Identity card
Formalities Valid passport. From 15 March 2016, visa-exempt foreign travellers flying to Canada will need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), issued online (www.cic. gc.ca/english/visiter/ave.asp).
Its cost 7 Canadian dollars, or around e5.
Time difference : - 6h.
Currency The Canadian dollar. 1 euro = 1.44 CAD (Nov. 2015).
How to get there
AIR CANADAthe benchmark airline for travel to Quebec, offers a daily flight between Paris and Montreal operated by B777-300 ER, with 36 seats in Business class, 24 in Economy Privilege and 398 in Economy. From Montreal, the airline offers good connections with Quebec City airport and many other cities in the region. For the fifth year, Air Canada has been voted best airline in North America by Skytrax.
Tel: 0825 880 881 Internet: www.aircanada.com
AIR FRANCE offers up to 21 flights a week between Paris CDG and Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, depending on the season.
Tel.: 3654 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54 Internet: www.airfrance.com
AIR TRANSAT offers a daily flight between Paris and Montreal. During the summer season, the Canadian carrier also offers several direct flights a week between Paris and Quebec City. Connections to Basel-Mulhouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse are also included in Air Transat's summer schedule.
Tel: 0 825 120 248 (€0.15 incl. VAT/min) Internet: www.airtransat.fr
CORSAIR offers up to seven Paris Orly-Montréal flights a week from May to October.
Tel: 39 17 (€0.34/min) Internet: www.corsair.fr
For more information
Destination Québec Office - French-speaking France, Belgium and Switzerland
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 25 51 07 Email: info@quebecoriginal.com Internet: www.quebecoriginal.com
Montréal
Hotel
Le Germain
Built by Groupe Germain in a former office building just off rue Sainte-Catherine, this was the very first boutique hotel to open in Montreal. With its minimalist design and warm, personalised service, it remains a model of its kind. With its pale walls, uncluttered decor, cosy bedding, semi-open bathroom with XXL shower and high-tech comforts, its 101 impeccable rooms have a loft feel. This chic address perfectly embodies the spirit of the city, including its commitment to sustainable development. A restaurant on the mezzanine and a small lounge for 20 people.
2050, rue Mansfeld. Tel: + 1 877 333 2050 - Email: reservations@germainmontreal.com Internet: www.germainmontreal.com
Restaurant
Le Labo Culinaire de la Sat
At the heart of the entertainment district, the Société des Arts Technologiques is a creative centre dedicated to the digital arts. Its spaces are available for hire, including its astonishing 'Satosphère' offering an immersive 360° projection experience. The culinary lab is also part of the site, with a simple, regularly-changing menu and a vast terrace overlooking the Monument-National, one of Montreal's oldest theatres, whose façade is artistically illuminated at night. Ideal with a group working in the creative industries.
1201 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Tel: +1 514 844 2033 - Email: info@sat.qc.ca and foodlab@sat.qc.ca Internet: sat.qc.ca
Creative shopping
Harricana
The Harricana label creates clothing and accessories from recycled fur, leather and cashmere. You can take a behind-the-scenes tour of this boutique-workshop, where groups can learn how to make a fur pompom. It's the perfect place to pick up some stylish mittens or a trapper's hat before heading out into the cold!
3000, rue Saint-Antoine Ouest. Tel: + 1 514 287 6517 Email: info@harricana.qc.ca Website: www.harricana.qc.ca
Mauricie
Hotel
Le Baluchon
Part forest, part woodland, Le Baluchon's vast territory advocates tourism in harmony with nature. While some actions are transparent to guests, such as water purification, others are an integral part of the experience: no motorised activities, local and organic cuisine and a décor that gives pride of place to 'slow design', based on recycled materials. Scattered across the 400-hectare estate with its 40km of footpaths, four inns and a chalet offer 90 bedrooms, a spa and several restaurant and meeting facilities (250 p.). An ideal green stopover for companies with a CSR policy.
