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Food & Drink: Québec proudly reflects a tradition of French culture, never more so than in the restaurants and cuisine of the province. French food here is as excellent as anywhere in Europe. Immigrants from many countries provide a vast selection. Italian, Greek, Japanese, Spanish and English cuisine are all available in Montréal and Québec. International menus are found at all the larger hotels, but the best food is found by wandering around the small backstreets of the cities and sampling the small but excellent restaurants scattered throughout both cities. Specialist dishes include ragoût de boulettes (pork meatballs with seasoning) and cretons du Québec (chilled minced pork). The Île d’Orléans is an island northeast of Québec City that provides abundant fruit and vegetables for the city. Québec follows French tradition in having excellent standards of wine and spirits to complement the high standards of cuisine. Some spirits and rarer wines are imported from Europe. Wines and spirits based on maple sap are a speciality of the region, among them maple cider and maple whiskey. Local mead is said to be good. Taverns and brasseries serve alcoholic beverages from 1200-0300 every day. Cocktail lounges and cabarets stay open until 0200 and 0300 respectively in Montréal. The minimum drinking age is 18 years old.
Nightlife: Québec City and Montréal offer some of the best nightclubs and cabarets to be found anywhere in Canada. In Montréal the action seldom begins before 2200 and usually continues until 0300 the next morning. Nightlife is concentrated in the western part of the downtown area along Crescent and Bishop Streets and around Ste-Catherine Street, where there are many bars, restaurants and clubs of all kinds. For a particularly French flavour, try the many clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes and bistros further east around Saint-Denis and Saint-Laurent.
Shopping: Québec City and Montréal have excellent shopping facilities, both in large department stores and small street markets. Specialities include furs, Native American crafts, haute couture, antiques, specialist fashion boutiques and discount retail outlets. Shopping hours: Mon-Wed 0900-1800, Thurs-Fri 0900-2100, Sat 0900-1700. Most shops are open on Sunday.
Special Events: For further details and exact dates of special events, contact one of Québec’s tourist offices (see Contact Addresses section). The following is a selection of events held in Québec during 2003:
Jan 25-Feb 3 Montréal International Autoshow. Jan 25-Feb 9 La Fête des Neiges (including ice sculptures, skating and sliding), Montréal. Feb 13-Mar 1 Montréal High Lights Festival (lively arts performances). Mar 13-23 International Festival of Films on Art, Montréal. Apr 25-27 Summer Holiday, Flower and Plant Show, Québec. May 17-19 and 24-25 La fête du chocolat de Bromont, (chocolate festival), Bromont. Jun 27-Jul 29 Festival Internationale de Lanaudiére (classical music event), Joliette. Jul 10-20 Just for Laughs Festival, Montréal. Aug 9-17 Hot Air Balloon Festival, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Sep-Nov La Biennale de Montréal (celebration of contemporary artists), Montréal.
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