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MONTRÉAL,
QUÉBEC CITY & OTTAWA
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SEPTEMBER
26 - OCTOBER 3, 2008
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La
fanciulla del West in Montréal, Orchestre
Symphonique de Québec, |
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This tour brings you to three of North America's loveliest urban centres: the cosmopolitan chic of Montréal, Québec, with its Old World charm, and Ottawa, with its 19th century colonial warmth. Each with rich histories still abundantly in view, these three cities make sense together, and provide us with a journey into the epicentres of two cultures, and thus into the heart and soul of Canada. Montréal is unique in North America, blending a brash New World urbanity with the romantic charm of its European-flavoured historic districts and a Gallic sense of joie de vivre evident in the city's many pavement cafés and dynamic nightlife. Although its downtown skyscrapers are a testament to the economic clout of Canada's second largest city, visitors are more likely to be drawn to the cobbled streets of Old Montreal near the St. Lawrence River or around Mount Royal, the city's landmark. Montréal is situated on an island, sandwiched between the Rivière des Prairies and the St. Lawrence River. When Jacques Cartier first 'discovered' the island for France in 1535, it was already inhabited—the Iroquois village of Hochelaga stood at the foot of Mount Royal. Today, the 'real' Montréal exists in neighbourhoods that celebrate their ethnic origins—like Little Italy and Chinatown and especially the multicultural Plateau Mont-Royal. Boulevard St-Laurent ('The Main'), which runs through the Plateau and divides Montreal into east and west, is the city's most lively street, where the shops, bars and ethnic restaurants draw crowds until well into the night. The 'cradle of New France' and the bastion of French culture in North America today, Québec City is perhaps the most charming city on the continent. Nowhere else is the past so well preserved in an ensemble of 17th- to 19th-century buildings, wrapped tight in the fortifications of the only walled city north of Mexico. A popular destination for visitors, with its horse-drawn calèches rattling down narrow streets between grey-stone buildings, Old Québec also won recognition from UNESCO, which declared it a World Heritage Site in 1985. Located in the eastern portion of massive Canada, the city's fortunes are largely due to its geography and history. The walled Upper Town sits atop the strategic Cap Diamant, overlooking the spot where the St. Lawrence River narrows (known as the kebec to the original Algonquin inhabitants). In 2008, Québec City celebrates its 400th anniversary, and plenty of special events will take place to mark the occasion, making this a great time to visit. Ottawa may be one of the most under-appreciated national capitals, even though on most counts it is an urban standard against which many North American cities might well gauge themselves. Ottawa's downtown is striking, with more renovation and enlightened recycling of its 19th- and early-20th-century buildings happening every year. The miles of tidy late-Victorian brick houses serving as shops, restaurants, and homes are true characteristics of the city. The Gothic spires and towers of Parliament Hill look like the grand estate of an overachieving Scottish laird, with the voluptuous Gatineau Hills as a backdrop. In spring, carpets of tulips and daffodils embrace residences and ministries and cast visual fire against the deep greens of the city's parks. Cutting a swath through the city is the Rideau Canal, a magnet for houseboats and cabin cruisers in summer and a scene out of a Dutch painting in winter, when the citizenry takes to the ice on sleighs and skates.
Friday,
September 26...Departures
for Montréal Saturday,
September 27...Montréal
Sunday,
September 28...Montréal
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Québec
City Following our tour, we board the First Class car for our direct train journey to Québec City (12:30 departure; 3 hours). Upon arrival, we check in at the Relais & Chateau Auberge Saint-Antoine, in the heart of Old Quebec. The Saint-Antoine has been selected by Travel & Leisure Magazine as one of the Top 100 Hotels on the Planet. After settling in to our rooms, we gather in the hotel's stellar restaurant Panache, featuring local produce and unrivalled French-Canadian cuisine. Monday,
September 29..Québec
City Tuesday,
September 30...Québec
City Wednesday,
October 1...Québec
City — Ottawa Upon arrival in Ottawa we check in at the landmark Fairmont Chateau Laurier, one of Canada's best and most historic hotels, on Parliament Hill in the heart of the nation's capital. This evening we gather and make the short walk to the National Arts Centre, directly across from the hotel, for a very special concert: NAC Orchestra conductor Pinchas Zukerman trades his baton for his violin whilst guest conductor Zubin Mehta leads Zukerman and the orchestra through Brahms’ Violin Concerto and Second Symphony. 8 pm start. Thursday,
October 2...Ottawa
Friday,
October 3...Departures
*Those wishing to connect with the Toronto, Shaw Festival & Stratford tour will be accommodated at no cost (Via Rail to Niagara). |
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