Some Like It Cold
Quebec City, Canada
As a child growing up in Quebec City, I didn't know it was the last walled city north of the Mexican border. Back then, the old-world charm flooding every cobbled road in Vieux-Québec didn't really excite me-but the 270 foot-high ice slide at Terrace Dufferin, which kids still plummet down, did. The fact that the French and the English battled repeatedly on the Plains of Abraham was irrelevant; what mattered here was cross-country skiing. And even though I got vertigo from looking at the old Breakneck Stairs that lead from the Place d'Armes down to Lower Town's Citadel, I thought they were fun to climb.
Still, Quebec City's real-life chateaus and forts do inspire children who have to make do with pillow-and-blanket ones at home. Walking around Place Royale, formerly the center of New France, is like stepping into the original 17th century settlement, complete with working cannon battery. Kids can watch porcelain dolls being made or glass being blown in shops-cum-museums Dames de Soie and Verrerie La Mailloche. At Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site, on the St-Charles shore, an Iroquoian longhouse and model merchant ship recall an era, centuries ago, when native tribes and early settlers coexisted.
Winter is an enchanting time to visit Quebec. Yes, the temperature may drop to zero degrees, and no matter how much you bundle up, you'll feel frozen solid after an hour or two of fort-hopping-but snowshoeing will warm you up, as will poutine, Quebec's greasy-spoon fare and a kid favorite (think cheese fries with gravy). During the holiday season, a European-style Christmas market sprawls over the Old Port, the entire city is blanketed in white, and dogsleds roll through the streets. A little later, the two-week Winter Carnaval, a local tradition for over 50 years (2005 dates are Jan 28-Feb13), offers snow sculptures, dogsled racing, an ice palace and magical night parades.
Even the hotels ooze fantasy. Take Chateau Frontenac, which looks like a real 19th-century castle and where, on Saturday afternoons, young guests are invited to tea and story time with Madame Rose, the lady of the house. (Children also enjoy their own check-in, milk-and-cookies turndown and daily drawing contests.) Even if you don't plan to stay at the hotel, consider taking a tour. Another historical place to spend a few nights is Auberge Saint-Antoine, in the Old Port. Just steps from the ramparts, this unique take on the boutique hotel sits on an archaeological site and doubles as a museum with more than 250 artifacts dating from the 17th century, including a cannon battery in the lobby. But the most unusual overnight experience is to be had at the Ice Hotel. A 30-minute drive from downtown Quebec, this elaborate designer igloo welcomes guests for up to three nights from early January until the place melts away in the spring, only to be built again the following winter. Nearly everything inside is made of ice, from the beds piled high with sleeping bags and deer pelts to glasses at the bar and plates in the restaurant. If you don't feel inclined to pay dearly for this bone-chilling sleepover, come here for the day (day visitors pay around $10). You'll still be able to take one of the hotel's dogsled rides or rent out a snowmobile. Then, back in town, when the kids are exhausted from their icy day, keep warm the way my parents did way back when: by sipping the customary Caribou cocktail-a spicy mix of vodka, brandy, sherry and port. Ooh la la!--Chantal Martineau
