summer in Quebec

Bienvenue à la Belle Province!

Montreal is a fantastic city, but the 20% of Quebec's population who speak English live there, so it won't be as good for immersion. It is a great city, to maybe introduce yourselves to Quebec, and the tourist office in downtown Montreal has lots of information about all of Quebec. They might be better able to give advice about kid-friendly spots. If your kids are into hiking and nature-based fun, then there's lots to see for sure!

Quebec City is a must-see! And well, it's touristy so you'll hear English, but you're more likely to be able to practice your French with the locals as they're less likely to be bilingual. If you want slightly more immersion, book yourselves a hotel in Lévis, which is located across the river. My family who lives there can't speak a word of English! For kids: museums, the changing of the guard at the Citadelle, free tour of the Parliament, fireworks in Montmorency (just outside Quebec City, also home to a huge waterfall) in July and August, and I'm pretty sure there is a cool water-park not too far away for those hot afternoons. There are loads of accommodations in and around Quebec City, so you should be able to find something in your price range.

For more of an immersion experience, try a road trip along the scenic Rive Nord (north Shore), including Ste-Anne-du-Beaupré (check out the canyon and waterfalls!) and Saint Siméon and Tadoussac, all lovely and cute towns with very little English spoken! From Saint Siméon and Tadoussac, there is fishing and whale watching and heaps of hiking and gorgeous scenery.

Or, try the south shore and head along to Rivère du Loup, Rimouski, and then onto la Gaspésie (the Gaspé region). Once you get to the tip of Gaspé, there is Forillon National Park, as well as the towns of Gaspé and Percé, from which you can go whale watching, boat tours, etc, and there's lots of hiking and swimming nearby. (Or, drive both shores and take a ferry across the river!)

If you don't want to drive quite that far, try the Tremblant region north of Montreal. More heavily populated, it is full of cute villages, beautiful lake scenery and excellent hiking. St-Sauveur has waterslides for the kids!

I hope that helps! Et bon séjour dans notre belle province!
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I can third Tadoussac - great seafood restaurants as well. Tremblant is also great and if you want to try something a bit different, check out a little resort called Blueberry Lake - I think the web address is www.blueberrylake.com They have about 50 of the most amazing log cabins in a place called Labelle which is just north of Tremblant and definitely French speaking. When you turn off the main highway, you go up a dirt road and think you are heading into the middle of nowhere, but these cabins are seriously luxurious - plasma TVs, pool tables and probably the nicest beds I have ever slept in. You can fit up to 8 people so the pricing actually works out cheaper than a hotel/condo. We went for a wedding a couple of years ago and we've been back 3 times already. Reply to this

When I was in Tadoussac, the guide on the whale boat asked if anyone didn't understand French, so I am sure they are more than used to non-French speaking tourists. 😊 You may have a bit of a hard time understanding their accent, but they are more than willing to help you out.

And there are plenty of international tourists to St Anne as well. The average person in the street may not speak a word of English, but they are very friendly and can literally point you in the right direction. At tourist spots I'm sure you'll be fine. No idea about weight restrictions for the via ferrata, sorry.

Not sure about Hautes Gorges and Cap Jaseux as I haven't been there. Reply to this