The Coolest Party in the World: the Quebec’s Winter Carnival

By Janis Turk

Forget Rio! Move over, Venice! And try Mardi Gras in New Orleans some other time. For the coolest Carnival season ever, why not visit Quebec?

For the past 52 consecutive years, the Quebec Winter Carnival (which first took place in 1894) has delighted travelers and locals alike with what may be the biggest winter festival in the world.

Each year, for 17 days in February, Mr. Christie’s Winter Carnival, is hosted by the worlds warmest, friendliest snowman, Bonhomme, who greets over a million guests to the party of the year. In what the locals call the “Snow Capital of the World,” Quebec’s winter carnival is the perfect way to celebrate the wonders of winter and experience the diverse and beautiful offerings of Quebec’s Nordic culture.

Mammoth-sized snow sculptures, a canoe race across the St. Lawrence River, glittering parades that light up the night—these are just a small part of all that makes the Winter Carnival so enchanting. To understand the allure of this glorious festival, perhaps the place to start is with the glistening city of Quebec, a beautiful walled, medieval city (the only walled city in North America) stretching from the St. Lawrence on one side and the Plains of Abraham on the other. Currier and Ives must have drawn inspiration from places just like this, for at every turn Quebec offers picture-postcard-perfect scenes of a winter wonderland.

Walk its narrow, winding streets, “ooh” and “ahh” at the gorgeous French architecture, and visit the unique and colorful shops and warm and inviting restaurants and cafes. Guests will feel as though they’ve stepped back in time in a European village. Visit ancient parts of the walled city with its tiny French neighborhoods such as the charming Quartier Petit Champlain, with its 50 specialty shops and restaurants offering some of the most special creations of local artisans and merchants, and you’ll feel as though you’ve somehow entered a magical snow village under a Christmas tree. Then, take the Funicular up the hill for a breathtaking view of the St. Lawrence River and for a slide on a huge, family-fun toboggan ride set up in a nearby park. Then stroll past the famous Chateau Frontenac, first opened in 1893 and now an elegant Fairmont Hotel, by whose silhouette the city skyline is best known. Then visit the nearby Ice Palace, a structure made entirely of ice—Bonhomme’s home during the Carnival—just across from Quebec’s beautiful and imposing Parliament building. With colored lights pulsating and glowing through thick, clear walls of ice, the Ice Palace is perhaps best appreciated by night.

By day, however, you’ll want to be on the Plains of Abraham, named for Abraham Martin, one of Quebec’s earliest settlers who used to graze cattle there. Although the area is the site of a famous battle between the British and French, during Carnival it is the center of all the activities and fun at the heart of the Winter Carnival.  Horse-drawn skiers take part there in a skijoering competition, and the St-Hubert Derby draws crowds there for a championship of drivers of single and double horse teams. Children and their parents seem to enjoy most the snow rafting, ice fishing, and Desjardins snow slides, and couples love the romantic horse-drawn sleigh rides. There’s the dogsled race, the giant table-soccer game, and visits to the Quebon sugar shack for sweet snacks in the snow, but probably the most popular event at the Winter Carnival is the snow bath, where crazy-for-fun folks dive into a mountain of snow and frolic and play the Eskimo way—in their bathing suits—with Bonhomme the snowman as Master of Ceremonies and to the applause of thousands of happy spectators.

With two night parades during the festival, the day is almost complete. But not without a hardy, hot meal at one of Quebec’s best restaurants such as the charming Le Lapin Sauté on the Rue Petit Champlain, serving excellent rabbit dishes and French country fare. Or why not visit some of the trendy, special restaurants in town, such as Le 47ième Parallèle and Le Graffiti, for a long, special evening of fine wine, sparkling conversation and amazing gastronomic offerings from some of Quebec’s finest chefs? As they say in Quebec, dining there is a “feast of sensations.”

At the end of the day, you’ll need a lovely place to stay, and the Hilton in downtown Quebec City is the place to be, if for no other reason than the unparalleled view of the city from its windows. Then fall asleep wrapped in a snow drift of memories and magic after a day spent in a real-life winter wonderland.

So Rio de Janeiro is the hottest place to be for Carnival? That may be true. But it’s crystal clear that the coolest Carnival on earth is in Quebec!

For more information on Mr. Christie’s Winter Carnival in Quebec, visit their web site.