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This chic BYO (bring your own wine) bistro features dishes based on local ingredients, including venison and salmon.

The anticipation grows throughout Québec City each February as the winter carnival organization builds its captivating Ice Palace. Over 6,000 frozen blocks of ice are sculpted by an army of artisans into a dreamy castle, complete with turrets, drawbridge, and a stage for a sound and light show. Québec’s magnificent temporary monument to winter sits appropriately across from the most serious edifice in the area – the Parliament Buildings.

At the western end of rue Mont-Carmel sits a delightful park, where poets, lovers and tourists enjoy the remarkable view of avenue Sainte-Geneviève, the Chalmers-Wesley United Church, Hôtel du Parlement, La Citadelle and the striking houses on rue Saint-Louis.

When the first settlers crossed the Atlantic and sailed up the St Lawrence River to this virgin area, they were greeted by the sight of these powerful waterfalls, which, at 83 m (272 ft), are higher than Niagara. Ride the cable car to the top and visit Manoir Montmorency (1781), with its interpretation center, boutiques, restaurant and terrace with a view of the action. Other vantage points are also scattered about the park (see Montmorency Falls).

More than 50,000 years ago the Wisconsin Glacier started to melt giving birth to the Coaticook Lake and then this river, which dug a cavernous gorge. It now attracts visitors to the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world (see Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook).

This park, set around a 50-m(165-ft) gorge, offers hiking trails, horse riding, as well as skiing in winter (see Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook).

Located inside a former jail now called the Baillairgé Pavilion, the Battlefields Park Interpretation Center presents an inventive agenda to illustrate one of North America’s most historic sites. The highlight is a multimedia show recounting the battles of 1759 and 1760 that took place here, leading to a French defeat by the British (see Moments in History). An imposing mural by Québec artist Aline Martineau also illustrates the establishment of the park in the 1930s and how it has changed over the 20th century (see Parc des Champs-de-Bataille, Québec City).

The city’s largest and most picturesque park. With over 250 acres of undulating hills and the St Lawrence River on the horizon, it’s hard to believe that beautiful Battlefields Park has such a harsh military history. It was the site of the famed Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, the events of which formed British Canada (see Parc des Champs-de-Bataille).

This park is a commemoration of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in which the generals of both sides, English General Wolfe and French General Montcalm, died during a fierce engagement lasting only 30 minutes (see British Takeover). The element of surprise was on the side of the British as no army had ever before managed to scale the Cap Diamant escarpment. A visit Maison de la Découverte (Discovery Pavilion) at 835 rue Wilfrid-Laurier will explain more on this important event and its resulting effect on Canadian history (see Parc des Champs-de-Bataille).