Quebec City, Canada

While looking through a Budget travel magazine I happened upon a small advertisement for Canadian travel. The city profiled was Quebec City, a 500 year old city where the locals speak French just an hour flight from New York City. I’ve always wanted to go to France and to think, this little town seemed much more accessible right outside my home state instead of thousands of miles across the Atlantic.

Quebec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in the province.
Quebec City is internationally known for its Summer Festival,Winter Carnival, the Chateau Frontenac Hotel which stands out across the sky line and the street famous for its shops - Rue Du Petit-Champlain.

The Festival d'été, or Summer Festival which originated in 1968 is organised by groups of businesspersons and artists of Quebec City in order to show the artistic, economic, and touristic potential of the area. The Festival lasts 11 days and takes place over the first week of July. The Festival presents hundreds of genres in musical shows in various indoor and outdoor venues throughout the city.

The Carnaval de Quebec or Winter Carnival is an annual festival that takes place in Quebec City. The festival typically starts on the first Friday of January and continues for 17 days and ends when other areas in the world begin to celebrate Mardi Gras. Its activities include sleigh races, snow slides, skiing, snow rafting, snow sculpture contests and more. The winter festival is the largest winter celebration in the world with close to one million attendees.






The Château Frontenac hotel is another popular attraction here. It is not the tallest building in Quebec City, but overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, it is the most prominent feature of the city’s skyline, thus a symbol of the city.





Old Quebec City offers a variety of shopping opportunities on rue du petit-Champlain. One of the oldest commercial districts in North America, the Quarter petit-Champlain is also one of the most scenic areas. The stores and bistros are made of cobblestone and wood and have an old world charm and offer the best souvenirs and authentic cuisine to be found in Old Quebec.