Page 72 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to Canada

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Special Events
JANUARY – FEBRUARY
• IGLOOFEST, MONTRÉAL
• MONTRÉAL SNOW FESTIVAL
FEBRUARY
• QUÉBEC WINTER CARNIVAL, QUÉBEC CITY
FEBRUARY – MARCH
• MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE
APRIL
• SAGUENAY JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL
JUNE
• CANADIAN FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX,
MONTRÉAL
• GO BIKE MONTRÉAL FESTIVAL
• FRANCOS MONTRÉAL
• KWE! MEET WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
QUÉBEC CITY
JUNE – JULY
• MONTRÉAL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
JULY
• JUST FOR LAUGHS FESTIVAL, MONTRÉAL
• MONTRÉAL CIRQUE FESTIVAL
• QUÉBEC CITY SUMMER FESTIVAL
• TREMBLANT INTERNATIONAL BLUES
FESTIVAL
JULY – AUGUST
• LE FESTIVAL DE LANAUDIÈRE
AUGUST
• FIRST PEOPLES FESTIVAL, MONTRÉAL
• FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL, TREMBLANT
• MONTRÉAL PRIDE
• NEW FRANCE FESTIVAL, QUÉBEC CITY
• TENNIS: NATIONAL BANK OPEN, MONTRÉAL
SEPTEMBER
• GATINEAU HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL
www.quebecoriginal.com/en-gb/events
fests. In cool contrast, take in a concert at Old
Montréal’s Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Gothic
masterpiece with marvellous acoustics
(www.basiliquenotredame.ca/en). Or visit
the quays of the Old Port on foot, by Segway
or hoverboard, where performances range
from reggae to harbour symphonies created
with ships’ horns.
Year-round, chic prevails in Old Montréal’s
clubs, trendy bistros and the free-spirited
Latin Quarter’s cocktail bars. The city teems
with bars, discos, microbreweries, cigar
lounges, cafés and outdoor terraces.
FAT BIKING • GOLDEN PENINSULA TOURS
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Outdoor enthusiasts can soak up Québec’s
untamed wilderness by visiting the
province’s numerous parks. With thousands
of crystal-clear lakes and an impressive
range of wildlife, they are idyllic for camping,
canoeing, fishing, cycling, mountain biking
and hiking. In winter, the guarantee of snow
creates a paradise for downhill and cross-
country skiing, dogsledding and snow-
shoeing (www.sepaq.com).
Every August the sky becomes a canvas for
the shooting stars of the Perseid meteor showers
and the Velan astronomy pavilion at Domaine
Saint-Bernard offers regular stargazing sessions
(www.mont-tremblant.ca/en/what-to-
do/f/199/velan-astronomy-pavillion-
domaine-saint-bernard).
Campers can bring dogs along to certain
Québec national parks, with the exception
of the Anticosti and Île-Bonaventure-et-du-
Rocher-Percé national parks (www.sepaq.com/
animaux/).
Two-wheelers take to “la Route verte,” a
5,300-km (3,293-mi.) web of cycling and multi-
use paths that criss-cross the province, creating
the largest cycling network in North America.
Spectacular sightlines are the norm at
Québec public golf courses. One of the most
challenging is Le Géant at Mont-Tremblant,
a master’s 18-hole championship course
carved out of the Laurentian landscape.
Chemins d’Eau is a tourist route
dedicated to the Ottawa River (the province’s
longest river), retracing the steps of the First
Nations, explorers and wood barons
(www.tourismeoutaouais.com).
In the Laurentian Mountains, north of
Montréal, Le P’tit Train du Nord Linear Park
is a former railroad track converted into a
234-km (144-mi.) level biking and walking
trail—and a cross-country skiing, fat biking
or snowmobiling trail in winter—between
Saint-Jérôme and Mont-Laurier (www.lauren
tides.com/en). Or ride a panoramic gondola
to the summit of Mont-Tremblant.
Whale watching from Tadoussac, Baie-
Sainte-Catherine and Rivière-du-Loup, gets
visitors close to nature with sightings of minke,
humpback and even the rare blue whale, as do
boat cruises from the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula
to the seabird sanctuary at Bonaventure Island
(www.quebecmaritime.ca).
Wedge Hills Lodge, nestled on the shores
of the mythical George River, now offers
excursions leaving the lodge by float plane to
explore the Torngat Mountains—the natural
border between Nunavik, Québec and
Labrador. Explore and photograph this
territory known as the Golden Peninsula by
fat bike, packraft and/or hiking, or a
combination of it all—from the comfort of
the lodge, where you can also catch some
pretty impressive Atlantic salmon
(www.wedgehillslodge.com/tours).
A fishing outfitting camp, Inukshuk Lodge
has been offering amazing adventures fishing
for Arctic char on Ungava Bay and now also
offers opportunities to discover wildlife—
namely polar bears—and get familiar with the
northern landscape and its inhabitants along
the coast of Ungava Bay while taking part in
a photography workshop (www.inukshuk
lodge.com).
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
“Montréal en Histoires” is an interactive way
to learn about the history of Montréal—and,
starting this summer, also Charlevoix—
using a free mobile app that guides users
through points of interest. It includes
daytime and nighttime scenarios, with short
movies projected on buildings, streets and
trees (www.montrealenhistoires.com).