ESSENTIAL QUEBEC

How has Quebec preserved its French culture in the face of Anglophone neighbours? This is just one of the questions posed by Danann Breathnach as he explores the capital of French North America. His journey also takes him to the Ile d’Orleans where he learns how to make maple syrup lollies in the snow,  he assesses the role of the Catholic Church, discovers the history of the fur trade, and visits a 5* hotel which is also a museum.

 

If you’d like to find out more about the places Danann visited in the programme, then check out the following links:

MARCHE DU VIEUX PORT – www.marchevieuxport.com
This is an upmarket farmer’s market that has graced Quebec’s dockside for the last 300 years. Produce and handicrafts are all local and seasonal, just the sort of place to pick up a souvenir of Aunty Madge.

"FARMERS IN CHEFS’ HATS" BY LINDA ARSENAULT www.farmersinchefhats.com
This book has taken the Quebecois cooking world by storm and turned award winning author Linda Arsenault into a local celebrity. In an attempt to safeguard local recipes, Linda put pen to paper reinventing old favourites provided by the farmers of Quebec’s Ile d’Orleans. For your chance to own a copy of Linda’s sell-out cook book, visit our Giveaways page.  

AUBERGE LE CANARD HUPPE – www.canard-huppe.com
Run by one of Quebec’s most eminent chefs (and official tester-chef of Linda’s recipes), Philip Rae, Le Canard Huppé is a culinary delight.

L’ENTAILLEUR – www.entailleur.com
Almost eighty per cent of maple products worldwide are produced in this part of Canada, so little wonder its leaf has made it onto the national flag! The sap is harvested and magic-ed into all sorts of deliciousness, including syrup, butter and even snow-lollies, as Danann discovers at this ‘Sugar Shack’, or rather, Cabane à Sucre in the woods.

LE POSTE DE TRAITE, TADOUSSAC www.tadoussac.com/EN/tourismeeng/museums.htm
The fur trade is inextricably linked to the birth of Canada as we know it today and this is the first fur trading post that was ever built on these shores, way back in 1600.

WENDAKE FIRST NATION - www.huron-wendat.qc.ca
Before either the French or the British there were the Wendat, Quebec’s indigenous people. Wendake is the only Wendat Reserve in Canada and a great place to understand the history of its people. Onhoua Chetek8e (pronounced ‘Chetekway’) is a recreation of the original settlement for tourists. There is also a First Nations Hotel within the Reserve for visitors seeking to immerse themselves in this original North American culture.

PLAINS OF ABRAHAM – www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca
The is battlefield where the British took on the French, changing the course of Canadian history forever.

LA CITADELLE – www.lacitadelle.qc.ca
Quebec is the only fortified city in North America and this piece of military architectural history forms part of its Great Wall. What’s more, it boasts one of the few remnants of England’s legacy to the Quebecois: the changing of the guard; twins of those at Buckingham Palace!

HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL - http://209.160.3.218/
The first Anglican Cathedral to be built outside the British Isles.

SANCTUAIRE SAINT ANNE DE BEAUPRE – www.ssadb.qc.ca
The largest pilgrimage site in North America, and Canada’s answer to Lourdes.

NOTRE-DAME DE QUEBEC BASILIQUE CATHEDRALE – www.patrimoine-religieux.com
Seat of the oldest parish in North America!

Many thanks to Kevin Doherty and Jacques Dupuis for their invaluable contributions to the making of the programme.