Janis Turk

Clockwise from top of this page, the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, the lobby of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, a view from the Victoria/Vancouver Island ferry, the shops in Butchart Gardens, and the view from one of the gardens’ shoreline trails

Canada: A Summer Place

By Janis Turk

We’ve got a neighbor we don’t know very well, a nice one too — attractive, clean, friendly, classy. So when the streets start to sizzle and humidity sets in, when springtime leaves the park and people leave the city, why not visit our neglected neighbor to the north?

Consider a cool country. Consider Canada.

How much do you really know about this neighbor? It’s the world’s second largest country, but can you name the capital? (Ottawa.) What is the population? (29.7 million.) How many provinces are there? (10.) How many territories? (Three.) How many major cities with populations in the millions? (Six.) Okay, so I had to look all that up too.

But why do we ignore Canada? Why do TV weather maps show it as a vast wasteland of white, a place without cities, or temperatures? Why does Canada lurk in our subconscious as some distant, year-round winter hinterland?

For me, when summer temperatures hit the 90s, Canada becomes a Great White Hope — or a good green one, anyway, a cool, lush place.

I abhor the heat. Ever since I was born on a cold day in Chicago, July, August, and I never did get along, and every summer I’m forced into what Yeats might have called a “difficult truce” with nature.

Some people think “summer” and head to the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Watch Hill, or just plain Maine. I yearn to visit Canada. I can’t afford to summer in the Hamptons, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. But I love a leisurely drive up to Montreal, or an evening of fine dining at a little French bistro in Quebec City such as Le Lapin Saute. There I’ll find a table by the window in a place where the summer and I do not have to duel at dawn each day. And I won’t have to worry about trying to keep up with the Joneses — or running into them at Della Femina either.

Better yet, whenever I can afford a real vacation and find a reasonable fare, I like landing in Victoria, British Columbia, or strolling down Robson Street in Vancouver.

But let’s start with what is the most accessible.

For about $200 you can fly from JFK to Montreal, and from the airport there, for another $12, you can get a clean, efficient shuttle bus into town. Prefer to travel by rail? $115 will get you a train ticket from Penn Station to Montreal (the Montreal train station is connected to the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel, so it’s not a bad part of town). Rather drive? By car it’s six and a half hours from Manhattan to the heart of Montreal. And if you want to go even farther north to beautiful Quebec City, there are buses leaving Montreal for Quebec City every hour ($36 for seniors, $42 regular fare) and clean, quiet trains ($47, comfort class) departing three times a day.

Besides enjoying the cooler temperatures (average July lows in the 60s, highs around 79), what is there to do in Montreal? More than you can imagine.

Montreal speaks to me of museums: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal), The Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (Musée d’art Contemporain), Canadian Centre for Architecture, Centre d’histoire de Montréal, and the Place Royale Pointe-à-Callière museum. There are also lovely parks and cathedrals around the city like the famous Notre Dame Basillica. And don’t forget to visit the town’s historic center, a charming, Parisian-type village in Old Montreal with cobblestone streets, carriage rides, sidewalk cafes, and boutiques. The Montreal Botanical Gardens has a delightful tearoom, and the city boasts fine dining, clean, spacious parks, and cool breezes throughout summer.

While Montreal, like all big cities, is a thriving place to invigorate the spirit, I prefer to spend time in Quebec City (or just plain Quebec, as the natives prefer to call it) about two hours to the northeast.

I’d like to stay at the regal Château Frontenac hotel (the gorgeous building by which the Quebec City skyline is perhaps best known), but the room rates are out of my league. However, I’m never disappointed when I stay downtown at the Hilton International, not only for its great rates but its magnificent views of the fabulous Congress Center, the St. Lawrence River, the old, walled part of historic Quebec, and the village of Petit Champlain. You can also see the rooftops of Château Frontenac. Everything you’ll want to visit is within easy walking distance.

Quebec has a decidedly French feel, but somehow the people don’t seem as appalled as I am for my having neglected to study French since high school; they are kind and welcoming.

I spent my first afternoon in Quebec City strolling through the green parks of the historic Fields of Abraham (the site of a famous battle between the French and the English in 1759). Later I visited the delightful shops of Petit Champlain, a small historic district of decidedly French boutiques and restaurants. From there I rode in the town’s famous funicular — a kind of cable railway car that carries people up a hill from the old quarter village of Petit Champlain to where I could get out and stroll over to the Château Frontenac, which has an inviting bar and restaurant where one can enjoy lunch or a drink at the end of the day. I also visited the breathtaking Montmorency waterfall just outside of town — move over, Niagara!

