Québec

Witness a French-infused city that's in love with festivals, the arts, good food, living well and enjoying life to the hilt.

With a cliff-top position above the St Lawrence River and captivatingly picturesque old streets, North America’s oldest French-speaking city is a gorgeous, seductive place.

This small community is the gateway to Québec's Côte-Nord, the North Shore of the St Lawrence River. Located on the river at the fjord's mouth, the village draws hordes of summertime visitors for its main attraction: whales.

Not only do Zodiacs zip out in search of the behemoths, but you can often glimpse smaller whales such as belugas and minkes from shore. Beyond whale-watching, Tadoussac's activities range from sea kayaking and 'surfbiking,' to exploring the fjord by boat, to simply wandering the dunes and headlands.

Tadoussac begins to emerge from its off-season slumber in May and can be packed with visitors from late June into the fall. By the end of October or early November, when the majority of the whales have migrated elsewhere, many of the town's accommodations, eateries and other businesses close for the winter.

Of all the little towns that lie within day-tripping distance of Québec City, this beautiful blend of the outdoors and the bohemian – this is Cirque du Soleil's hometown – may be the most attractive. Not that we recommend day-tripping: if you're coming to Baie St Paul, book a night in a historic house converted into a superb gîte, linger over local cuisine, have a glass of wine and set your watch to the estuarine rhythm of the St Lawrence and Gouffre Rivers.

Full of spectacular scenery (802 sq km of it), all dotted with lakes and two of Québec's most beautiful mountain ranges, the Chic-Choc and McGerrigle, which together include 25 summits more than 1000m high. Some of Québec's most scenic camping spots can be found in the park, as well as 140km of hiking tracks, including one of the best sections of the International Appalachian Trail.

Salt-swept red-dirt islands crusted with fuzzy tufts of grass lie scattered in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and they're a sight to behold. The Îles de la Madeleine (Magdalen Islands), a stringy archipelago that resembles a Mandelbrot set on maps, are 105km north of Prince Edward Island. Between the islands' 350km of beach are iron-rich red cliffs, molded by wind and sea into coves and caves that cry out to be explored by kayak.

As you circle above the crescent beaches on one of the tiny airplanes that fly here, you may wonder how anyone could traverse this windswept chain; in fact, the six largest islands are connected by the 200km-long, classically named Rte 199. It takes a little over an hour to drive from one end of the archipelago to the other, assuming that you don't stop to gawp at the views. Which you will.

This park encompasses a stunning yet easily packaged presentation of some of the province's loveliest scenery. The rotund headlands shelter a foggy quilt of coastline that has provided sanctuary for indigenous peoples dating back 9000 years. There are 700 types of plants, thousands of marine birds, seals (between July and September), deer and one of North America's highest-density porcupine populations. The park has several visitor information offices; the Rivière-du-Sud-Ouest Visitor Centre is open year-round.

By far the region's main attraction, this park is a protected string of 20-plus main offshore islands stretching more than 85km from Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan to 40km east of Havre St Pierre. The islands' distinguishing characteristics are the odd, erosion-shaped stratified limestone formations along the shores. They're dubbed 'flowerpots' for their shape and for the lichen and small vegetation that grow on top. Some 200 bird species live in the reserve.

Before Jacques Cartier named Île d'Orléans in honor of the Duke of Orleans, it was known as L'Île de Bacchus for its wild grapes. Today, there's no sign of Dionysian debauchery on sleepy Île d'Orléans, 15km northeast of Québec City, but there is plenty to attract visitors. The island (population 6825), still primarily a farming region, has emerged as the epicenter of Québec's agritourism movement. Foodies from all around flock to the local économusées (workshops) to watch culinary artisans making everything from cider to nougat.

One 60km-long road encircles the island, with two more cutting across it north–south. Their edges are dotted with strawberry fields, orchards, cider producers, windmills, workshops and galleries. Some of the villages contain wooden and stone houses that are up to 300 years old.

There are six villages on the island. They are (travelling clockwise): St-Pierre, Ste-Famille, St-François, St-Jean, St-Laurent and Ste-Pétronille.