3550, chemin des Trembles. Saint-Paulin. Tel: + 1 819 268 2555 Email: info@baluchon.com Internet: www.baluchon.com
Quebec
Hotels
Fairmont le Château Frontenac
Dominating the city with its imposing neo-Gothic silhouette, the Château Frontenac has become the emblem of Quebec City. The first in a series of château-hotels built by the Canadian Pacific railway company at the end of the 19th century, it is classified as a National Historic Site of Canada. In its Salon Rose, this monument hosted the Quebec Conferences, the work of which paved the way for the Allied landings in Normandy. And it was here that Hitchcock filmed The Law of Silence. The hotel has just undergone a major renovation that has dusted it off without detracting from its charm. Spectacular in the public areas and restaurants, which have been completely revamped in terms of both décor and menus, this rejuvenation also concerns the 611 rooms. Between the 12th and 17th floors, 60 of them have been awarded 'Gold' status, creating a veritable hotel within the hotel, with a dedicated lounge and direct access to the wellness area. Among the other rooms, the difference is between those that were renovated in 2009 in a classic style and those that have just been "revamped", to use the local terminology, in a more contemporary spirit. Other selection criteria: the view, between the city and the river.
1, rue des Carrières - Tel: + 1 418 692 3861 or 00 800 0441 1414 - Email: reservations@fairmont.com - Internet: www.fairmont.fr/frontenac-quebec
Hôtel de Glace
"My country is not a country, it's winter"sings Gilles Vigneault. Let's use a metaphor: its capital is Quebec City, and the Hôtel de Glace is its flagship address! This ephemeral hotel with its enchanting decor opens its doors every winter on the outskirts of Quebec City. You can make do with a visit followed by a cocktail in its astonishing ice bar, or take the brave decision to spend the night. The cosy bedding makes it possible to cope with an ambient temperature of minus 5°. 44 rooms and suites and back up to the neighbouring Four Points by Sheraton hotel.
9530, rue de la Faune. Tel: +1 418 623 2888 - Email: info@hoteldeglace-canada.com - Internet: www.hoteldeglace-canada.com
Restaurants
Chez Boulay, Bistro Boréal
The dining room, with its long tables, tiled walls, large mirrors and open kitchen, is reminiscent of a Parisian brasserie, but the food is resolutely boreal. Bison tartar, Quebec crab, roast scallops, mushrooms, wild berries, birch syrup... The menus, with their original flavours, change according to the season and new arrivals, with a preference for vacuum-packed cooking and presentation in casseroles. The ingredients are very "natural", expressing freshness and simplicity. Capacity: 120 covers.
1110, rue Saint-Jean - Tel: + 1 418 380 8166 - Email: info@chezboulay.com Internet: www.chezboulay.com
The Member of Parliament
In Quebec, relations with elected representatives are based on simplicity. Not only can you visit the halls of Parliament where the elected representatives sit, but you can also sit at their table! Housed in an elegant neoclassical dining room, Le Parlementaire offers lunchtime cuisine inspired by local flavours. If you wish, you can also dine in the 275-seater dining room, which can be fully privatised.
Hôtel du Parlement. Tel: + 1 418 643 66 40 - Email: resto@assnat.qc.ca Internet: www.assnat.qc.ca
Shopping
Inuit Brousseau Art Gallery
Located in a small street in Old Quebec, it is one of the oldest Inuit art galleries in Canada. It is run by Jean-François Brousseau, whose father, Raymond, was one of the very first to take an interest in "Eskimo" art, a term that has since become a pejorative. The Inuit galleries at the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec display the collections that this discoverer assembled over more than 50 years. Today, the gallery's purchases are made from cooperatives, with "igloo" certificates attesting to their authenticity. Fishing scenes, drum dancers, a sea goddess, bears reminiscent of Pompon: the works, mostly basalt and soapstone sculptures, come from all over the Canadian Arctic. Some of the pieces are very affordable.
35, rue Saint-Louis - Tel: + 1 418 694 1828 - Email: sculpture@artinuit.ca Internet: www.artinuit.ca
Wendake
Hotel
Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations
On the edge of the old village of Wendake, this boldly designed boutique hotel is a tribute to Amerindian culture. Works of art and traditional objects are scattered throughout the generously proportioned, contemporary common areas. The 55 bright, comfortable rooms and suites overlook the river, and the La Traite restaurant serves fine Nordic cuisine. There are several meeting rooms, and you can organise a reception in the adjoining museum or an evening in the traditional 'longhouse' next door.
5, place de la Rencontre. Tel: + 1 418 847 22 22 Email: info@hotelpremieresnations.ca Internet: www.tourismewendake.ca
Practical guides
Le Routard, Géo, Lonely Planet, Ulysse, Guide Vert Michelin...