Every day for lunch I would eat a baguette along with some cheese and fruit, so that each night my appetite would be robust for a visit to one of the city’s special restaurants such as Le 47ième Parallèle, or Le Graffiti, where a long evening of fine wine, sparkling conversation, and amazing gastronomic offerings from some of Quebec’s finest chefs would inevitably ensue. As they say in Quebec City, dining should be a “feast of sensations.”

Quebec is my favorite Canadian city, but I have to admit that Victoria, on Vancouver Island — on the other side of the country and continent — runs a close second.

The biggest draw for me in Victoria is Butchart Gardens — 55 acres of paradise on earth. No matter what the season, the gentle, wet climate keeps the gardens lush with vibrant color. A family-owned business turned National Historic Site of Canada, the Gardens have been delighting visitors for more than 100 years. Afternoon tea is served each day at the original family home. Afterward it is delightful to follow peaceful trails wending through gardens that edge the island’s shoreline. In July and August, tremendous light shows and fireworks displays thrill children and adults, and there are often jazz, classical, and pops concerts in the cool evenings.

Just as with the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, Victoria has a famous hotel, the Empress, near the British Museum of Natural History and the Parliament building. And, like the Château Frontenac, I can’t afford to stay there. But I do enjoy walking through the Empress and taking afternoon tea at least once while I’m in town.

After visiting the palatial Empress, I’m more than content to return to my regal room at the nearby Magnolia Hotel and Spa. The Magnolia is elegant without being stuffy, and best of all it is surprisingly affordable. The Magnolia Spa, using only Aveda products and offering an Aveda Concept Salon, provides indulgent pampering; I treated myself to a long, deep-tissue massage while my friend had a facial. That night I was pleasantly surprised by Hugo’s Restaurant, adjacent to the hotel, which had not only a great menu but also a fabulous brew pub.

At dusk, when the nearby Parliament building is trimmed with white lights, I enjoy walking down to the harbor to watch boats bob and the water-taxi planes take off toward the sunset.

I also like to visit the shops, art galleries, and pubs in Oak Bay Village, not far from downtown Victoria. When I’m downtown in Victoria itself there are also many inspiring galleries and magnificent restaurants from which to choose, like Fire & Water in the relatively new Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour Hotel.

My favorite way to get to Vancouver Island is to take a big cruise-ship-like ferry from the city of Vancouver — a ride that children and grandchildren would especially enjoy.

In Vancouver, when I can afford it, I stay at the Hotel Vancouver, not far from the waterfront. But when I want a more reasonable rate in a great location, I stay at the contemporary, eclectic Listel Hotel, with original art and sculpture throughout, and live jazz in O’Doul’s restaurant every night. It reminds me very much of the Hotel Novetel Gare de Lyon in Paris and is situated on a street with a real multicultural flavor near the best restaurants, shops, and galleries. For a special treat, I like to sample the healthful First Nations (Native American) cuisine at Liliget Feast House (1724 Davie Street; (604) 681-7044).

There are a good many places I’d like to go when the heat sets in every summer, but Canada remains high on my list. It’s a neighbor I want to know better, and one I’m thankful to have upstairs — especially when those inevitable heat waves threaten to melt down my front door.

IF YOU GO:


Montreal Information
www.montreal.com

Quebec City Information
www.quebecregion.com

Rail service in Canada
http://www.viarail.ca

Greyhound Bus Lines, Canada
http://www.greyhound.ca

Petit Champlain Village
www.quartierpetitchamplain.com

Hilton International, Quebec
1100 Blvd. East
Quebec City,
Quebec G1K 7M9, Canada
www.hiltonquebec.com

Listel Hotel
1300 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 1C5
Toll Free: 1(800) 663-5491
www.listel-vancouver.com

The Magnolia Hotel & Suites
623 Courtney Street
Victoria, BC V8W 1B8
1(877) MAGNOLIA
www.magnoliahotel.com

The Butchart Gardens
Box 4010, 800 Benvenuto
Victoria, BC V8X 3X4
Toll free: (866) 652-4422
www.butchartgardens.com

Tourism British Columbia
Toll Free: 1(800) HELLO BC
www.helloBC.com

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Janis Turk is a freelance writer who has appeared in Southwest Airlines Spirit, Chicago Tribune, Country Lifestyle, Ranch and Country, Texas Hills, and other magazines, newspapers, and literary journals.

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