After a long, slow creep, the Canadian dollar (known to all as the "Loonie" thanks to the relief image on its backside of a common loon) reached parity with the U.S. dollar on September 20, 2007. The Canadian dollar has continued to edge ahead of the U.S. dollar and squeak out additional gains in the months since.
The bottom line for tourists is mixed. On the one hand, a Canadian dollar that costs US87[ce] to purchase in early 2007 now costs US$1 -- an eyebrow-raising 15% increase during just one calendar year. That means a C$200 hotel room that cost US$174 in January 2007 now costs US$200 -- a spike of US$26. A C$50 meal that cost US$43 now costs US$50 -- an additional US$7.
On the other hand, a tourism industry anxious to keep American dollars incoming is sweetening the deals where it can. Bargain hunters can find a wide variety of travel packages at both hotel and official tourism Web sites, including www.bonjourquebec.com and www.tourisme-montreal.org.
Passport rules continue to be in flux. All air travelers between the U.S. and Canada have been required since January 2007, to present a passport to get in and out. Starting January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens traveling by land or by sea will need either a passport or a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. At some point in the summer of 2008 -- the U.S. government hasn't said yet -- the full passport requirement for air will extend to land and sea travel as well. A limited-use, wallet-size passport card, designed to be cheaper and easier to acquire and valid for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, is under development but not yet available. For the most up-to-date information, check https://travel.state.gov.
None of this, however, has taken the fizzle out of time spent in the most European of North American cities. Loonie madness and passport hassles aside, a trip to the Québec province promises enormous opportunities for fantastic bistro eating, late-night reveling in jazz clubs, and atmospheric romance-making.
Montréal
Montréal has seen some changes in its hotel trade. The Hôtel Godin, a long-time Frommer's recommendation, was sold and shut down in the summer of 2007 and reopened in the fall as Opus Hotel Montréal, 10 Sherbrooke Ouest (tel. 866/744-6346; www.opushotel.com). It features the attached Suco Lounge, a stylish space featuring tapas-y nibbles and DJs.
The Ritz-Carlton Montréal, 1228 rue Sherbrooke oust (tel. 800/363-0366; www.ritzmontreal.com) is planning a $100 million renovation to begin sometime in 2008 and last 15 months. The hotel currently has 229 rooms and suites and will shift over to 130 rooms and suites -- all renovated and redecorated -- along with 35 condo-residences and 15 condo-suites. The front façade and much-loved back garden will be preserved.
The Groupe Germain, known for its high-end, buttoned up boutique operations, opened a "no-frills chic" property in September 2007 in the town of Brossard, two miles south of Montréal's Pont-Champlain bridge. ALT Hôtel, 6500 bd de Rome, Brossard (tel. 877/343-1030 or 450/443-1030; www.althotels.ca) is offering rooms that sound nearly as sleek as what you'd find at the higher end Hôtel Le Germain, but for the more modest rate of C$129 (US$129). A November 2007 promotion promised that one customer a day who has reserved on the ALT Web site will be billed just $1.
Hôtel Le Germain also made news with the opening in November of Laurie Raphaël Montréal, 2050 Rue Mansfield (tel. 514/849-2050) in the restaurant space inside the hotel. The restaurant is an offshoot of hotshot chef Daniel Vézina's much-esteemed resto of the same name in Québec City.
The founders of the well-liked seafood and meat joint Joe Beef have opened an Italian eatery, Liverpool House, just a few doors away at 2501 rue Notre-Dame ouest (tel. 514/313-6049). Liverpool, in fact, is in the space formerly occupied by the Vietnamese restaurant Ru De Nam, a one-time Frommer's recommendation. The Montréal Gazette reported in September that the trio of founders will also be taking over a space next door to Joe Beef to make a café and gourmet grocery store.
Dévi, an upscale Indian restaurant in New York City, has opened a Montréal branch on downtown Crescent Street (1450 rue Crescent; tel. 514/286-0303). Chef Suvir Saran has a nifty blog at suvirsaran.typepad.com where he posts recipes for highlight dishes. Also in downtown, the folks behind Montréal's popular Europea restaurant opened an upscale lunchtime bistro called Beaver Hall, 1073 Cote du Beaver Hall (tel. 514/866-1331; www.beaverhall.ca), where a three-course fixed price meal is C$36.50 (US$36.50).
The Plateau Mont-Royal restaurant Brunoise shut down in November. The owners had expanded in early 2007 to a less expensive La Brasserie Brunoise next to the Bell Centre (1012 rue de la Montagne) and are continuing with the new operation.
North of the city in the Laurentian mountains, the Mont-Tremblant ski resort continues to thrive, and will begin receiving non-stop flights from the New York City area this winter. Continental Airlines (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) says it will run seasonal service from Newark (airport code EWR) to Mont-Tremblant (YTM) between December 14 and April 5. The flight takes about 90 minutes. French-Canadian style has never been so easy to slip into.
Québec City
Québec City, in fact, is ready to throw its arms open to the world. The city has undergone a mini-makeover in preparation for its 400th anniversary party in 2008, with an ever-expanding list of events for the year. Programmers most recently announced that Québec superstar Céline Dion will give a free show on the Plains of Abraham on August 22. An open-air show featuring performances by the Huron-Wendat Nation, along with the First Nations of Québec, Labrador and Canada, has also been added to the schedule. That show will open on July 18 with an additional twenty-plus performances planned.
Festivities kicked off on New Year's Eve with an opening ceremony and fireworks at Québec City's central Place D'Youville. Most major events will be taking place between June and September, although festivals and museums will be hosting special events year-round. Espace 400, a new waterfront pavilion where the Centre d'Interprétation du Vieux-Port used to be, will be celebration central. Details are at www.MyQuebec2008.com.
The city's must-see Musée de la Civilisation (www.mcq.org) opened a major new exhibit in September. Territories joins the permanent exhibitions Encounter with the First Nations and People of Québec... Then and Now" (an exhibit we mistakenly have called "Memoires"). The new exhibit highlights Québec's culture through the occupation of the territory and the use of its natural resources.
North of Québec City, in the artist enclave of Baie-St-Paul, a fire threw a wrench into a $230-million development project planned for the Charlevoix region by Groupe Le Massif. The company, which runs the Massif ski center, had been gunning to convert a large agricultural building near the town's commercial district into a 150-room hotel, a train station, and a market. Renovation was supposed to start this fall. Plans are being developed for a brand new facility instead, which the company hopes to begin construction on in early 2008.
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