville. The See p. 75. auberge started as a stylish but largely • W Montréal (901 rue Square Victo- unexceptional B&B and has grown ria; & 888/627-7081): If you qualify in calculated phases into the most as hip, aware, and on the fast track to desirable lodging in town, now with a somewhere good (or like to think you chic lounge and a top restaurant. See do), waste no time booking a suite at p. 219. this local entry in the spreading chain. • Dominion 1912 (126 rue Saint- It won’t hurt if your platinum card is Pierre; & 888/833-5253): Also a key paid up and you don’t need much player in the redevelopment of the sleep, either. There are three bars and once dreary Basse-Ville/Vieux-Port, 05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 6

6 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY

Moments Romantic Québec City “Romance” is Québec City’s middle name. Every narrow street, leafy plaza, sidewalk café, horse-drawn calèche, pitched roof, and church spire breathes recollections of the provincial cities of the mother country. But to get the full Québec City treatment, amble those streets on a night of the full moon and find a bench on the Terrasse Dufferin. The river below will be the color of liq- uid mercury in the moon’s glow, and there will be more stars than you can ever remember seeing. Streaks of comets and music faintly heard from the boîtes in Lower Town are possibilities. Romance is a certainty.

the Dominion has rooms so large and Do, though, at least for the fireplace, beds and bedding so cozily envelop- croissants, and café au lait in the ing that you may not want to go out. lobby. See p. 220.

3 The Best Moderately Priced Hotels MONTREAL tubs have been added to the nine • Auberge Bonaparte (447 rue St- bedrooms. See p. 80. & François-Xavier; 514/844-1448): QUEBEC CITY The long-established restaurant on • Hôtel Sainte-Anne (32 rue Ste-Anne; the ground floor was accorded a mas- & 877/222-9422): Practically in the sive rehab and expansion a few years shadow of the Château Frontenac, back, and now includes the comely this Euro-design hotel occupies a row inn upstairs. Rooms are simply fur- house in the middle of the most nished, but four out of the eight on touristy district of the Upper Town. each floor have whirlpool tubs and Rooms are stripped to the minimum, the rooftop terrace overlooks Vieux- but as equipped as can be reasonably Montréal’s Basilique Notre-Dame. expected with this location at these See p. 79. relatively gentle prices. See p. 216. • Auberge Les Passants du Sans • Château Laurier (1220 Place Georges Soucy (171 rue St-Paul oust; & 514/ V ouest; & 800/463-4453): There are 842-2634): Just around the corner now nine categories of rooms and from Bonaparte, this charming little suites in this Parliament Hill property, B&B helped pioneer the recovery of thanks to nearly continual expansion Vieux-Montréal to its current status in recent years. The hotel is close to as the must-see quarter of the city. and Musée des The lobby is an art gallery with Beaux-Arts. See p. 218. changing exhibits. Fireplaces and jet

4 The Most Unforgettable Dining Experiences MONTREAL decor as contemporary and elegant as • Nuances (1 av. du Casino, in the the food—all creamy walls, white Casino de Montréal; & 514/392- linen, and pale-green leather ban- 2708): This gourmet resto at the top quettes. A room with real star power. of the city’s casino got an impressive See p. 106. face-lift in early 2007 that made the 05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 7

THE BEST OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES 7 • Toqué! (900 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle; and subdued lighting to its carefully & 514/499-2084): Superstar chef/ paced multi-course menus, Initiale owner Norman Laprise has been exudes silky polish from greeting to thrilling Montréal gourmands for adieu. You will dine gloriously. See years. In dishes of startling innovation, p. 230. he brings together diverse ingredients • Laurie Raphaël (117 rue Dalhousie; that have rarely appeared before on & 418/692-4555): Dazzling. Given restaurant plates. There’s little point in the growing local competition, the describing individual dishes, for he owners have utterly transformed their moves on before any of his food setting and shaken up the menu. Ser- achieves signature status. See p. 91. vice is spot-on and the food creative and artfully presented. See p. 230. QUEBEC CITY • Initiale (54 rue St-Pierre; & 418/ 694-1818): From its gracious tone

