Less than 40 miles east of Montreal is a great place to start your tour. Here you’ll find The Laurentians, a pleasant introduction into the Canadian countryside with these rolling hills and mountains. Actually, with its highest peak topping out at just over 3,100 feet (Mont Tremblant), these hardly qualify as mountains, rather foothills similar to the Catskills in New York State. Although not as intimidating as the rocky formations in the western region of the continent, the Laurentians were formed more than a billion years ago, making them some of the oldest mountains in the entire world. The Laurentians offer many outdoor retreats and leisurely country drives, a perfect compliment to a colorful fall season.

Northwest of the Laurentians is the Trois-Rivieres region. As the Saint-Maurice River meets the St. Lawrence, the two rivers split into three branches that flow through the region. Once a booming logging area, the Trois-Rivieres is much like the Laurentians with its rolling hills and lush forest filled with Canadian wildlife. Here you’ll also find the 210-square-mile national park, Parc National de la Maurice. Established in 1970, the park safeguards this portion of the Canadian Shield, including the park’s wide variety of wildlife, several types of forest and more than 100 lakes.

The Lac Saint-Jean region is almost due north of Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River. Why stop here? How about the 520 square miles of popular summer resort areas for residents of Quebec City and the surrounding area. And with that comes a hotbed of leisure outdoor activities during the Canadian summer. The eastern part of the region, hugging the shores of the St. Lawrence River, offers a unique activity for this part of the continent: whale-watching. Although seemingly too far inland for whales to migrate, the chilly and deep St. Lawrence River welcomes several types of small whales to its water year-round. With a little effort, and a whale-watching excursion or two, one can sight the gorgeous white beluga or humpback whale. Blue whales, the largest creatures on earth, have also been known to slip into this section of the St. Lawrence River.

One of Canada’s most popular whale-watching spots is located near the picturesque Saguenay Fjord. Here the Saguenay River dumps into the salty water of the St. Lawrence, and whales of all types converge on the area to feast. Through whale-watching boat tours or one of the area’s many observation points, you may be able to catch glimpses of beluga, fin, minke or any of the other whale species that frequent the area.

Traveling up the northern shore of the St. Lawrence, the land becomes increasingly more remote as the environment becomes less forgiving. For the intrepid explorer these conditions only mean untouched natural wonders are waiting for them. A perfect example of a more remote natural wonder can be found in Côte Nord, a region once dominated by lumber towns, it would be considered rather isolated by most standards. Today, Côte Nord is a wonderful resource for hydroelectricity as several large and powerful rivers divide the land. But the real draw to the region is the Mingan Archipelago National Park. RVers will need to leave their rigs behind, but it’s well worth it. This series of 40 small islands offers some of the most unique and dramatic scenery in all of Canada. Dedicated as a national park reserve in 1984, Mingan Archipelago is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including puffins and seals. However, the area’s true attraction is the dramatic limestone structures that rise from the rocky shores. These natural monoliths seem like they stretch forever along the St. Lawrence shoreline.

In the middle of the widest part of the St. Lawrence River lies the series of connected islands known as Isles de la Madeleine. Another archepelago, several of these islands are connected by sandbars; some of which have remarkable cliff formations. The northern stretch of the islands marries bucolic farmland with sandy beaches, lush forests and miles of secluded hiking trails.

On the St. Lawrence’s southern shores, directly across from the Iles de la Madeleine, is the Gaspe Peninsula jutting out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Getting to the peninsula is a treat in itself. The drive along Highway 132, along the coastline of the St. Lawrence, is one of Canada’s most celebrated scenic routes. We’re talking A+ views here. Craggy cliffs drop off to sandy beaches to the north, while the southern scenery is green, rolling hills interspersed with quiet fishing villages. For a uniquely Canadian outdoor experience, visit the central part of the peninsula (the area’s highest elevation) where you’ll find the Parc de la Gaspe. Inhabitants such as moose, elk and caribou, don’t seem to mind the area’s harsh conditions. Along the peninsula’s northern shores is the Parc National Forillon. A national park since the 1970s, this 90-square-mile sanctuary reveals some of the peninsula’s best vistas as well as an abundance of native wildlife. It’s an ideal mountains-meet-the-sea environment, as pine covered hills become the rocky coastline.

Woodall’s Campground Directory is the largest and most detailed North American Campground Directory available, with nearly 15,000 campgrounds included. Woodall’s rates and inspects privately owned campgrounds with its trusted 5W-5W rating system. Find out more about Quebec Campgrounds.
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“The Jewish Aviation Museum?” queried the puzzled tourist guide.

