What better way to face the cold of winter than dogsledding and games in The City of Snow? From the Plains of Abraham to the Chateau Frontenac to the Place Royal, dive into the heart of the largest winter festival in the world: The Quebec City Winter Carnival!

For this giant celebration, beautiful Quebec City will don its finest clothes in order to party – and play in style! It is the perfect time of year to enjoy winter and take full advantage of all the Carnival festivities.

Photo credit: Québec Région

A full program!

Open your eyes and take a good look around! At the corner of a street you may meet Bonhomme, the jovial King of the Carnival, proudly wearing his emblematic arrow sash. During these 17 days of festival, he will be the keeper of the keys to the city!

Did you know? In the 19th century, the arrow sash was used to fasten clothing around the waist to prevent cold air from seeping in. It also supported the back during effort.

On the festival program; dress in red and sing for the opening ceremony accompanied by the sound of Carnival trumpets, discover the renowned Palais des Glace, feel the thrill of the chase during the famous canoe race on ice, see the many ice sculptures while tasting a sweet maple toffee at Joe’s, the Carnival sugar shack, and much, much more!

Photo credit: Québec Région

Culture and history!

What a great opportunity for students to immerse themselves fully in the heart of an historic capital and to experience the emotion of a city in full festival mode. Quebec will draw you back to a formative time in Canada’s history. Its fortifications, its small cafes, its small shops, its famous Ice hotel and its many restaurants are echoes of old stories from Canada’s past. And are you ready to try the famous Poutine?

Photo credit: Québec Région

Quebec Its also the Place Royale. It is the district of Petit Champlain with its famous “daredevil staircase”, or “escalier casse-cou” which leads to the Cap-Diamant. These stairs were baptized by the anglophones in the middle of the 19th century as “Break-Neck Steps”

Did you know? Notre-Dame des Victoires’ Church on the Place Royale in the heart of Old Quebec was one of the locations in the movie Catch Me if You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio? It’s the perfect place to recreate the atmosphere of a small French village!

In-class activities for students!

In order to provide an opportunity for teachers and students to prepare for the Winter Carnival tour, we have developed a winter-themed educational booklet. After exploring the wonderful world of Carnivals around the globe, we then take a closer look at the relationship between wintertime and culture, focusing on Quebec City’s very own Winter Carnival. The teacher and student booklets include 13 educational activities with curriculum links to essential graduation teachings, as well as links to social studies, French Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, Technology and Arts.

Why Bon Vivant Educational Tours?

We believe that it is essential to inspire students to become citizens of the world. Through our educational trips we offer learning through discovery and pleasure. Changing routine, experiencing being part of a group, different cultures and understanding the importance of bilingualism are for us essential values to the development and openness of students.

Well beyond planning the trip, we strive to facilitate the whole process by offering you a flexible, personalized and professional service.

Ready to go?

Interested in visiting Quebec City with your own group in 2017? Contact us and we’ll gladly partner with you to create some winter magic together!