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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Big Bargains Up North
Cheap Charlie · January 21, 2002

Every so often I take a trip where value hits me in the face. I stay and dine and play where the deals are breathtaking even to my cheap nature. This past week, I was on one of those rare trips.

No. I wasn't in some underdeveloped third-world country. I wasn't bartering with natives wearing sarongs or grass skirts. I wasn't staying in mid-level hidden-away hotels in a major city. I wasn't at an unknown all-inclusive resort.

I was in Quebec City in Canada. I went to ski and to discover Quebec City. I fell in love with the city.

This trip made a real believer out of me when it comes to the history, dining, hotels and culture or this city. All are at bargain basement prices compared to the U.S.A. (And if the Canadian newspapers are correct, getting even less expensive in terms of US dollars.)

Try this deal on for size. A ski resort where the charge is $228 (Canadian dollars) per day for two skiers sharing a condominium with breakfast, dinner and lift tickets. That cost in US dollars is only about $150 or $75 per skier.

In downtown Quebec, in the upscale Vieux-port section, new boutique hotels have "romance getaway" deals for about the same cost, which include a suite with Jacuzzi tub, champagne, breakfast and a gourmet dinner in one of Quebec's top restaurants.

These deals are not for backwater hotels or out-of-the-way lodges. These deals are available at some of Quebec's best spots such as the Dominion Hotel, the Hotel Ste. Pierre or the Auberge St. Antoine. The restaurants involved are top-or-the-line gourmet havens such as Initial and Laurie Rafael.

If you simply want a room with breakfast in these hotels prices are in the range of $110 per night. These are prices that are hard to beat for real city hotels.

Quebec is a French city in a French-speaking province of Canada, just north of New England. A trip here is like taking a trip to Europe without the flight across the Atlantic. And in Quebec, virtually everyone speaks English as well as their native French.

The dining is as good as that found in Paris, Marseilles or Normandy. Enjoy meals that are pure French cuisine with fine table side service. Try hearty Quebecois fare with caribou and elk from the north or lamb and veal from Charlevoix finished off with maple syrup pie. Or have a plate full of mussels as good as can be found on this side of the Atlantic.

And get this. These meals top out at about US$30 to $40 per person with house wine. Most of the restaurants have daily menus where a full meal (without beverage) is only US$10 to $12.

Quebec is a cultural and historical city as well.

It has world-class museums including the Museum of Civilization, which has changing exhibitions throughout the year, and the Museum of Quebec with an excellent regional art collection.

Everywhere, history surrounds visitors. Quebec is the oldest major city and only walled city in North America. Here French explorers such as Cartier, Champlain and Jouliette started their travel that first brought Europeans to the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. English generals outfoxed the French to win the battle of Quebec with only a few shots and the Canadian government has its early beginnings.

All of these city features are set in the midst of spectacular scenery and wonderful sporting areas. In the winter, three ski resorts--Mont-Sainte-Anne, Stoneham and Le Massif--are within a short drive as well as thousands of km. of cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. In the summer there is biking, hiking, canoeing and sailing.

Make your own discovery. Check out what Quebec has to offer.

However, this is one destination where you'll have to dig. Expedia has no packages here and details are skimpy, Start with the links here.

If you do the homework, you'll find plenty of bargains and have one of the best vacations of your life.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.