Writing *live* from Quebec City (boischatel to be exact, next to the monmorency falls).
People here tend to not look too kindly on english speaking people. With one notable exception: If you make the effort and try real hard to speak french, no matter how bad it comes out, it will usually go a lot farther than reverting to an english sentence. Especially true in rural parts of Quebec.
Don't get me wrong, people are real nice here, but english/french is a touchy subjectfor most (not me though).
Do check out:
- the fortifications in old Quebec City
- the monmorency falls on the north side are quite a sight
- Do you bike? A 70km'ish ride, the tour de l'ile d'Orlean is a real fun bike ride. Try out home made bread or fresh corn (1$ each IIRC) and other goodies along the way. Do the ride on a non-windy day though, unless you want a good workout
- Mt St-Anne (800m'ish ski resort), (30'ish) minutes north of Quebec (direction: 40 East, towards St-Anne-de-Beaupré) is a nice little hike with views on the Orlean island. There's something special to see at the top (besides the restaurant).
- Stoneham mtn is another ski resort close by (by route 175/73 north).
- Mt Wright is another small mountain near by (10'ish minutes further than Stoneham), could be combined with Stoneham. Lots of boulders along the way and 1 or 2 climbable walls (
http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/...a-foret-ancienne-du-mont-wright_14568792.html)
- Finally, DO check out the Parc de la Jacques-Cartier (by route 175/73 north, still a bit further than the stoneham/Wright parks, check out:
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/jac/). You can kayak down the river, there are camping grounds not too far away from the gravel road, lots of nice hiking to be done there. The trail "des loups" is a nice hike. I was seriously turned off by the trail called Scotora if IIRC. Long haul, no views at the end. But your experience might vary. Do keep in mind the water levels are insanely high right now, so call ahead to see if they allow people to go down the river. You'll probably need to rent a wetsuit.
If you want to go further, le parc des grands-jardins is AWESOME. Le mt du lac des cygnes is a must/classic (
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/grj/). Just a bit further than the parc des grands-jardins is the ZEC des martres. Whereas the parc des grands-jardins will have all groomed trails and rangers at the top to make sure you don't step on any moss and it feels like a freeway to the top of the mountain (you could probably see 200-300 people on really nice hot summer days), the ZEC is a LOT less travelled. The ZEC is part of the traversé de charlevoix (
http://www.traverseedecharlevoix.qc.ca/accueil angl.html). You can call them up and ask about doing a hike up "le gros mont", aka Mont Morios, (the big mountain) and camp near the lake near the Marmotte hut ("gopher hut"). It's a secret spot and truly has AMAZING views.
Even further away is the parc des hautes-gorges. L'acropole des draveurs trail is another classic (
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/hgo/).
Feel free to send me a private msg if you have questions!
A few pics from the ZEC:
Morios(winter):
https://picasaweb.google.com/dpoisson/MontMorios#
Morios(summer):
https://picasaweb.google.com/dpoisson/MontDesMorios#
Mt Dome:
https://picasaweb.google.com/dpoisson/MontDuDome#
Grands Jardin, mt du lac des cygnes:
https://picasaweb.google.com/dpoisson/MtLacDesCygnes#
EDIT: left out a crucial detail. Do head over to the "temps perdu" (lost time) for a great selection of imported beers and good food. Or, if you want to go grab a selection of fine brewskies for a camping outing, head over to the Monde des bières on the corner of Wilfred-Hamel and Marie de l'incarnation. They have a huge selection of beers available. Great thing is, you can get a bottle of a few beers to share and tastes.
