What to do/know about Québec and Canada ?

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

NadaTeTurbe--You are going to love Canada. It is beautiful and the people are very nice. I spent a lot of time in Toronto on business and grew to love it. I've only been to Montreal once, and it was gorgeoous. But, it was so long ago that I can't give you any current tips. Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but even if the French you speak has some differences from the French spoken in Quebec, the fact that you are speaking French at all will be much appreciated by the people you come in contact with. (Although, to be fair, everyone in Montreal was very kind to us even though we spoke English.) However, in Montreal, all the street signs, subway signs, etc are only in French, (at least if I remember correctly) so being a French speaker you will have an advantage. Also, since you speak French you will have no trouble reading the menus in restaurants.

BTW--Phatmass is FULL of Canadians--I don't know who invited them all!  From what I can tell, Canadians drink lots of beer, watch hockey, shoot things (I'm looking at you, Nihil  ) but with rare exceptions mostly don't shoot each other. A very civilized country. (Note: At least three of the people I like and/or appreciate most on Phatmass are Canadian or live in Canada, and a fourth will eventually be Canadian. I've probably forgotten someone, for which I ask forgiveness.)

Less civilized--One type of food that originates in Quebec is called poutine--French fries covered with gravy and cheese curds. I never got around to trying it--not sure why because it apparently is quite common in Quebec. Look up "Poutine" on Wikipedia and decide for yourself. It may be a "delicacy" that you have to grow up with to appreciate.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

Nada Te Turbe--I just read my post again and realized that when I wrote it, I forgot that your English is not fluent. I apologize. Some of my sentence structures are very complex and may be hard to translate. If you find there is something you don't understand in my post, don't worry. My post says nothing important.

The basic message is: You will love Canada. It is a wonderful and beautiful country, and the people are very nice. The fact that you speak French will make it easier for you to get around Quebec.

There are lots of Canadians on Phatmass, so, as you get closer to the date of your trip, feel free to ask questions about Canada. There will be people here who can help you or, if they can't help you themselves, may be able to give you links to Web sites that will help.

P.S. Try poutine and tell me what it's like.

Edited May 3, 2015 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[NadaTeTurbe]

Oh, I hate when prices are writed without taxes. My poor brain has to do too much math ! 

Cobblestone are a living hell  I found a website about the accessibility of Montréal :D I will be in Montréal for a week, so I will get a cards, thanks. Is there a website about public transport, with all the informations about the differents cards ? 

Ignatius, don't worry. My spoken-english is not very good, but I understand it very well ! It's very nice of you to care about it ! 
I will try to speak a normal french, because I have a very strong accent from my region, and sometimes it is difficult for my french friends, so imagine for a québéquois  "Canadians don't shoot each other." hahaha, it's cool, because my mother is a very anxious women. So anxious that she did not want me to go to the US (we wanted to do Lousiana/Mississipi, Georgia, Tennesse, and South Carolina), because "you know, they always shoot each other. the US are NOT a safe place." 

I looked "Poutine." Well, first, maybe I'm a little influenced by the fact that I really don't like Poutine (the president), haha, and second, ... well... It doesn't look good... Who had this idea ?! I will try it of course, because I like trying new foods but... Well... Wait and see x) 

[Norseman82]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC1f2e6Kk7c

[Nihil Obstat]

Poutine is heavenly. Let nobody tell you otherwise.  

Comfort food at its finest.

[Nihil Obstat]

Poutine is heavenly. Let nobody tell you otherwise.  

Comfort food at its finest.

[truthfinder]

Just make sure the poutine is with cheese curds not mozzarella. I'll post the transit links and some more tax info later. 

[truthfinder]

Alright, here's the link for Montreal's transit http://www.stm.info/en/info/fares

-and for Ottawa http://www.octranspo1.com/tickets-and-passes

something I forgot - the weekly fare in Montreal can only be bought for Monday to Sunday.  Otherwise other combinations of transit have to be loaded onto the opus card - the fee collector can help you sort this out at the station or from the website.  Also, when I was in Montreal you had to pay for the Opus card itself and then the fare.  The opus card had to be bought in cash (but it will stay valid for something like four years) - so make sure you've got enough CAD to buy fares, etc.  

