The Latest and the Greatest of Winter 2021-2022

Québec City is now home to a new sports complex dedicated to skating in all its forms. The Centre de glaces Intact Assurance has lots of timeslots for the general public, so locals and visitors can get out on the ice. You can go skating on the Olympic oval or running on the indoor track, all while taking in the view through the high windows that run all around the building.

Welcome to the Canadian Arctic: a land of polar bears, whale songs, and stunning scenery that remains inaccessible to all but a few. Follow Mario Cyr as he takes you under the ice to explore this vast frozen wilderness from below. An immersive and moving portrait of an endangered ecosystem with one of the world’s great cold water marine explorers as your guide.
December 18, 2021 to March 13,  reservations required

Club Med’s first Canadian resort opens December 3, 2021, at Massif de Charlevoix. Built with locally sourced materials, the Club Med Québec Charlevoix building hugs the contours of the terrain and boasts spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and the majestic St. Lawrence River below. After months spent waiting out the pandemic, an all-inclusive Club Med ski vacation is just what the doctor ordered!

The tragic fate of the people of Pompeii has fascinated humankind for centuries. See objects from the period and get a glimpse into the everyday lives of the inhabitants of this mythic Roman city at a new exhibition presented at MCQ (Musée de la civilisation) starting November 18, 2021. It features an immersive installation where the ground trembles under your feet and buildings around you collapse. 

While you’re at MCQ, check out Oh Shit!, a cheeky exhibit that will give you a whole new appreciation for this oft-maligned organic matter.
Reservations required

After temporarily shuttering its quaint little wood huts in 2020, the German Christmas Market is back this November and December to infuse our lives with Christmas magic and good cheer. In addition to the sites at the City Hall square and gardens and on Rue Sainte-Anne, this year’s market will also be held at beautiful Place D’Youville.
November 25 to December 23, 2021 (Thursday to Sunday)

Once the Market is over, the activity on the sites continues with the first edition of Kaléidoscopes where visual arts, theater, music, performing arts and literature are presented throughout the Holiday Season.

For its 68^th édition, the Québec Winter Carnival offers an almost complete program and brings back its festive hub to town.

Here are the major venues:

• Jos’ Camp: Games and activities to stay warm and bring out the inspired lumberjack hiding inside of you. 
• Cadbury Slides: Impressive crisscrossing icy descents of over 80 metres.
• Bonhomme’s Palace :  Musical evenings and spontaneous entertainment on weekends.
• Tribute to the Parade: exhibition of four themed floats on which it is possible to climb and take pictures on Grande Allée.
• The Snow Route: A hundred ice and snow sculptures in the process of being created or already completed by the sculptors in many neighbourhoods of the city.

What a privilege to be able to practice several winter sports in the heart of the city! This winter, two areas specially designed for sliding (with your own equipment or rent a crazy carpet at the Plains of Abraham Museum), a warming station and the lighting of the Joan of Arc garden are added to the regular skating, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing activities.

The last year was hard on restaurant owners, many of whom showed incredible resilience by opening new establishments in the midst of the pandemic. Hats off to them! Show your support and dig in at new restaurants like Le Clan, former Château Frontenac chef Stéphane Modat’s latest venture and the 737, a restaurant fitted out in a real Boeing 737 in which you can also try out a flight simulator!

Three fun new interactive installations made of light and sound are set to take over Place Jean-Béliveau. Become an actor or musician in a unique collective artwork in Plein les yeux et les oreilles, an entertaining light walk. An ice path and warming stations round out the magical experience, which takes place right next to Québec City’s Grand Marché.

Note: Photo of one of the installations in Toronto

Calling all foodies! Sainte-Foy has a new destination for delicious eats. Located in a vast glass atrium, QG District Gourmet is home to a dozen stands and restaurants, plus a farmer’s market. Delish!