“Yea, you know, the Planes of Abraham.” exclaimed the tourist.

The story is no doubt apocryphal, but it underscores the fact that Quebec boasts a different language and culture from the rest of North America.

And vive la difference. Quebec City is the cradle of French civilization in North America. Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, French soldier, navigator, geographer and explorer, it is the only walled city north of Mexico.

The name Quebec is derived from the Indian word “Kebec,” meaning “narrowing of the waters”. The city is perched on a 106 meter (350ft) cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River and is divided into the Upper and Lower town. In colonial times the Upper Town was the domain of the military and the government. The Lower Town encompassed the port and trading district where supplies from Europe were unloaded to be replaced by the rich furs of “New France.”

Authentic restoration ensures that today’s Lower Town retains the ambience of early New France, including the thick stonewalls, dormer windows, wooden doors and shutters and bright tin roofs.

The art galleries, boutiques and quaint alfresco cafes that have replaced the old warehouses give Quebec that uniquely European look unknown in other North American cities.

The heart of the Lower Town was, and still is, Place Royale, named after Louis X1V whose bust stands in the square.

Hard by Place Royale is Quartier Petit-Champlain, the oldest district in North America, dating back to the city’s founding in 1608. Originally it was a busy port village with trading posts and elegant residences built of wood, then stone and brick. Towards the end of the 19th century Quartier Petit-Champlain deteriorated. Modern renovation, with strict adherence to authenticity, has again turned the quarter into a quaint riverside village where pedestrians can stroll the narrow streets enjoying the local color. Over 60 craftspeople and artists offer their wares here and visitors can enjoy the native entertainers and musicians while partaking of Quebec’s sumptuous French cuisine.

To get to the Upper Town from the Lower Town you can climb the aptly named “Break-neck Stairs” or take a small funicular railway.

Dominating the skyline up top is that majestic symbol of Quebec City, the Chateau Frontenac. The hotel was built in 1893 and its turrets and towers make it look more like a castle. It is on the site of Fort St. Louis, a governor’s residence in colonial times, and was named after Comte de Frontenac, an early governor of New France.

From the front of the Chateau Frontenac you can take the Promenade des Gouverneurs, a picturesque boardwalk, round to the famous Plains of Abraham or Battlefields Park. This 95-hectare (235 acres) park was the site of the pivotal battle between General Wolfe and General Montcalm in 1759 that irrevocably sealed the fate of New France as a British colony. The boardwalk itself is suspended 92 meters (280ft) above the St. Lawrence and offers spectacular views of the river and Quebec’s busy harbor.

Visitors arriving in Quebec City by car from Montreal are likely to drive down the Grande Allee. The road dates from colonial times when the indigenous people of the Sillery reserve took what was then the longest road in the colony into town to sell their furs. Today the road is lined with restaurants and small hotels all housed in Victorian buildings. It’s great fun to stroll this busy street at night reading the menus posted outside the restaurants. The quality of the restaurants in Quebec City is unequalled anywhere in North America, including New York and San Francisco. Meandering down the Grande Allee in the evening one regrets that one can eat only one dinner.

A visit to Quebec would be incomplete without a tour of ile d’Orleans, a 35 kilometer (21 miles) by nine-kilometer (five miles) island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River.

Quebec poet and folksinger, Felix Leclerc, describes the road that circumscribes the island as “quarante-deux milles de choses tranquilles …” (42 miles of tranquility). The island is certainly a living museum of colonial New France with houses, churches and mills that are centuries old.

Of particular interest in the village of Saint-Jean is the Manoir Mauvide-Genest. Built in 1734 for Mr. Mauvide, surgeon to Louis XV, it is a Norman-style manor and one of the most beautiful rural buildings in the province of Quebec. Today it houses a restaurant on the first floor and a museum on the second.

The bridge connecting the island with the mainland was built in 1935. Prior to this the only contact with the island was by boat in summer and ice-bridge in winter.

From the bridge one gets a superb view of Montmorency Falls on the mainland. With a height of 85 meters (274 ft) it is over 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Niagara Falls. On top of the cliff and to the left of the falls stands the Kent House, once the home of the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria.

The uniqueness of Quebec was summed up by the English writer Rudyard Kipling in a letter home upon visiting the city in 1907. He wrote: “Quebec … ranks by herself among those Mother-cities of whom none can say, ‘This reminds me ….’”

Bruce Burnett, has won four Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards for travel journalism. Read more of Bruce Burnett’s writing on his websites:

1. http://www.globalramble.com/
2. http://www.bruceburnett.ca/
3. http://www.herbalcuisine.com/

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