Québec
French Canada: Montréal & Québec City
Program No. 22250RJ
Be immersed in the architecture, Francophone culture and culinary arts of Montréal and Québec City as you discover the joie de vivre that unites the Québecois.
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800-454-5768
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
Activity Level:
Keep the Pace (29)
DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
May 14 - May 20, 2024
Starting at
2,399Jun 2 - Jun 8, 2024
Starting at
2,499Jul 2 - Jul 8, 2024
Starting at
2,599Jul 30 - Aug 5, 2024
Starting at
2,599Aug 6 - Aug 12, 2024
Starting at
2,599Aug 20 - Aug 26, 2024
Starting at
2,599Sep 10 - Sep 16, 2024
Starting at
2,599Sep 17 - Sep 23, 2024
Starting at
2,599Oct 1 - Oct 7, 2024
Starting at
2,599Oct 8 - Oct 14, 2024
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2,599Oct 15 - Oct 21, 2024
Starting at
2,499Activity Level:
Keep the Pace (29)
DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Jun 2 - Jun 8, 2024
Starting at
3,219Jun 11 - Jun 17, 2024
Starting at
3,219Jun 18 - Jun 24, 2024
Starting at
3,449Jul 2 - Jul 8, 2024
Starting at
3,449Jul 30 - Aug 5, 2024
Starting at
3,449Aug 6 - Aug 12, 2024
Starting at
3,449Aug 20 - Aug 26, 2024
Starting at
3,449Sep 10 - Sep 16, 2024
Starting at
3,449Sep 17 - Sep 23, 2024
Starting at
3,449Oct 1 - Oct 7, 2024
Starting at
3,449Oct 8 - Oct 14, 2024
Starting at
3,449Oct 15 - Oct 21, 2024
Starting at
3,219Activity Level:
On Your Feet (6)
DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
May 21 - May 27, 2024
Starting at
2,399Jul 16 - Jul 22, 2024
Starting at
2,599Sep 3 - Sep 9, 2024
Starting at
2,599Activity Level:
On Your Feet (6)
DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
May 21 - May 27, 2024
Starting at
3,049Jul 16 - Jul 22, 2024
Starting at
3,449Sep 3 - Sep 9, 2024
Starting at
3,4497 days
6 nights
13 meals
6B 3L 4D
2
Explore Old Montreal, Pointe-à-Callière Museum
Montreal, QC
4
Basilica de Notre-Dame de Montréal, Transfer to Québec City
Quebec City, QC
5
Old Québec, Governor-General's Official Residence
Quebec City, QC
6
Île d'Orléans, Montmorency Falls Park, Music Tradition
Quebec City, QC
7
Program Concludes
Quebec City, QC
At a Glance
In Québec — “la belle province” — immerse yourself in the evocative architecture, Francophone culture and artistic passion of Montréal and Québec City. Enjoy a sensuous taste of Europe right here in North America as you discover the visual, performing and culinary arts inspired by the joie de vivre that unites the Québecois. Explore world-class museums, stroll picturesque neighborhoods and interact with Québec natives, as you absorb the artistic expression, historic buildings and European charm of these two cities.
Activity Level
Varies by date
Varies by date. ON YOUR FEET Dates: Walking up to one mile at a slower pace; additional transportation to some field trips. KEEP THE PACE Dates: Walking up to two miles at a brisk pace. Both Activity Levels travel on varied surfaces, from well-maintained sidewalks on busy streets to hills and cobblestones.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- Discover the artistic highlights of Québec City and Montréal through a variety of mediums and exhibits at their prestigious museums, including the Pointe-à-Callière Museum.
- Hear from an expert about what it’s like living in Montréal today, with insights into the city’s cultural, social and economic climate.
- Enjoy walking excursions (pace varies by date) through Old Montréal and Old Québec, including visits to the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal and the Chute Montmorency in Québec City.
General Notes
Select program dates are at a more leisurely pace featuring less walking and additional transportation. Please see Dates and Prices Tab for more details.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Andrée Girard
Andrée Girard has been an active figure on the arts scene in Québec and in Canada for over 25 years. She worked as a broadcaster for CBC radio and television before becoming programming director for CBC French radio’s Chaîne culturelle for several years. She was also a founding member and director of the Conseil québécois de la musique. Over the course of her career, she has been associated with the creation of the Opus Prize, as well as the development of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Andrée Girard
View biography
Andrée Girard has been an active figure on the arts scene in Québec and in Canada for over 25 years. She worked as a broadcaster for CBC radio and television before becoming programming director for CBC French radio’s Chaîne culturelle for several years. She was also a founding member and director of the Conseil québécois de la musique. Over the course of her career, she has been associated with the creation of the Opus Prize, as well as the development of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
Sylvie Nadeau
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Born and raised in Montreal, Sylvie Nadeau loves Quebec's largest city, the province's vibrant, creative multicultural hub, which she has been exploring her whole life on foot, by subway and on her bike. A professional in the travel industry for over 30 years and a recipient of several awards honoring the quality of her work, Sylvie hosts and coordinates the activities of Road Scholar groups with competence and enthusiasm. Her funny French accent and infectious joie de vivre give all her programs and tours a very personal color. A sports enthusiast, Sylvie is offering a new series for active travelers in addition to the many programs she already coordinates, all highlighting the many colors of Quebec as presented by passionate Quebecers dedicated to sharing the richness of their unique Canadian Province.
