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Lights
twinkle on a Christmas tree
at the
Quebec Hilton.
In Quebec the Christmas
street decorations stay up until the festival
is over.
If
you are looking for a guesthouse, hostel or hotel try an
internet search on the link we provide:
*
I
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The
Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada.
This
just has to be the
most unusual of hotels
The first ‘ice hotel’ in North America opened at Québec in time for the winter carnival.
(Click
on picture for link to web cam.)
The 11,000 square foot structure is
built from 250 tons of ice and 4,500 tons of snow.
They get a lot of the stuff there, enough to insure that it
will stay open for three months, (before melting in the spring.)
An overnight stay, with breakfast, costs 165$CDN
(£75.)
The amenities include a cinema, a bar and art galleries with
exhibits made of ice! 
Located at the Montmorency Falls Park,
ten minutes from downtown Quebec
it should make an appropriate base for either
ice climbing on the falls or, and much more fun, whooping it
up at the Carnaval.
http://www.icehotel-canada.com/en/home.htm
Top
of the range:
For more than a hundred years now the 
imposing Fairmont
Le Château Frontenac
has looked out from the heights above the
St Lawrence. If you want to do the carnival in style, it is the
place to be.
Their “QUEBEC WINTER CARNIVAL” package includes two nights at Fairmont
Le Chateau Frontenac, buffet breakfast at the Café de la Terrasse
restaurant, tickets for the Dufferin Terrace toboggan run and a
Carnival effigy. Packages start
from 474$* CAN, based on double occupancy, from January 26th
to February 11th 2001.
And
even after the carnival, while the snow remains,
there is still a chance to dress
warmly and live the unique “Dogsledding” experience.
Fairmont
Le Château Frontenac offers two nights’ accommodation, buffet
breakfast at Le Café de la Terrasse restaurant and a half day
dogsledding adventure including transportation. Packages start
from 570$* CAN, based on a double occupancy, from December 15th
to March 30th 2001.
For package reservations guests can
call central reservations at 1-800-441-1414.
 Take me to the
Hilton
Gael
Arthur reports:
Looking out on the snow covered Citadel of Québec from
halfway up
the Hilton Hotel tower,
I wondered how many layers I ought to be
putting on for the day's outdoor activities. Although the turndown service
included
a notice of the expected temperature, I reasoned that minus 15°C
isn't
really all that cold if you are running a team of dogs through the
forest, then tromping around on snowshoes. The sun was
shining and I was also secure in the knowledge that my hosts from Tourisme Québec
and the Greater Québec Area Tourism and Convention Bureau would not
let me freeze to death.
Breakfast up on the 23rd floor included a stunning panoramic view
from
one of three salons. Following Hilton's acquisition of the property in 1997.
Hilton undertook the complete refurbishment of all 571 guest rooms and
suites, beginning in early 1998. The project was staged, with two
floors done
at a time, with floors above and below left empty to act as a
buffer and
minimize inconvenience to guests.
The Hilton is right beside the Convention Centre, and easy walking
distance (even in the cold!) to both the Plains of Abraham and the
Citadel. Quebec City is one of the most beautiful cities in
North
America, with four hundred years of history bound up in stone
buildings and fortress walls. But what makes this a terrific city for
visitors is
its people, who are friendly and will speak to you in English, or
let you struggle in French if you prefer. There is none of the
Montreal big city attitude and the people here genuinely understand what
tourists are
looking for - a compact city with lots of activities and a
distinctive
European ambiance, surrounded by beautiful natural beauty and
terrific outdoor activities.
For more information on Quebec City, check out their website,
www.quebecregion.com.
For Hilton Hotels worldwide, go to www.hilton.com,
or call 1-800-445-8667.
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