What's New

Québec spent 2007 gearing up for its 400th anniversary party. New Year's Eve (Dec 31, 2007) is the official kickoff, but most events take place from June to September 2008. The waterfront has been spruced up, museums are mounting special anniversary-related exhibits, and shows featuring the Cirque du Soleil and other performers are in the works. The biggest days will be July 3 to July 6, so make plans now. Espace 400e, a new pavilion on the waterfront where the Centre d'Interprétation du Vieux-Port used to be, will be home base for the celebration, hosting special exhibits, performances, and conferences.

Meanwhile, is the quest for separatism fading in Québec? That's what many people across the province were wondering, with not a small sigh of relief, after provincial elections in March 2007. Jean Charest and the Liberal Party won a minority government to stay in power, but the big story was the second-place victory of the new, almost out-of-nowhere Action démocratique du Québec party and its young leader Mario Dumont, as well as the crushing defeat of the separatist Parti Québécois, which garnered just 28% of the vote. The election was perceived by many as the beginning of the end of the PQ's 40-year campaign for independence.

Also high on the political agenda has been cultural accommodation: How much Québec should bend its culture for newcomers to fit in has been a bigger topic of public discourse than separatism, with debates on things like whether the province's sugar shacks should restrict pork from the meals it serves to accommodate Islamic law. It's no coincidence that the most talked about television show of the year was the comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Planning Your Trip -- Since January 2007, air travelers between the U.S. and Canada have been required to present a valid passport. The rule was temporarily relaxed until September 2007, with travelers required to show just a photo ID and proof that they had applied for a passport, but you should now plan to present your passport for entry.

If you're planning to travel between the U.S. and Canada by land or by sea, the rules are a little fuzzier. A passport or other document is likely to be required as of January 1, 2008. Concerns about the impact on tourism, though, have made that date a possibility instead of a certainty.

The Canadian tourism industry, in fact, is dealing with something of a triple whammy these days. In addition to the new passport requirements, the strength of Canadian dollar has sent Canadian tourists out of the country and kept U.S. visitors from spending as freely as they have in the past. Additionally, the federal Visitor Rebate Program that allowed nonresident guests to reclaim taxes they paid on purchases and lodging was eliminated in April 2007.

The upside for travelers? Hotels prices have held stable and, in some cases, declined from 2007 rates. While it's not quite a buyer's market, there may be extra opportunities to negotiate rates in 2008, as hotels scramble to fill rooms. This will be the case particularly in the off season.

Getting to Know Montreal -- In Montréal, the no. 2 Métro line has been extended into the north. The new end station is Montmorency, making that the train "direction" you'll see on platforms instead of Henri-Bourassa, the former end station.

Where to Stay -- Hotel openings in Montréal have slowed in the past year, perhaps because there have been proportionally more hotel rooms here than in other North American cities of similar size. Still, the plush Hôtel Nelligan, 106 rue St-Paul ouest (tel. 877/788-2040), in Vieux-Montréal, expanded from 63 to 105 units. An inexpensive entry is the downtown Hôtel Le Dauphin, 1025 rue de Bleury (tel. 888/784-3888). Its 72 rooms may be on the bland side, but every room is equipped with a computer terminal and free Internet access, and the introductory price of C$109 (US$95/£47) is low.

In Québec City's burgeoning arts and gastronomic community St-Roch, the new Auberge Le Vincent, 295 rue St-Vallier est (tel. 418/523-5000) has introduced sophisticated rooms with luxe features.

Where to Dine -- One of our favorite Montréal restaurants, Les Chevres, shut down in early 2007. On the plus side, the very good Spanish resto Pintxo has added a new, smaller outlet at 2 rue Sherbrooke est, at the corner of boulevard St-Laurent. Nuances (tel. 514/392-2708), the restaurant atop the city's casino, got a dazzling face-lift in 2007 and now looks as contemporary as the food on its plates. And in Vieux-Montréal, the new Ora, 394 rue St-Jacques (tel. 514/848-0202), seems primed to add some pop to the neighborhood with its neon-pink lighting, DJ booth, zesty food, and a 1am last call for food.

We've liked the restaurant Cube inside the sleek Hôtel St-Paul in Vieux-Montréal in the past, but it was undergoing renovations when we visited. It has reopened with the name Volver and an all-new Mediterranean menu with Spanish and Italian influences.

In Québec City, the total physical overhaul of Laurie Raphaël, 117 rue Dalhousie (tel. 418/692-4555), keeps it atop the local food pyramid: It's sophisticated and endlessly eclectic.

What to See & Do -- A new discount ticket office for Montréal cultural events opened in summer 2007. Called Vitrine culturelle de Montréal ("cultural window of Montréal"; tel. 514/285-4545), it's in Place des Arts at 145 rue Sainte-Catherine ouest.

Both Montréal and Québec City now offer museum cards. The cards grant entry to dozens of museums and attractions as well as public transport.

In Montréal, the Musée Marc-Aurèle Fortin, which was dedicated to the art of French-Canadian landscape watercolorist Marc-Aurèle Fortin (1888-1970), donated its entire collection to the Musée des Beaux-Arts and shut down. Fortin's works are now in the Hornstein Pavilion with other Canadian art.

In Québec City, excavation in the epicenter of the tourist district -- under the Terrasse Dufferin, the promenade alongside the Château Frontenac that overlooks the St. Lawrence -- is still continuing. The Terrasse is expected to reopen for the 400th-anniversary parties, perhaps with some kind of Plexiglas viewing of the excavation below.

And in summer 2007, the Québec province officially inaugurated the new Route verte (Green Route), a 4,000km (2,485-mile) bike network that stretches from one end of the province to the other and links up all regions and cities. Accredited accommodations along the way have a "Bienvenue cyclistes!" sticker and provide safe bike storage, a bike pump and tools, information about where to make repairs nearby, and high-carb meals.