And on taxes: in Ontario (Ottawa), tax is a harmonized sales tax which means  on just about everything, there is 13% tax.  In Quebec it's a combination between a federal and provincial sales tax, and being unique, the provincial sales tax is on top of the federal tax (ie, they tax the tax).  It works out to about 15% total; however, there are some small exemptions, like books and some food, where you'll only pay the the federal (gst) tax.  Hotel/motels also typically have their own taxes and surcharges.  Since you're not used to it being in the price, always estimate that something will end up costing about 15% more than what's the listed price. 

[MarysLittleFlower]

I'm going one month in Québec, this year, alone with a friend. Is there any canadian here ? We will stay in Québec : Montréal, Ottawa, and in the countryside. 

I have ton of questions :D 

 So, first, do I need to speak english ? or just my good french ? 
Is there any thing, that I shall do or not to do ? I know that french tourist are arrogant and disrespectfull and I don't want to be. And my friend How are people here ? 
How is seen drinking ? Smoking ? 
Do I need to give a lot of tip like in the US and other country, or can I never tip, like in France, Spain, Italy... ? 
What are interesting place to see ? 
Where should I eat :D ? Have a drink ? 
Where can I go to mass ? 
Is there subject that you can't speak about ? Can I speak about De Gaulle ? I looooove him but with "vive le québec libre", I don't know if he is loved or not. Is it like in the US where you can/should speak about monney, or more like in France where it is seen as rude ? 

Thaaaaaaaaaaanks you all ! 

​I live in Canada I'll try to answer as much as I can!

In Ottawa you can get away with English or French (French alone is okay - many people in public service are required to be bilingual, but not everyone on the street might understand you). In Quebec, I'd recommend just using French.

People are generally friendly, I don't know if there's anything "not to do" that you wouldn't usually do anyway...

drinking is accepted but there are some laws maybe about not drinking in parks?? I'm not sure to be honest because I don't drink, but it's something I heard about. People generally would drink in a restaurant. Smoking on the street is tolerated but there are areas a person can't smoke - anywhere near the bus stations, etc... there are usually signs.

Tipping is the norm... around 15 percent. Pretty much everyone I know tips but only at restaurants. You don't have to tip at a coffee place etc. Only if there's an actual waitress.

In Ottawa I'd visit the Notre Dame cathedral, St Patrick's basilica is a "popular place" for Catholics and has a cool Catholic bookstore, there's also a Latin Mass parish called St Clement's for anyone into that or just interested. For tourism, people generally tour the Parliament hill and maybe the art gallery... to be honest it's not very exciting if you're from Europe. I mean it's a smaller city, and you probably have seen way more extensive art galleries or museums. A nice place to eat.. I'm not sure what kind of stuff you like... there's a nice restaurant in Gatineau (just across the border to Quebec) called Buffet des Continents.

In Montreal, I'd definitely see the Oratory and tomb of St Brother Andre there are also some really nice churches around the city and the area of montreal known as "old montreal" with the cobble stone streets and more "European" architecture is probably the most interesting.

In Quebec city - again I mostly just like the old part of the city... there are also some old battle related forts and things to see. The place I want to go to there is the tomb of Blessed Dina Belanger, just to add more Catholic things to see.

Regarding subjects... I wouldn't talk about money. I don't think it's considered polite here. I don't know if it is talked about in the US or only by some US tourists.. but mostly people just do "small talk" - things like "It's a nice day today", "good to meet you", etc. People generally try to be polite/friendly.

Hope that helps! God bless!

[MarysLittleFlower]

oh yes in Ottawa you can try the dessert "beaver tails" if you like friend sweet things, or poutine. You can see the Rideau canal too. Sometimes they have things like the tulip festival but that's in May.. in the winter people skate on the canal.

