The world's largest winter carnival, a hotel sculpted from ice and snow, and dog sleds through the boreal forest — Québec in full wonderland mode.
Eight days inside the most concentrated winter celebration on the planet. We base for four nights in Old Québec — UNESCO-listed, walled, French-speaking, blanketed in snow — right alongside the Carnaval de Québec, the world's largest winter carnival. You'll meet Bonhomme Carnaval, watch the ice canoe race fight across a frozen St. Lawrence, walk between giant snow sculptures, and warm up in cafés on cobblestoned streets that have looked exactly like this for four centuries.
Midway through, we trade the city for the boreal forest: a night at the Hôtel de Glace, the only ice hotel in North America, rebuilt from scratch every January in walls of crystalline ice. Dog-sled teams pull you through silent spruce forest by day; you sleep in a thermal sleeping bag on a bed of ice by night. We close in Montréal, the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, for a final dose of basilicas, bagels, and underground city warmth.
Designed for travellers who want real winter — not a window view of it. Multi-generational families with kids who don't melt in the cold, photographers chasing blue-hour ice, and couples who'd rather toast at an ice bar than sit through another beach holiday.
Four nights at the heart of it: night parades, ice canoe race across the St. Lawrence, giant snow sculptures, Bonhomme Carnaval's ice palace, and music in every square.
Rebuilt fresh each January from 500 tonnes of ice and 30,000 tonnes of snow. A guided tour included; an overnight stay is the optional headline experience.
Your own team of six Alaskan huskies, a half-day on groomed forest trails — most guests' favourite memory of the trip.
The only walled city north of Mexico. Cobblestone streets, the iconic Château Frontenac on the ramparts, and the Petit-Champlain quarter under a soft layer of snow.
Optional upgrade nights at the most photographed hotel in the world — turret rooms over the frozen St. Lawrence.
A winter walk up Olmsted's masterpiece for the postcard view of Montréal's skyline across the snow.
The deep-blue, star-painted ceiling that stopped Céline Dion's wedding photographers in their tracks. A must-see, especially in low winter sun.
Tourtière, pea soup, sugar-shack maple taffy on snow, poutine done right, and a guided tasting in the Marché du Vieux-Port.
Your Maple Fun driver-guide meets you at Québec City Jean-Lesage International Airport (YQB) arrivals and transfers you the 20 minutes into Old Québec. First glimpse of the Château Frontenac glowing on the cliff is the postcard most travellers remember for the rest of the trip. Check in to the Hilton Québec (or sister property Delta Québec), both two minutes from the city walls. Evening welcome dinner in the hotel's signature restaurant — your first taste of Québécois cuisine and a briefing on the week ahead.
A full guided walking day inside the only walled city north of Mexico — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Begin on the Dufferin Terrace boardwalk in front of the Château Frontenac, where the toboggan run still drops at 70 km/h exactly where it did in 1884. Down the Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou) into the Petit-Champlain quarter — the oldest commercial street in North America, lined with snow-dusted boutiques and crêperies. Coffee at Place Royale, where Champlain founded the city in 1608. Afternoon at the Citadelle of Québec, the still-active military fortress that anchors the southern wall. Evening French dinner at a classic Lower Town restaurant — try the tourtière (meat pie), the pea soup, and the maple-glazed duck.
The Carnaval de Québec is the largest winter carnival in the world — bigger than Sapporo, bigger than Harbin in raw acreage of celebration. We have two days here, and the timing matters: most signature events fall on the carnival's three weekends, which is when we book your tour. Today we walk the Plaines d'Abraham, where Bonhomme Carnaval — the carnival's snowman mascot since 1955 — holds court at his Ice Palace, a full-scale fortress sculpted from blocks of clear ice. International Snow Sculpture Competition pieces line the plains; teams from Japan, Mexico, France and the United States carve four-metre figures over four days. Afternoon: free time on the carnival grounds for the human foosball, ice slides, snow rafting, and Caribou bar (a mulled red-wine-and-spirits drink that is the carnival's unofficial fuel). Evening: front-row seats at the Night Parade — illuminated floats, drums, and the entire city in red sashes and tuques.
Headline morning of the carnival: the Ice Canoe Race across the St. Lawrence. Five-person teams launch from the Bassin Louise, drag their canoes over floating ice pans, paddle the open channels, and sprint to Lévis on the south shore — a spectacle that's been happening since 1894 and still attracts crowds of 50,000 along the shoreline. We have a reserved viewing area on the Old Port boardwalk with hot chocolate and warmers. Afternoon: a sugar-shack tasting in Bonhomme's village — fresh maple taffy poured directly onto clean snow, then rolled onto a stick. Optional add-on: an axe-throwing or ice-fishing initiation. Evening at leisure to walk the carnival grounds at night when the snow sculptures are floodlit blue and purple — the photographers' window of the trip.
