Quebec Vaction Help 18 Yr Old?

Question

My kid wants to go to Quebec for a vacation after graduating from high school. He's really excited about trying out his high school French. I don't speak French (and frankly my idea of a good vacation is a beach and a good book) but I agreed to take him there for 5-6 days as a graduation present.. Can you help give us ideas for a great week in Quebec? I'm not even sure what hotel to book. Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi,

I've provided you with some links below which should help you with some idea's. I hope that you find them useful. Have a nice trip.

PS - If you visit Montreal, you should make it a point to visit "Old Montreal", the Olympic Stadium and the Site of the 1967 Expo/World Fair.

Answer 2

Do you mean Québec province or Québec City? (your Q. is in Québec City).

In any case, the dialect of Québec French spoken from the Outaouais (near Ottawa) to Montréal and in metro Québec City, and the "Eastern Townships" area southeast of Montréal, is closest to the Parisian French your son probably learned than are other Québecois dialects (some are as strained to French as are Gullah and other Carolinian coastal dialects are to American English). Most people in these areas are bilingual although except for the west side of Montréal and adjoining suburbs west and north you will hear mostly only French in their conversation. My suggestion is to stay in a small, European like hotel in the east side of Montréal (a large, cosmopolitan international city with hundreds of things to do and see, not including just strolling) for all but one night and a similar place in Québec City for the last night, with side day trips into the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships (each of which has lakes with beaches, although the Laurentians has blackflies until mid-July. There is also a lovely sandy beach in metro-Montreal at Oka on the riverfront).

PS - If you are American please know that our drinking age in Québec is 18, and we are a very gastronomic-conscious and wine drinking society. Don't cheat your son from that part of the experience (besides which learning to drink moderately with meals is good education).

PPS: Re: globetre...'s suggestions: sorry, I do not much agree. Old Montréal is mostly for American tourists (and crawling with them in summertime) and although there are a few historic 350 year old buildings there it mostly is converted
bank and other financial enterprise buildings from the early 1900s when the district was the Wall Street of Canada (that being said the architecture is interesting as such, and there are some excellent restaurants and nice shops among the ticky-tacky) . However, the district is on the riverfront where there is a lovely park and taken for what it is Old Montréal is worth an afternoon. Also now just a park (albeit with our gambling casino in the middle of it and a 6-Flags amusement park at the end of it is the Expo '67 site which in my judgement should be near the bottom of the list of places in Montréal to see. Likewise the Olympic Stadium, considered to be our greatest white elephant and today almost completely unused (we just finished paying off the bonds last year) which had a roof that was not ready for the Games and which collapsed twice when it was finally erected (and then removed).

Answer 3

Don't expect your high school french to get you far. In fact they'll likely laugh at you.