Enough of your wisecracks about Mounties and Lumberjacks, Canada is ready to lure you. Michael Parsonsfinds a bit of French flair in Montreal and Quebec
ACCORDING to Harry Lime in the 1949 film, The Third Man: "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
Canada hasn't had quite that long, but for such a big, rich country, its achievements remain remarkably unknown. Without resorting to a quick search on Google, can you name 10 famous Canadians? Five? One? (Apart from songstress Céline "on and on" Dion). Canada's national dish? Best-known writer? The Canadian prime minister? See?
Think Canada is all about red-coated Mounties, camp Monty Pythonesque lumberjacks and pancakes drizzled with maple-syrup? Well they're part of it - but Canada is a lot more complex and full of surprises.
It's a country where multiculturalism flourished before the term was even invented. It's a magnet for immigrants from around the globe and has probably the world's most ethnically varied population, who all seem to get along together in near-perfect harmony. "In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart," Bill Clinton once declared, "Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect."
Canada also has possibly the world's most courteous, well-behaved people; pristine landscapes; safest cities, and, is a paradise for anyone who loves nature, the wilderness and the great outdoors.
Emigration has ensured that many Irish families have connections to Canada and there has never been a better time to visit. The Canadian Dollar is trading at about parity with its Big Brother neighbour's currency and visitors from Ireland will be very pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary good value on offer - from dining to shopping.
Canada is the world's second largest country and distances are vast. Trying to cover it all - even on a two- or three-week trip - would be difficult, so it is best to choose one region or province.
French-speaking Quebec - on the south-eastern side of the country - is one of the 10 provinces and three territories that make up the Federation of Canada. Tourism officials claim it's where North American efficiency meets European charm - and they're being modest.
Quebec is a pleasure to visit. And if your French isn't up to scratch - don't worry: English is widely understood and spoken and you'll encounter none of the hideous snootiness of France.
The Canadian airline, Air Transat, has recently launched a direct, once-weekly flight from Dublin to Montreal - thus opening up Quebec province to Irish travellers. The company can also arrange hotel bookings, car hire, excursions and transfers. The flights are once a week - departing from Dublin on Thursday morning and returning from Montreal late on Wednesday night to arrive in Dublin the morning after. This schedule operates from May until the end of October. The low-cost airline also offers a Club Class section to which you can upgrade for a bit more room and luxury - at a fraction of the cost of business class on a traditional airline.
Quebec province is enormous - three times bigger than France - but with a population of less than 8 million. More than half of these live in two major cities - Montreal and Quebec. A recommended holiday itinerary might involve a one-week stay, with a few days in each city.
Because of its relative proximity to the United States - the border is just 45 miles away - Montreal gained a reputation as a party town during American prohibition (alcohol was outlawed in the US between 1920 and 1933) which still lingers. It's like a smaller, gentler version of Manhattan with a high-rise centre concentrated on an island in the St Lawrence River and a vast suburban hinterland. Public transport is very good and includes an extensive Metro system.
The city's four universities lend it a youthful, laid-back air and there are distinctive districts to suit all tastes, from Little Italy to The (Gay) Village. There's an eclectic choice of some 33 museums - ranging from a Jewish Holocaust Memorial Museum to the excellent Pointe-Á-Callière Museum of Archaeology and History which incorporates the actual site of the city's foundations.
Shop-till-you-droppers will snaffle up the bargains on Rue St Catherine - the longest shopping street in North America, which has a series of huge malls, many located underground (which makes sense during the freezing winter months).
Quebec, the provincial capital is 250km (155 miles) east of Montreal. You can fly there, but it is more interesting to rent a car or take a train and see some countryside. The oldest city in North America was founded by French explorers and fur-traders in 1608. Although the language has survived and flourished, France's colonial adventure was relatively short-lived and after a seven-year war which ended in 1763, the province came under British rule. An astonishing 40 per cent of the city's residents have Irish ancestry, mostly dating back to the waves of immigration before and after the Great Famine.
The old city, located inside attractively preserved fortified walls, has a distinctly European ambience with a pleasing mix of impeccably-maintained public buildings, shops, cafes and informal restaurants. It is touristy, but not aggressively commercial as it is refreshingly free of all advertising hoardings. Stroll up to Parliament Hill to admire the imposing National Assembly's Victorian pile, splendid bronze sculptures of poets and politicians and the magnificent Tourny Fountain - rescued from a scrap-yard in France and shipped across the Atlantic as a gift to the city from a department store magnate.