Michel Jutras
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Originally from Montreal, Michel Jutras holds a master's degree in the management of cultural organizations and has extensive experience in leading educational excusions. Passionate about researching history, especially the history of the dietary and culinary traditions of Quebec, he is working on a large collection of ethnological texts, the first volume of which has already been published, while the second is currently being printed.
Marie Legroulx
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Marie Legroulx, a native of Québec City, has a bachelor's in history and a master's in Québec literature. She taught French and Québec literature at local universities for over 20 years. In 2008, she returned to college to become a professional in the tourism industry, and has since been leading historical, architectural and literary explorations. Québec history and language are topics close to her heart since she is a twelfth-generation Québécoise whose ancestors settled on the St. Lawrence River in the mid-seventeenth century.
Julie Bélanger
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A Montrealer by birth, Julie has diplomas in cultural animation and teaching. With her warm and dynamic personality, her prime objective is to share her passion and knowledge of Montreal and Québec City as well as little secrets of the living style of each community.
François Gariepy
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François Gariépy, a native of Québec City, has lived in Montréal, Santiago de Chile, and now in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix — a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve. He is a recognized professional in international development and tourism for Charlevoix, actively promoting the region in the Canadian, U.S., Mexican, and European markets. François is trilingual with a passion for people, traveling, and cultures. He will be delighted to introduce Road Scholars to Montreal, Québec City, and the Charlevoix Region, addressing everyone’s interests in an enthusiastic, instructive, and secure manner.
Françoise Baby
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Françoise Baby loves to share her enthusiasm about Montreal with visitors. She has a penchant for great food — her mother is French! — history, and architecture. What she enjoys most about being a local expert is interaction with Road Scholars. Her wish is that they come away with a cultural experience. The two most frequently asked questions Françoise gets are whether she is a native Montrealer and what is her favourite “thing” about the city. The answers are “yes”, and the multiculturalism that best defines Montreal.
Ian Beaulieu
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Ian Beaulieu is passionate about intercultural exchange. He has been involved in tourism for 20 years and has welcomed people from all over the world. It is his pleasure to help them discover Quebec culture. He specializes in both corporate and educational travel. He is an international group leader and pays particular attention to the quality of the meeting with the participants. A sportsman in his leisure time, he combines health and travel in order to share all the beautiful moments that life offers.
Anna Maria Polonia
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Anna Maria Polonia was born and raised in Quebec City, and is now based in Montreal. Since a young age, she was marveled by Quebec City, and she now appreciates the effervescence of multicultural Montreal. After working in the hospitality industry for over 30 years, she has been sharing the wonders of both cities with her groups.
Suggested Reading List
(7 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
French Canada: Montréal & Québec City
Program Number: 22250
The Two Solitudes
First published in 1945, and set mostly in the time of the First World War, this story revolves around the life and times of the fictional character Paul Tallard and his struggles in reconciling the differences between his English and French Canadian identities.
Canada and Quebec: One country, Two Histories
An in-depth look at Canada-Quebec relations through interviews with prominent Canadian figures by a well known professor of Canadian history and a frequently published author. Dr Robert Bothwell’s research interests include modern Canadian history and political, diplomatic and military history.
A People’s History of Quebec
A People’s History of Quebec is a lively guide to a little-known part of North American history. It tells of the settlement of the St. Lawrence Valley, but also of the Montreal and Quebec-based explorers and traders who travelled, mapped, and inhabited most of North America, and embrothered the peoples they met.
Champlain's Dream
In this enthralling biography, acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer brings to life the remarkable Samuel de Champlain—soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father of New France.
Montreal & Quebec City Guide – Lonely Planet
Montréal and Québec City really serve it up. You've got old-world grandeur, new-world sensibilities and big-city charms - there's enough neighbourhoods, restaurants and festivals to keep you mon-dieu'ing for months. This guide, penned by a Montréal-based author, gets you straight to the action.
Pick & Mix: buy and download individual chapters from this book
You could download free: Introducing Montreal (Very interesting…)
Where the River Narrows
This novel sweeps across the centuries, from the French royal court to the founding of Québec City in 1608, from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to the FLQ Crisis. Against this rich panorama, the daily lives of the Tremblay family unfolds over generations.
Shadows on the Rock
Set in seventeenth-century Canada, an evocation of North American origins highlights the men and women who struggled to adapt to the new world even as they clung to the one they left behind. The novel covers one year of the lives of Cecile Auclair and her father Euclide, French colonists in Quebec.