Brian

I'm planning a trip to Quebec City for June. After spending a few days in the City, I'm looking for suggestions on where to go that can serve both as a place to relax and a place that can serve as a base from which to explore other parts of Quebec Province. I'm inclined to focus on the areas north of Quebec City (including along the St. Lawrence), and not to head south toward Montreal. Any general thoughts, or specific recommendations on towns, lodging, and outdoor activities would be much appreciated.

Daniel Williams

Tadoussac is a great village, with attractive views of the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. There's the whale-watching tours run by la Famille Dufour; you can see beluga, a medium-sized whale whose name I don't know in English and we even saw the blue whale when there. You'll also find pleasant trails for hiking. We stayed Hotel-Motel Le Beluga, which despite the motel name, has quite comfortable rooms, within easy walking distance of the whale tour docks. Hotel Tadoussac is renowned, but I have no personal experience with it. <BR><BR>Also, the Marine Mammal museum is quite interesting and interactive for a rainy day. There really are some gorgeous views of the Saint Lawrence River driving north from Quebec ; have a ball!

Glenn

Visit Charlevoix - Baie St Paul and surrounding area are beautiful, and the casino is worth a visit if you like to place a bet - about two hours N of Quebec. Also: Parc Jacques Cartier is gorgeous - about 45 minutes N of Quebec and a nice drive; and if you've got a couple of days drive up to the Gaspe (5 or 6 hours)- you won't regret it! All kinds of accommodations - camping to five star hotels along the way.

Sandra

Brian,<BR>About 1 hour North of Quebec City it the Monte St. Anne ski area. We were there last July and enjoyed hiking to the top of the mountain - riding in a horse drawn cart to a little snack shop and enjoying the wonderful views and then took the gondola ride down. Some in our group hiked both up and down and raved about the beautiful views with fields of wild flowers on the trip down. There was also mountain biking on the mountain and some people took their bikes up on the gondola. Nearby is also a place called Sept Falls with a hydroelectric dam. There was a small fee and we enjoyed hiking up along the falls and seeing the dam. <BR><BR>We brought bicycles with us and stayed for a few days on the Ile d'Orleans and if you like biking that is a great place to do it. The island is rural with lots of farms and has I think 7 little villages all about 7 miles apart. Each village has it's own church, bakery etc. Very charming with lots of strawberry fields. Easy biking except for the one road that goes north/south across the island - that was a hill. <BR><BR>We also biked along the bike path from Lower Quebec City (near the farmers market) to Montmorency Falls - about 6 miles one way. It was a nice way to visit the Falls and the bike path was well marked. There was a bike rental shop near the farmers market.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip -<BR>Sandra<BR><BR>

Rich

This isn't exactly a suggestion on a base of operations, but I would highly recommend you take a visit to Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, which is just over 20 miles NE of Quebec City. The basilica there is breathtaking. I'm not one who usually gets that excited about visits to cathedrals etc, but this one is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and as impressive as anything I've ever seen in Europe.<BR><BR>You can also easily work in a visit to Montmorency Falls along the way -- it's lovely and worth a stop.