The old port area, which once provided the first glimpses of a hopeful new life for starving and penniless Irish immigrants, has now, inevitably, been gentrified.
A warren of cobbled streets is home to trendy art galleries, bistros and shopping. Extraordinary wall frescoes celebrating the city's history are well worth seeing and contain tantalising references to Quebec's Irish heritage.
Not all the Irish who went to Canada were from the poor, huddled masses. The Co Down aristocrat, the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, a favourite of Queen Victoria was a popular Governor General from 1872-1878.
His greatest legacy to Quebec is the Dufferin Terrace, a panoramic boardwalk with pretty green and white striped kiosks affording great views of the St Lawrence River. Just behind is Quebec's most iconic building - the turreted castle of the 618-room Château Frontenac, a grand hotel built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company, which opened in 1893 to lure wealthy tourists.
It's still drawing them in. Last year over five million people visited the city of Quebec.
• Michael Parsons flew to Canada with Air Transat and was hosted by both Tourisme Montréal and the Ministère du Tourisme, Quebec
The Greening of Canada
Over four million Canadians claim full or partial Irish descent.
The Irish are the fourth largest ethnic group in this country of 33 million people.
Most Irish immigration happened after the Famine when the destitute arrived in their tens of thousands at Grosse Île, an island in the St Lawrence river about 30 miles east of the city of Quebec which housed an immigration reception station.
Thousands died in quarantine on or near the island. Now it's a beautifully-maintained national park of Canada and is dedicated to the memory of the Irish who died there.
Take a day-trip on a ferry and see the poignant monument erected in 1997 to commemorate those who died. Almost 6,000 Irish people are buried on the island.
On a happier note, the St Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal is the oldest in North America, dating back to 1824. It annually attracts crowds of over 600,000 people.
The official flag of Montreal features a shamrock (along with an English rose, Scottish thistle and a French fleur-de-lys).
Among many churches with an Irish connection, St Patrick's Basilica in Montreal is a must-see - especially for its wonderful stained-glass windows inscribed with the names of donors such as McNally and O'Brien. Where to stay, where to eat in Montreal and Quebec
MONTREAL
Hôtel de la Montagne 1430, rue de la Montagne, 001-514-288-5656, www.hoteldelamontagne.com
Hôtel de la Montagne has 143 rooms, a rooftop pool and bar (in summer only!) and is conveniently located for both shopping and nightlife.
Jardin Nelson 407, Place Jacques-Cartier, 001-514-861-5731, www.jardinnelson.com
Jardin Nelson, opposite a column topped by a statue of the old sea-dog in the heart of "old Montreal", has a garden courtyard for outdoor dining and is famous for crêpes - both savoury and sweet. Also serves very good salads, pizzas and desserts. Main courses about C$15 (€10) plus tip.
Briskets Montreal 1093, Côte du Beaver Hall Hill, 001-514.-878-3641
This is a big, cheap and cheerful restaurant serving a local speciality - smoked meat (beef) - an Eastern European delicacy not unlike New York's pastrami on rye bread. Serves huge sandwiches to be washed down with beer. Not for the faint-hearted.
Wienstein and Gavino's 1434, Crescent Street, 00-1-514-288-2231 www.wiensteinandgavinos.com
Wienstein and Gavino's on Crescent Street, is a bustling, multi-level, New York-style restaurant on three floors serving good-value Italian/ Mediterranean food.
McKibbin's Pub 1426, rue Bishop, 00-1-514-288-1580 www.mckibbinsirishpub.com
If you're feeling homesick, there are Irish pubs aplenty in Montreal. This is one of the best known. Live bands every night. Bar food includes Bison burgers, though traditionalists may prefer Waterford Chicken (with a mushroom and vermouth cream sauce); Belfast Chicken Wings, Irish Nachos or a Kylemore Caesar Salad.
QUEBEC
Hotel Manoir Victoria 44, Côte du Palais, Vieux-Québec, 00-1- 418-692-1030 www.manoir-victoria.com
A 149-room, four-star, entirely no-smoking European-style hotel with a pool and spa conveniently located in the heart of historic Old Québec.
