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Touring Quebec Province, Canada
Interested in a European vacation, but would
rather skip the transatlantic journey? Consider
the Canadian Province of Quebec. The language,
culture, architecture, and cuisine are firmly
rooted in France. Toss in spectacular scenery,
abundant wildlife, and uncrowded spaces,
and you get a most irresistible destination.
The scenery of Quebec is exceptional, as are
the opportunities for wildlife spotting (especially
for whales and seabirds such as puffins and
gannets) and hiking. Moreover, the local
architecture can be quite charming and the
inhabitants of this region take great pride
in creating beautiful homesteads, often with
dazzling private gardens in full view from
the roads. The native tongue of nearly all
of the population is French, which adds an
added dimension of "foreign" travel
to a location that is adjacent to northern
New England. Nonetheless, English is widely
understood, and non-French-speaking travelers
can get by with little difficulty. For those
who know some French, any attempts to use
the language, however imperfect, earn you
an extra special welcome in what is already
a very hospitable region.
The roads are very well maintained and the
signage (which relies on international symbols)
is excellent. In particular, attractions,
hotels, gas stations and places to eat are
very well marked off the roads. Additionally,
along the main road most towns have a tidy
rest stop, invariably with immaculate rest
rooms, picnic tables, and a scenic view.
As in France, food is taken very seriously
here but at a very reasonable price. Scrumptious
4-course table d'hote dinners in many fine
restaurants can be had for under $40 Canadian
(less than $30 US) per person, counting taxes
and tips. You can spend a lot less in humbler
establishments, even roadside snack shops
(called casse-croutes), and still eat very
well. I give high marks to all the places
where I ate, and they included a random assortment
of snack shacks, a coffee house, a bakery,
fine restaurants (one was attached to a campground!),
diners, and a jazz club that offered vegetarian
burgers.
The town of Perce has transformed itself
from a sleepy, remote fishing village circa
1900 into a major tourist destination. Nonetheless,
it is not yet overbuilt, and the streets
are remarkably quiet from around 8 PM until
roughly 10 AM, even in the midst of the tourist
season. This is the one town on the Gaspe
peninsula with a noteworthy concentration
of hotels, motels and B&Bs (gites, in
French). Farther west, on the south shore
of the St. Lawrence River, the cities of
Riviere-du-Loup and Rimouski have a number
of places to stay, although these are not
prime destinations for vacations but handy
overnight stops instead.
The north shore of the St. Lawrence, in the
region east of Tadoussac, is relatively sparsely
populated and less visited that the south
shore, with correspondingly more limited
hotel facilities. The cities of Baie-Comeau
and Sept-Iles are the major centers of population,
commerce, and industry, and the best places
to find accommodation. Nonetheless, the rocky
subarctic terrain of the north shore is,
in many respects, even more memorable than
that of the Gaspe. The Mingan Archipelago
(pronounced, roughly, as "MAN-gaw")
is home to a large colony of puffins (over
1,800 nest here in the spring and summer)
and stone monoliths that have been sculpted
by wind and water into truly fantastic, sometimes
surrealistic, shapes. Whales frequent the
area as well. This area, though relatively
remote (about 1,100 km or 660 miles driving
from Quebec City), is a truly memorable landscape
that deserves many more visitors than it
receives.
Much closer to Quebec City (120 km or 72
miles), Ile-aux-Coudres (Island of the Hazlenut
Trees) is a pastoral gem only 11 km (7 miles)
long and 5 km (3 miles) wide. It makes a
splendid contrast to a Quebec City that often
is thronged with tourists. Travelers with
more limited agendas, such as just visiting
the walled city of Quebec, would do well
to consider a modest diversion eastward to
this small paradise. It has a variety of
hotels, motels, and inns, yet it does not
feel the least crowded or overrun. It has
one ring road, and the traffic is surprisingly
light. Indeed, many visitors choose to bike
around it.
At the time of writing, reaching this region
by air is slightly problematic, however.
Lesage Airport at Quebec City does not have
full status as an international airport,
and flights from the U.S. are few. In fact,
the airport is a rather sleepy one that has
relatively few domestic (Canadian) flights
and pretty much closes by 10 PM. Continental
flies 3 times daily to/from Newark, but only
with 40 passenger Embraer jets. Northwest
also has a limited presence, flying from
Detroit. Otherwise, Air Canada is the main
option but usually with a change required
in Toronto, Montreal, or Ottawa. Air Canada's
prices are considerably above those charged
by Continental: my trip cost $300 roundtrip
per person, but Air Canada's started at over
$700.
