05_170434 ch01.qxp 11/6/07 10:08 PM Page 4 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 Canada. 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- QUEBEC 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 QUEBEC CITY 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 Château Frontenac, 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. the Battlefields Park 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.