Le Continental 26, rue St-Louis, 00-1-418-694-9995 www.restaurantlecontinental.com
Le Continental is an upmarket but friendly restaurant serving a mix of classic French and Italian cuisine.
Érablière Le Chemin du Roy 237, chemin du Lac, C.P. 112 St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, 00-1-418-878-5085 www.erabliere-cheminduroy.qc.ca
Érablière Le Chemin du Roy, located 15 minutes from Quebec city, is a traditional Québec sugarshack - a place where the sap collected from maple trees is turned into maple syrup - the great Canadian delicacy. The all-you-can-eat dinner menu (costs about €15) and includes pea soup, maple-smoked ham, traditional Québécois meat pie and, inevitably, pancakes with maple syrup. Strictly for aficionados of rustic kitsch.
St Patrick's Pub
1200, rue Saint-Jean, 00-1-418 694-0618 Irish pubs are immensely popular - especially St Patrick's Pub, which is prominently located on Place des Livernois. Inside, the politest stag party imaginable, wearing T-shirts bearing the words "Bachelor Party", was enjoying "pintes" of locally brewed St Patrick's "Blonde" beer.
Canada the Inside Track
MONEY
The Canadian Dollar is informally known as a "loonie" after the Common Loon, a type of bird which appears on the dollar coin.
WEATHER WATCH - WHEN TO GO
Montreal and Quebec have cold, snowy winters (the average daily temperature in January is minus-10 degrees Celsius, though it can fall much lower) and humid, warm summers (the July average is 26 degrees) - so that May, June, September and October are the most comfortable months for a visit. July and August can be humid.
TAKE THE PACKAGE
Air Transat offers a six-night package to Montreal and Quebec City from €849 per person, based on two people staying three nights in Montreal and three nights in Quebec City on a room-only basis. Price includes return economy class flights from Dublin to Montreal, and return rail trip from Montreal to Quebec.
For further information and reservations visit www.airtransat.ie or call the Dublin office on 01-866 6770
Shopping
Canada offers wonderful value for Irish shoppers and is an attractive - and more affordable - alternative to New York for what has become, for many people, the annual transatlantic shopping trip.
But one note of caution - beware of the hidden taxes. These are not included in the prices posted on the shelves or on stickers.
For example, if an item is displayed with a price tag of C$100 - the price you pay will be C$112.85 cents. This applies to pretty much every transaction - whether you are buying a round of drinks in a pub or a couple of shirts in a department store.
In Quebec province, two different taxes are applied to products and services. The federal tax on goods and services (GST) is a 5 per cent tax, while the provincial Quebec sales tax (QST) is set at 7.5 per cent and applies to the selling price including the GST, resulting in an actual tax rate of 12.85 per cent. However, even when the taxes are factored in, Canada is great value for many products - from electronic goods to such everyday basics as toiletries and cosmetics. Sales assistants, who are used to dealing with tourist shoppers, claim that many goods are "about 40 per cent" cheaper than in Ireland.
Most of the big US retailers - such as Gap, Sears and Banana Republic have a presence in Canada, but local names to look out for include department store chains Simons (a sort of cross between Marks Spencer and Dunnes Stores) and the Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson, whose shops are popularly known as "La Baie".
More upmarket options in Montreal include the posh department stores Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew; and Canada's equivalent of Tiffany, the jewellery store Henry Birks et Fils.
Canada with kids
Both cities offer safe and family-friendly environments.
Montreal's museums have enough activities to fill a few absorbing hours for even the most jaded child. The Insectarium houses a vast collection of living and preserved insects from around the world; the Science Centre has a range of cultural and educational activities for children with an interest in science and technology presented through innovative exhibitions and interactive multimedia; and the Biodome offers virtual tours of various ecosystems including a tropical rainforest and the arctic, displaying thousands of plants and animals form penguins to geckos.
In Quebec city the Musée de la Civilisation has a Discovery Zone, designed specifically for young visitors and families. There are permanent exhibitions devoted to the history and culture of Quebec.
Outdoor types may prefer the Valcartier Vacation Village which is the largest waterpark in Canada and just 20 minutes from downtown Québec.
For further information See www.tourisme-montreale.org and www.quebecregion.com