A week's car rental from Avis, with unlimited
miles, cost me $375.73 (Canadian), all taxes
and fees included, or about $272 (US). Note
that gasoline is expensive, and prices ranged
from 76.9 to 84.9 cents (Canadian) per liter
of regular unleaded. This translates to between
$2.12 and $2.34 (US) per gallon. Moreover,
don't bother to price shop. Prices are controlled,
and all the stations in a given area will
post the same price. Interestingly, the highest
prices were around Quebec City, while the
more remote areas had lower prices. The lowest
I found, 76.9 cents Canadian, was in the
area around Tadoussac on the north coast. |
| Travel Tips |
- If you need cash, most U.S. ATM cards will
work in Canadian cash machines. Check with
your bank before leaving. You generally get
good exchange rates using the ATMs.
- A French phrase book or dictionary can be
very handy (see our suggestions from Amazon.
com above).
- Get a detailed provincial highway map from
Tourism Quebec before your trip. Also get
an application for refund of the GST (Goods
and Services Tax, a sales tax) on your purchases
of gifts and on your hotel room rate.
- Bring your passport. While technically not
required for U.S. citizens to enter Canada
and return, airlines are demanding it. Not
having a passport also sets you up for a
difficult time with customs/immigration officers
on both sides of the border in this post-9/11
era.
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| When to Go |
May through September is best for our sample
itinerary. Late July or early August is ideal.
The city of Quebec has a renowned winter
carnival in February, but the outlying areas
will be too frigid and snowy for most travelers.
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| Sample Itinerary for 8 Days |
Day 1: Fly from Newark to Quebec City. Stay in
Quebec overnight.
Day 2: Drive south shore of the St. Lawrence River,
making scenic stops. Stay at Perce, at the
eastern tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. Total
drive for the day is about 788 km, or 473
miles.
Day 3: Morning boat trip around Perce Rock and
Bonaventure Island. Hike to the Rock at low
tide. Take afternoon trip to Forillon National
Park, a roundtrip of about 242 km, or 145
miles. Return to Perce.
Day 4: Hike the hills behind Perce in the morning.
Take a whale watch trip at midday. Visit
other viewpoints in the late afternoon. Remain
in Perce overnight.
Day 5: Drive along south coast of the Gaspe Peninsula,
turning north and inland at the Town of New
Richmond. Visit Gaspesie Park in the mountainous
center of the peninsula for short hikes.
Drive north to the town of Matane for a 5
PM ferry across the St. Lawrence to Baie-Comeau.
Drive east to the town of Sept-Iles for overnight
stay. Drive from Perce to Matane is about
400 km, or 240 miles. Drive from Baie-Comeau
to Sept-Iles is 222 km, or 133 miles.
Day 6: Drive east for boat excursions in the Mingan
Archipelago. Drive 222 km (133 miles) east
to Havre-St- Pierre for 3-hour tour of the
eastern islands embarking at 7:45 AM. Take
1:00 PM boat out of Mingan (38 km or 23 miles
west) for a 5-hour tour of the western islands.
Return to Sept-Iles for the night.
Day 7: Drive 524 km (314 miles) west to Ile-aux-Coudres
for overnight stay. En route, make several
scenic stops, including scanning for whales
from shore at Baie-Sainte-Catherine. Board
5:30 PM ferry for the island at St-Joseph-de-la-Rive.
Tour the island before sunset.
Day 8: Make another quick tour of Ile-aux-Coudres
before boarding 8:00 AM ferry
back to St-Joseph-de-la-Rive.
Make scenic stops on 120-km (72-mile)
westward
route to Quebec City. Make brief
afternoon
tour of the city. Board return
flight to
Newark.
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| Where to Learn More |
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| What to Budget |
All price quotes are in U.S. dollars, for
2 people:
- About $100/day can buy highly satisfactory
lodging.
- Under $50/day can get excellent meals for
the value-conscious who splurge occasionally.
- Car rental and gas runs about $50/day for
our sample itinerary.
- Tour boats, attraction admissions, etc.,
should cost about $40/day.
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