Honeymoon: Destination: Almost Paris
WHAT TO EAT: Sunday brunch is a tradition at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac’s Le Champlain. Reserve a window table, and look for platters of Quebec specialty cheeses, pâtés, and wild mushrooms. For lunch, costumed staff at Aux Anciens Canadiens introduce you to authentic delicacies such as tourtière or caribou dishes — all in a circa-1677 home. Or check out popular local hangout Le Lapin Sauté for hearty country fare, particularly rabbit. Book dinner reservations on the patio at L’Échaudé, a lively French bistro where owner Robert Plamondon can arrange a romantic honeymoon dinner if you call in advance. Choose family-style Buffet de L’Antiquaire on rue Saint-Paul for inexpensive traditional homestyle platters. Afterwards, window-shop along Saint-Paul’s antique alley, then stop in to Pub Thomas Dunn for a tasty sampler of single-malt scotch.
WHERE TO STAY: For a classically romantic honeymoon, Le Château Frontenac offers Fairmont Gold, its boutique-hotel-within-a-hotel concept. Indulge in personal service (tell them you’re newlyweds) and relax in the private lounge, where you’ll enjoy a deluxe continental breakfast and cocktail-hour appetizers. Or stay in Basse-Ville’s Auberge Saint-Antoine, where themed luxury suites transport you to a garden cottage or captain’s cabin. For an Art Deco, contemporary feel, choose Hôtel Le Priori in Old Port.
WHAT TO PACK: Passport, jacket for nighttime (it’s breezy on the cliffs), comfortable shoes for walking cobblestone streets. In winter, extremely warm clothes including cozy boots and a hat. Residents are chic dressers, so dress up, not down.
BEST TIMES TO GO: Anytime. However, winter’s deep snow is astonishingly beautiful: The annual Carnaval, held in January and February, is famous for its frosty, fun events, and the nearby Ice Hotel is fantastical. In July during Festival d’été, streets come alive with music, dancing and street theater; August’s Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle France sees everyone dressed in mid-18th-century costumes.
NEWLYWED NEWS: Most hotels offer romance packages; ask.
GETTING THERE: Carriers such as Air Canada, Continental and United fly from Philadelphia to Quebec City.
ROMANCE RATING: Four Hearts
