TRAVEL:
The well-appointed winter wonderland of Quebec City
I often tease my partner about what I call his fantasy world, a place where there’s always chocolate for breakfast, an empty banquette waiting in the corner of the restaurant and 500-threadcount linens on the bed. Magically, Quebec City seems to offer his fantasy come true.
Everyone has that stone-fireplace, wool-sweater picture of Quebec in their mind at this time of the year — and that’s pretty much the reality. Winter is extremely well organized, with a list of things to do the length of your arm. Throw in Le Carnaval (Jan 27 to Feb 12 this year; carnaval.qc.ca/en), and you’ve got a fabulous weekend.
One of North America’s only fortified cities is also one of its oldest, founded by Champlain in 1608 (Canadian history books out, please; turn to page one). A UNESCO-designated World Heritage site, the upper and lower parts of town are beyond charming, full of excellent restaurants and shops, art galleries and museums, visited by approximately four million tourists every year.
EMBRACE THE THREAD COUNT
The award-winning gem in the Relais et Châteaux association of hotels and restaurants is Auberge Saint-Antoine (8 rue Saint-Antoine; saint-antoine.com; from $170). It’s warm, comfortable, beautiful, storied. Partially built over the old rampart, the auberge has worked archaeological treasures discovered on the site into its décor. Unearthed crockery, glass, hardware and household items, some dating back to the 1600s, punctuate cozy nooks, room entrances and lobby walls.
Down the road in what is one of the city’s first skyscrapers, Hôtel Le Germain-Dominion (126 rue Saint-Pierre; germaindominion.com; from $200) sports the fluffiest down bedding in dark, elegant rooms that manage to seem both old and new. A clean moody design features black ceilings and cabinetry, steam rads and black wooden blinds. And serious bathrooms: There’s just something extra decadent about a Frette bath mat.
Also in Old Town, the neo-classic, 60-room Hôtel 71 (71 rue Saint-Pierre; hotel71.ca; from $200) was originally the National Bank’s first headquarters.
You’ll find the glasses, haircuts and bowties crowd at Hôtel Pur (395 rue de la Couronne; hotelpur.com; from $130), which maintains an extremely cool vibe, very minimalist. This is right next to rue Saint Joseph Est, with its busy shops and great eateries. Philippe Dubuc (537 Saint-Joseph Est; dubucstyle.com) is just down the street, with black shirts for days, sharp suits and a great fit.
And in the shadow of Champlain’s statue, we have the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac (1 rue des Carrières; fairmont.com/frontenac; from $250) boasting 610 rooms. Definitely stop into the bar for a martini even if you’re not staying there.
A stone’s throw from the Frontenac sits the modern, mid-price Hôtel Sainte-Anne (32 rue Sainte-Anne; hotelste-anne.com; from $100). With red-brick walls and charming old windows that open onto the busker-busy, restaurant-lined street below, this spot is excellent value. You can’t beat the location. Those in the know flock to Le Pain Béni, almost next door (aubergeplacedarmes.com), to soak up the sexy red leather interior — and the duck fat.
PACK THE STRETCHY PANTS
The number of restaurants per capita is high in Quebec City. Enjoy a string of small plates at Toast (17 rue Sault au Matelot; restauranttoast.-com) tucked inside Le Priori Hôtel. If you’re here in the summer, the terrace is one of the best-kept secrets in the city.
At Le Clocher Penché Bistrot (203 rue Saint-Joseph Est; clocherpenche.ca), formerly an old bank, elegant, homespun French dishes delight at every turn. Very attentive service gets you even deeper into the food experience. “I will be right back to talk about the dessert wine you’ve chosen. It comes from my home town,” said our waiter.
Across the street, all the cool kids are having steaks at Le Cercle (228 Saint-Joseph E, le-cercle.ca). This is a big place, with three gallery spaces, part of an even larger art and music scene. Video projections dance on the wall, lighting up the sea of nice-looking young people having a good time.
Restaurant Panache at the Auberge Saint-Antoine (8 rue Saint-Antoine; saint-antoine.com) is a bit of old-world charm, boasting the winner of 2011’s culinary TV competition Les Chefs!, sous-chef Guillaume St-Pierre. Recognized wherever he goes, St-Pierre visits all the tables every shift — and has to wear a ball cap and sunglasses to the grocery store.
Quebec’s fantasy world continued around the corner at the Relais et Châteaux-associated Restaurant Initiale (54 rue Saint-Pierre; restaurantinitiale.com) where God is in the details — and plenty of them. Chef Yvan Lebrun offers fine dining at its best, with little surprises thrown in (a refreshing mid-meal sorbet, a post-dessert sweet) to keep you on your toes.
“Traditional cooking on a silver platter” is one of the mottos of Laurie Raphael (117 due Dalhousie; laurieraphael.com). Sensual food with a touch of crazy. This spot also gives cooking classes, sommelier’s dinners, even a dining etiquette class.
GET OUT OF DODGE
Despite its plentiful allurements, you might want to venture outside of Quebec. Forty minutes on the road and you’re skiing at Mount Saint-Anne’s (mont-sainte-anne.-com). And if touring around is more your speed, rent a car and drive the 20 minutes to the historic Montmorency Falls Park. In the winter, the ice spray freezes into a huge cone, perfect for tobogganing and climbing. Even in the 1700s, this was a place for people to hang out and enjoy themselves. Ride the cable car to the top and walk across the bridge to get the full effect, shoot a few snaps and take in the view of Île d’Orléans, the island in the middle of the St Lawrence River — and your next stop.
With only one traffic light, Île d’Orléans is actually bigger than Manhattan, home to six parishes and about 300 founding families. Similar to Ontario’s Prince Edward County, this region has some of the best fruit and berries in the world. Cassis Monna et Filles (721 chemin Royal, Sainte-Pierre) is your first pit stop for the finest cassis outside of France. Bilodeau Cidrerie (2200 chemin Royal, St-Pierre; cidreriebilodeau.qc.ca) is great for stocking up on apple butter, hazelnut and apple syrup mustard, apple jelly, apple cider, peppered raspberry cider jelly, ice cider jelly, sparkling ice cider, foie gras in apple sauce… the list goes on. And a little further down the road, there’s a micro brasserie, Pub Le Mitan (3887 chemin Royal, Sainte-Famille; microorleans.com). If you’re visiting during nice weather, rent some bikes.
JUMP AROUND
At the gay-friendly Boudoir Lounge (441 rue de L’Eglise), we watched a little UFC at the long bar, waiting for the action to rev up for the night. This sexy, retro lounge with low amber lights and black leather banquettes has lots of space for the good-looking crowd that frequents it.
The city’s gay scene (too small to call it that, really) exists along portions of rue Saint-Jean, a strip full of bars, cafés and boutiques just outside the walls of the old city. The most fun is just off Saint-Jean at Le Drague (815 rue Saint-Augustin at Saint-Joachim), a big cabaret and dance club. What at first glance looks like an enormous lineup is actually just everyone smoking. This is where hipsters of most ages find a song they can dance to or a wall to prop up.
Quebec’s fantasy world failed my partner only once, when signs of gay life dwindled on a Saturday night well before 2am. But the next day we were back to our chocolate croissants and frites with mayonnaise — reality in check.
