Hi. Planning on a trip june 10 for 10 days with our 13yo daughter who is a very good french student. One objective is to experience cultural differences. Apart from Quebec City, like to avoid cities, focus on charming villages, beautiful scenery. Poss. <BR>some light hiking or rafting. Love ferry trips, short cruises. Willing to drive-train. <BR>All ideas helpful including lodging. Willing to spend up to 200 us a night if its a special place. Thanks.

I have limited experience with Quebec, but I think you can find interesting places to go. I liked Quebec City. <BR>We stayed at La Maison du Mesnil which is located on Ilse de Orleans in the St. Lawrence River. Renee Thibault is an excellent hostess and the house is quite well furnished. <BR>We drove around the whole of the Gaspe Peninsula. A knowledge of French would have been very helpful. There are many quaint places to stay and see along that route. <BR>We spent the night at two places: <BR>New Carlisle on the south shore and Ste. Anne du Mont on the north shore. <BR>We should have allowed one more day because there are many little places to stop and the road is fairly slow. <BR>Some of the hills on the road, while short in terms height from top to bottom, are quite thrilling when you pitch over 17 degrees to go down or up. <BR>We also drove up to the Sanguanay Fjord (spelling uncertain). I recommend taking a boat trip to see the Fjord because we never did find a good view point by walking from the park visitor center. <BR>Chutes Montmorency slightly northeast of Quebec is a beautiful waterfall. <BR>It has many viewing areas, including a walkway that spans the falls right over the brink. It is no place for people who fear heights. Fortunately, bridges like that don't bother me and I thought the view was terrific. <BR>I think you will experience the culture if you go to Ilse de Orleans because it is away from the beaten Quebec tourist track.

Tadoussac is a village about 3-4 hours north of Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River. At the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers, it's a great place to whale watch; there are tours. (When I went, I saw belugas, rorquin blue and even one great blue (lucky).) It's really a charming little town. Your daughter will enjoy using her French here, as many residents do not know English. I recommend Hotel Motel Le Beluga, which is close to the whale watching docks. There are also trails and a Marine Mammal Interactive Museum that's quite good for a rainy day.

One hour north of Montreal is the area called the Laurentians. There are several small, charming towns on the way up to Mt. Tremblant. There is St. Saveur, St. Adele, St. Agathe to name a few. The predominant language spoken is French. They all have a European feel to them. We love the area.

Hi Em!!! <BR> <BR>Take a look at a map of Quebec. Starting in Quiebec City, make a triangle including the Charlevoix region on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence, making stops at Isle aux Coudres/ St-Joseph de la Rive, Pointe-au-Pic / La Malbaie,and Tadoussac further up the coast, inland to Chicoutimi along the Saguenay River making a stop at Ste-Rose du Nord or Anse-St-Jean depending on which side of the river you travel on,and back to Quebec City through the Parc des Laurentides. In Pointe-au-Pic, there is the Manoir Richelieu, and the Hotel Tadoussac in Tadoussac. Two grand hotels,especially the Manoir Richelieu. You can do this tour in reverse as well. <BR> <BR>Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. <BR> <BR>Ross.

em:

The area around Mt. Tremblant is wonderfully French Canadian. You must practice your French.

The country style French Canadien restaurants in the area are reasonable and good. Lots of golf, little mountain lakes, hiking, picknicing ect.

Be aware of staying in the Hotel Mont Gabriel in Ste. Adele. We had reserved a &quot;Tyrol&quot; mounain/valley view room only to be issued a room in an old wing with a parking lot view. We argued with the manager for over an hour as he kept showing us rooms other than the 1 we had reserved. I walked thru the &quot;Tyrol&quot; wing &amp; noticed all the guests seemed to be French Canadien. It seemed the management preferred French Canadiens, other Canadiens, &amp; somewhere down the line are Americans.

JSM

There's hiking and canoeing in Jacques-Cartier park about 30 minutes north of Quebec City (road 175). A private outfitter offers rafting trip upriver from the park (think it's called Expedition Nouveau Monde).

Then going east towards Charlevoix is where you'll find the best scenery. Here's a cut &amp; paste of another post I made here (with some update/precision):

Going east (road 138), there are many places to stop. Make sure you have good brakes in the Charlevoix region.

Montmorency falls - it can be quite touristy but they are still impressive and right on the road so it's worth a stop.

&Icirc;le d'Orl&eacute;ans - drive around it.