5 The Best Museums MONTREAL first European settlement put down • Musée des Beaux-Arts (1379–1380 roots. It stands atop extensive exca- rue Sherbrooke ouest; & 514/ vations that unearthed not only 285-2000): Canada’s first museum remains of the French newcomers, devoted exclusively to the arts started but also the native bands that pre- out in 1912 in a neoclassical space ceded them. Wind your way on the on the north side of Sherbrooke. A self-guided tour through the subter- newer pavilion on the opposite side is ranean complex. See p. 114. connected by an underground series QUEBEC CITY of galleries. Temporary exhibits are • Musée de la Civilisation (85 rue strong, and the permanent collection & is largely devoted to international Dalhousie; 418/643-2158): Here contemporary art and Canadian is that rarity among museums: a col- works. See p. 109. lection of cleverly mounted tempo- • Pointe-à-Callière/Montréal Mu- rary and permanent exhibitions that seum of Archaeology and History both children and adults find engross- (350 Place Royale; & 514/872- ing, without talking down or meta- 9150): A first visit to Montréal might physical maunderings. Make sure to best begin here. This strikingly mod- make time for Memoires, which charts ernistic structure at the edge of Vieux- the evolution of Québec from the first Montréal marks the spot where the encounters between Native peoples and Europeans. See p. 235.

6 The Best Outdoor Activities MONTREAL Seaway, it was renovated in the last • Traverse the Lachine Canal: The few years to serve as a recreational abandoned canal was first con- resource. Connecting the Vieux-Port structed to detour around the rapids with Atwater Market, a little over a of the same name. Falling into disuse mile away, it can be traveled by after construction of the St. Lawrence guided boat tour, on foot, or with 05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 8

8 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY bicycles or in-line skates rented at the the battlements and along the cobble- Vieux-Port (p. 125). stoned streets of the ancient city. Use • Bike the City: Montréalers’ enthusi- the walking tours in chapter 16 or go asm for bicycling has provided the on a group tour; information on meet- impetus for the ongoing develop- ing points, times, and routes is at the ment of a network of bike-specific information kiosk on the Terrace Duf- paths that wind through downtown ferin, opposite the Château Frontenac. areas and out to the countryside. • Visit : Located a Cyclists are allowed to take their 15-minute ride by car or bus north of bikes onto designated Métro cars and the city is this spectacular iron-tinged some taxis have special racks. Rentals cascade—higher than Niagara Falls, can be arranged right at the water- as you will frequently be reminded. front park. See p. 128. There are stairs and a cable car up and a footbridge directly over the plung- QUEBEC CITY ing water. In summer, this is the site • Take a Walking Tour: Combine of an international fireworks festival. immersion in Québec’s rich history See chapter 19. with a good stretch of the legs among

7 The Best Activities for Families MONTREAL QUEBEC CITY • Visit the Biodôme de Montréal: • Watch the Changing of the Guard: Perhaps the most engaging attraction La Citadelle is the fortress built by in the city for children—of any age. the British to repel an American inva- The Biodôme houses replications of sion that never came. It’s still an four ecosystems: a Laurentian forest, active military post, and the ceremo- the St. Lawrence marine system, a nial changing of the guard and beat- polar environment, and, most engag- ing the retreat are colorful and not ingly, a tropical rainforest. See p. 115. too long. See p. 238. • Explore the Jardin Botanique and • Thrill to the Canyon Ste-Anne: Insectarium: Montréal’s Botanical About a half-hour drive from the city, Garden has Chinese and Japanese the massive canyon and its thunder- gardens and greenhouses open all ing Ste-Anne waterfalls feature three year long, while the Insectarium next footbridges that go directly across the door features praying mantises, taran- water. See chapter 19. tulas, a Butterfly House, and a gift shop that sells lollipops with scorpi- ons inside. See p. 116.

8 The Best of Montréal & Québec City Online There’s lots of information on Montréal Québec endeavors to be a compre- and Québec City on the Internet. Here hensive information bank about all are a few of our favorite planning and things Québec, and nearly succeeds. general information sites. You’ll find information on upcoming • Bonjour Québec (www.tourisme. events and ongoing attractions, and gouv.qc.ca): The official site of the you can search for hotels and reserve government of the Province of online. 05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 9

THE BEST OF MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY ONLINE 9 • A la Montréal (www.tourisme- local happenings, including enter- montreal.org): Another official tainingly grumpy and often profane tourism site, this one provides in- takes on current events, and regularly depth information on selected high- updated restaurant and arts reviews. lights. Check the “Traveler” section • Québec (www.quebecregion.com): for feature stories, food highlights, Sponsored by the Québec City “Sweet Deals” on lodging, and a Tourism bureau, this site is full of “Montréal Gay to Z” section. detailed information about area • Hour (www.hour.ca): Hour is a Mon- accommodations, attractions, sports, tréal culture magazine that highlights shopping, dining, history, and culture.