From tasting chips covered with curd and gravy to running across ice-covered rivers for sport, Québec is full of the weird and wonderful and is truly a one-of-a-kind destination. The second most populated province in Canada and the only one with a predominantly French-speaking population, the province is full of unusal experiences, quirky food traditions and adventure attractions that can only be found in Québec…
Ice Canoeing
Québec is the home of ice canoeing and is the only place in the world that offers this sport. Originally, ice canoeing was a means of transport between Québec City and Lévis, located on opposite sides of the St Lawrence River, when there was too much ice on the river for the ferries to cross. Today, the sport involves crews of five alternately pushing their canoe across the ice on the frozen parts of the river and rowing against currents of four knots, tides of over 15 feet and ice blocks blown towards them by the wind! Nowadays, it is a competitive sport and those visiting the region can even try it out for themselves on an 'Ice Canoe Excursion' with Québec Ice Canoeing. www.quebecicecanoeing.com
Visit a genuine 'sugar shack'
As the world's largest producer of maple syrup, Québec is one of the only places in the world where visitors can visit an authentic 'sugar shack'. A sugar shack, or cabane à sucre, is a private house or farm estate where sap created from maple trees is collected and boiled into maple syrup that has opened its doors for visitors. Visitors can taste maple products at the sugar shacks, which are also known as a 'sap house', 'sugar house', 'sugar shanty' or 'sugar cabin', and are most prominent in Eastern Canada due to the high volume of maple syrup produced in the region. Of the Eastern Canadian provinces that use sugar shacks, Québec is the only place where it's remained a family tradition with generations of maple syprup farmers continuing the legacy. The sugar season runs from March to April each year and Cabane a Sucre Chez Dany comes highly recommended!