Mont Ste-Anne - only if you're into mountain Biking.

Cap Tourmente - Quebec birding mecca. Has some decent trails. Great if you're into birding, otherwise just nice.

Canyon Ste-Anne - Not cheap. Privately owned. It feels like a tourist trap a bit but the canyon (the falls, actually) is impressive if you can walk up and down (many!) stairs.

Sentier des Caps - I hiked it in winter. Not my favorite spot. I'm told there's a nice dayhike to a waterfall. It was out of the way of the long hike so I didn't see it.

Petite-Rivi&egrave;re-St-Fran&ccedil;ois - Highest ski slopes in eastern Canada. Don't know how it is in summer. You can drive down to the village. I'm sure it's beautiful in the summer too.

Baie-St-paul - Go see an art gallery

Parc des Grands-Jardins - Continue on road 138 and take 381 to the park. Near the park entrance, the hike up Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes is a classic and highly recommended despite the crowds. After the summit, make sure you do the loop! Bring some bread for the Gray Jays. There are also some interesting hikes inside the park. I like Hume-Blake. The park gives an excellent feel of the boreal forest.

Road 362 - after the park, come back to Baie-St-Paul and take road 362 towards La Malbaie. It's much more interesting than the 138.

&Icirc;le-aux-Coudres - drive or bike around the island.

Casino de Charlevoix - if you're into losing money. ;-)

Parc des Hautes-Gorges - From La Malbaie, take road 138 west for a few kilometers, pass through Clermont, go uphill and turn right towards St-Aim&eacute;-des-Lacs. The hike &quot;L'acropole des Draveurs&quot; is another classic. Steep.

St-Sim&eacute;on - I believe there's some decent hiking a few kilometers inland onroad 170. I was in a hurry so I didn't hike much. There's a ferry across the St-Lawrence in St-Sim&eacute;on. I believe the ferry isn't operating in 2005.

Baie Ste-Catherine - Whale watching excursions. I suggest going with the smallest boat you can find. Turning point if the line for the Saguenay ferry (free) scares you (can be a long wait).

Tadoussac - More whale watching. Some nice walks here and there.

Apparently,some good hiking in Saguenay park but I wouldn't know. The Lac St-Jean region is unknown to me so I can't help you. I'll be biking around the lake next fall (just came back from that trip yesterday).

Bergeronnes - More whales... Don't forget to scan the waters when you're on shore or aboard the Saguenay ferry. I've been on a few excursions and the best observations I made were from the shore (very best was at Mingan Archipalego).

Les Escoumins - More whales. There's a federal park/interpretation center somewhere between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins. Nice spot to find whales from the shore. If you made it so far, this is where you want to cross the St-Lawrence. There's another ferry in Forestville (private, fast, expensive) but the road there is uninteresting. Continue only if the North Coast appeals to you. The coast is nice after Baie-Comeau (rugged) but it's a long drive. Mingan Islands are superb but they are so far you have to be on a mission to go there.

So you can cross the St-Lawrence and come back on the south shore. If you prefer staying on the north shore, I suggest taking the 362 one way and coming back via the back roads (behind the 132). The back roads go through St-Aim&eacute;-des-Lacs, Notre-Dame-des-Monts and St-Urbain-de-Charlevoix.

There's also a nice alternative just before entering the Charlevoix region (when you see the road going vertical). You can go towards Mont St-Anne and go through St-F&eacute;r&eacute;ol-les-Neiges. Nicer than the 138.

Can't help you with 200$ accomodation... I don't even spend that in a week! LOL! Check www.sepaq.com for infos on the parks I mentionned. Some of them have cabins.

jmaldonado: You've made your point with virtually the same post on two other threads. Did you really need to dig up a 4 1/2 year old thread to make it again?

laverendrye : I have felt this for a long time. You provide snotty self important posts. This post is valuable to travelers regardless of the date of origin. What qualifies you to critique other posters with your snotty self important &quot;I am qualified to stand in judgment of your post&quot; tone? We do not visit Fodors to satisfy you per your specifications. Well done jmaldonado and Erick_L someone will find it valuable. I await your long list of impressive qualifications.

sobolik: Thank you for your most kind and helpful remarks. I will certainly bear them in mind whenever I feel tempted (and qualified) to post a comment on this board.

P.S. You want &quot;snotty self-important posts&quot;? Go to the europe board for the real thing.