Thirty minutes northwest of the city, in the forest of Valcartier, the Hôtel de Glace rises every January from 500 tonnes of ice and 30,000 tonnes of snow — North America's only ice hotel, and one of only three in the world. Morning guided tour of the public spaces: the Grand Hall with its eight-metre vaulted ice ceiling, the chapel (yes, weddings happen here), the ice slide, and the ice bar where cocktails are served in carved ice glasses. After lunch at the on-site Valcartier resort, transfer to the dog-sledding centre: harness your own team of six Alaskan huskies and drive a sled — yes, you drive — through 8 km of silent spruce forest with a musher pacing alongside on a second sled. Two hours on the trail, hot drinks at the trailhead lodge, and back to the Ice Hotel as the light goes blue. Tonight is the choice: sleep on a bed of ice in a thermal sleeping bag rated to −30°C (about 50% of guests opt in), or transfer back to the warm Four Points by Sheraton Québec ten minutes away. Either way, your bag goes to the warm hotel; you sleep with only what you wear plus the provided sleeping bag.
Morning departure southwest along the Chemin du Roy — the King's Road — Canada's first carriage road, completed in 1737. Lunch in Trois-Rivières, the midpoint, with a quick walk through its compact French old town. Continue to Montréal and check in to the Delta Hôtel Montréal (or Le Centre Sheraton Montréal), both at the seam between downtown and the Underground City — the network of 33 km of climate-controlled passages that lets Montrealers shop, eat and commute without putting a coat on for months. Evening at leisure on Crescent Street or Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
A full guided day in the second-largest French-speaking city on Earth. Morning in Vieux-Montréal: Place d'Armes, the cobblestoned heart, and inside the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal — the deep-blue, gold-starred vaulted ceiling that hushes every visitor on entry. Continue to Saint-Laurent Boulevard (the historic dividing line between English and French Montréal) and a quick taste of the famous Schwartz's smoked-meat sandwich or a Saint-Viateur sesame bagel. Midday at Mount Royal Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (the same hand behind Central Park) — a winter walk up Chemin Olmsted to the Kondiaronk Belvedere for the skyline view across snow. Afternoon: Parc Olympique with its inclined Tower (highest inclined tower in the world) and, weather permitting, the Montréal Botanical Garden's glasshouses — green, tropical and 25°C inside while it's −15°C out. Evening at leisure on rue Saint-Denis.
Check out at your leisure. Your Maple Fun driver-guide handles the 25-minute transfer to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) for your flight home. Time permitting, a final stop at a Saint-Viateur bagel shop on the way out — fresh, wood-fired, still warm — is a Montréal tradition. Safe travels home.
Sleep in a themed ice suite with a fireplace lit until midnight, thermal sleeping bag rated to −30°C provided. Price varies year to year — ask at booking. Inventory is extremely limited; book at least 90 days out.
Upgrade nights 1–3 from the Hilton/Delta to the iconic Château on the ramparts. Turret rooms over the frozen St. Lawrence are the bucket-list pick. ~CAD $250–$450 per night supplement.
A 45-minute light-and-sound projection inside the basilica, choreographed across the deep-blue vault. CAD $32/adult, CAD $25/child.
Twenty-minute winter flight over the frozen Montmorency Falls (83 m — taller than Niagara). CAD $185 per person, weather-dependent.
Two-up snowmobile through Charlevoix backcountry, including instructor and gear. CAD $250 per person.
Daytime temperatures during carnival range from −5°C to −15°C. Overnight lows can hit −25°C, which is when the ice sculptures look their sharpest. With proper layering (thermal base, fleece mid, waterproof shell, insulated boots, balaclava, mittens over gloves) it is genuinely comfortable. We provide a packing checklist at booking.
Yes — children 8 and up can ride in the sled basket; ages 12 and up can drive the sled with a parent. Younger children can do the short kennel-area introduction instead, with the same hot-chocolate-and-husky-puppies finish.
No. Roughly half our guests opt in; the other half tour the Ice Hotel during the day and sleep at the warm Four Points by Sheraton Québec ten minutes away. The day tour is included for everyone; the overnight is the optional upgrade.
Carnaval runs from the last Friday in January through the second or third Sunday in February — roughly 10 days, including three weekends. The headline events (Night Parade, Ice Canoe Race) fall on the weekends, which is when our departures are scheduled.
All Maple Fun driver-guides in Québec are fully bilingual English / French. We can guarantee Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese or Vietnamese-speaking guides on request — please mention this at booking. Note: most Québec City service staff prefer French; a bonjour and merci go a long way.
The standard itinerary is light to moderate. Walking is on cleared, salted sidewalks — but they can be icy. We recommend microspikes (lightweight slip-on grips) for travellers over 70, and we'll meet anyone with mobility considerations halfway with a private car instead of a Sprinter on city-walk days.
Yes — Montréal to Toronto is a one-hour flight or six-hour train; we can extend the trip with a 2–3-day Niagara/Toronto add-on after Day 8. Frozen Niagara Falls in February is a separate spectacle worth seeing.
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