If you can’t get to Paris in the springtime, try Quebec City or Montreal for your soupe a l’oignon. Besides, it’s Europe without the strong euro and without the jet lag. The cobbled walkways, quaint shops and wonderful French restaurants inside the old city of Quebec City’s fortress walls enchant walkers, especially in spring and summer when flowers are on display everywhere. Montreal is the bustling metropolis of French Canada, with rich traditions to go with its fine churches, universities and museums. In addition, American visitors like the shopping, though this is not necessarily about bargains. Shoppers appreciate that Quebec stores carry some goods not carried in U.S. establishments. Vacationers can enjoy the charm, joie de vivre and shopping in the province’s two main cities or head for the outdoor recreation areas of the Laurentian Mountains and the Eastern Townships, or innumerable other areas. For a taste of real wilderness, hunt, fish or just observe the wildlife on the isolated Gaspe Peninsula — or head to the Arctic north for the ultimate adventure.

Who goes there? Quebec continues to attract more venturers, possibly because other destinations in Canada are more comfortable (translation: English speaking sometimes difficult in Quebec) for other personality types. But all groups give the province a very good rating, just the same.

When do they go? Spring, summer and early fall are most popular. Of course, those who seek winter sports go in winter.

Sleep on ice — at the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada (between early January and early April).

Go to prison. The Trois-Rivieres Prison in Mauricie, now the Quebec Museum of Folk Culture, sponsors a “Go to Jail” exhibit which invites up to 40 persons to spend a night in the cells and experience something of what it would have been like to be an inmate.

Go camping in winter. This can mean staying in a tent — or igloo or teepee.

Go sailing or scuba diving in the broad St. Lawrence River.

Kayak on the St. Lawrence, too. But, for a more exotic choice, join an adventure tour operator’s kayaking trip to very out-of-the-way waters, to rivers with names like Ashuapmushuan and Metabetchouane.

Go ice fishing on Lac Deux-Montagnes, Lac Saint-Pierre or the Saguenay Fjord.

Take a combined canoe and camping trip in one of Quebec’s parks or wildlife reserves. Or, go whitewater rafting on the Riviere Rouge (Red River) or any of several other swift-moving rivers.

Drive your own dog sled team for a two-day excursion in the Regional Appalachian Park (on the Maine border) and overnight in a prospector’s tent.

At Massif du Sud, Quebec’s snowiest park, try cat skiing, which is wilderness skiing in deep powder; overnight in a prospector’s tent or, if you prefer, in heated huts.

Head way north to Nunavik, Quebec’s Arctic region. Hike the Torngat Mountains, or go fishing, or practice your sea kayaking. Travel by freighter canoe among icebergs. Go dog sledding, or cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing. Due to limited facilities, book ground arrangements in advance of travel.

Attend Quebec City’s Winter Carnival, and keep warm, if you dare, by drinking a local and very potent drink called caribou. It is made with high-proof vodka, red wine and maple syrup.

If you like jazz or a good joke, attend the Montreal jazz festival or its summer Just for Laughs/Juste Pour Rire comedy festival.

At Gatineau (a stone’s throw from Ottawa), go boating on the Ottawa River or go cycling or cross-country skiing in Gatineau Park.

Go whale watching on the St. Lawrence, home to several species of whales. Board an inflatable raft for a close look, or board a larger ship for more comfort.

Try snow rafting, a recent addition to Quebec’s repertoire. This involves sliding down snowy slopes in an inflated canoe that can carry up to 12 people.

Take a two-day cruise from Montreal to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, a dozen islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where land-based options include biking, bird-watching, fishing or horseback riding. Or, explore the coast by canoe or kayak or in a sailboat. Make that a late-February visit and see thousands of seals on nearby ice floes with their newborns, the whitecoat pups.

Go ice skating on the Riviere l’Assomption (Assumption River) in Joliette. It has the world’s longest groomed river ice track, about six miles. Quebec offers venues for cross-country and downhill skiing, too.

Vacation on a ranch, where you can ride horses and, depending on season, go dog sledding with you as the driver of the team.

Play golf in warmer weather (nearly 400 courses to choose from) or in winter on the pack ice each February in Rimouoski. Or play the new course next to Quebec’s Ice Hotel.

Have some fun at Le Sucrerie de la Montagne in the Laurentian forest, a working maple sugar mill that hosts guests for meals and parties in the old French Canadian style. There are folk music and stories to go with your lunch or dinner, and you can take home syrup made on site.

Enjoy fine dining in any town or city on your itinerary. Try some Quebec specialties, too, such as caviar de corregone, foie gras, magret de canard and ice wine.

Explore the important landmarks in the old towns of Montreal and Quebec City on foot or with a guided tour, but in each, you also can sightsee in a horse-drawn carriage.

Join an outing aboard one of Canada’s last steam trains. This one offers a half-day trip between Hull and Wakefield, 40 miles each way, with sightseeing time in picturesque Wakefield.

Gamble at the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. Alternatives are the Casino de Montreal and the Casino de Charlevoix in La Malbaie.

Rent a costume and join the locals who wander around in period dress for Quebec City’s celebration of the time when Quebec was a French colony called New France. The summer fest, called La Nouvelle France, is characterized by reenactments, a traditional market, street theater, storytelling and big, colorful parades through Old Town.

Take advantage of the mighty St. Lawrence by joining any of a number of pleasure cruises for sightseeing, lunches or dinners.

For more information, consult Tourisme Quebec at www.bonjourquebec.com

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