[MarysLittleFlower]

French is vital in Quebec once you are away from the touristy areas,

the standard tip in north america is 15%

there are four basilicas in Montreal, two in Ottawa. all are worth visiting. Ste-anne-de-beaupre and Madeline du Cap are good places to visit as well

In Ottawa you should eat at The Fish Market. they have a very large selection of fresh fish you can choose from. For a drink go to the Highlander Pub or the Earl of Sussex pub.

in Ottawa go to Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica or St. Clement's

​yes to St Clement's especially :D

both parishes are bilingual... Notre Dame has French Masses too. St Clement's has priests  that speak English and French and the Sunday Masses have homilies in both languages (the liturgy is in Latin ;)).

Edited June 3, 2015 by MarysLittleFlower

[MarysLittleFlower]

No, I'm going to Montréal, Ottawa, and then the countryside of Québec (the... region ?), but not Québec City ! 

Cool for the french, because my english is terrible when I need to speak it ! 
I'm writing all the churches. 
Fish market, good ! 

Thank you all ! 

​oh sorry  I thought you meant Quebec city! In Quebec I'd see the miraculous statue that opened its eyes... Notre Dame du Cap. And also the St Anne de Beaupre shrine.

[MarysLittleFlower]

Thank you for all your usefull answer, truthfinder ! 

I just have some other questions again. 

Are the price writed with or without taxes ? 
is life cheap or expensive ? 
Generally, are the city, bus, etc... wheelchair-friendly ? I need a wheelchair for long-distance walking, but if it is not wheelchair-friendly at all, I can make an effort and walk. 
Do you know which national park (around Montréal and Ottawa) is the best to visit ? And to do camping ? 
Are the Musée Grévin and the Musée des Beaux arts de Montréal worth it ? 

Pia Jesus, Totus is a good name too, so I forgive you :D I will be in St Joseph oratory, promise  

​prices are without taxes... taxes get added at the cash register. Usually if something is a dollar, with tax it would be like dollar and fifteen cents. There are no pennies anymore so if you're paying cash, it gets rounded to the next digit, if you're paying debit or credit, you pay the actual amount... I don't know if this makes any sense.. .let's say you buy a meal for $8.23. If you're paying cash they'd make it 8.25 - round it to the next digit. If you're paying debit, it would be 8.23 still. Just in case you get confused when paying for things

I don't know how to answer if life is cheap or expensive, because I don't know how it compares to where you're from. For example when I visited the country my family is from, some things were very cheap but for them it was expensive or moderate. For Canadians, it's just moderate, - at least in Ottawa - I don't know about other places.

The buses are definitely wheelchair friendly and so is much of the city. Some places have stairs but a number of places have accommodated for wheelchairs. The buses are very wheelchair friendly though!

The national park near Ottawa that most people know is Gatineau hills. I hear there are bears there though

Sorry haven't been to the Montreal museums!

[MarysLittleFlower]

Just a heads up about St. Joseph - I can't remember the details, but you'll certainly want to inquire about accessibility.  It's a very steep climb to the oratory itself, I do believe there is a shuttle.  

The really touristy areas will be more expensive, especially for food.  Also, old Montreal is very beautiful, but the cobblestones are brutal - you would probably not be able to get a wheelchair over them.  I saw several bicyclists have to dismount for fear of getting their wheels stuck between the stones. In Montreal, I'd suggest getting an "opus" card for transit if you're going to be there for more than a couple days (you can load a three day pass, week pass, etc on to it) and it makes transit easy.  In Ottawa, you can get a Presto card, but I preferred getting individual tickets (partially because if i recall correctly, there were only a couple stations where you could actually get a Presto card; tickets and other passes can be bought in many different corner stores). BTW, Opus cards work on a couple different communities' bus systems.  

​yes that is true about the Montreal streets and wheelchairs..

about Ottawa and buses - yes the options are Presto card or individual tickets, you can also pay cash. Cash for a ticket is 3.45, and if you buy a ticket it's 3 (you'll need 2 because one ticket is 1.50 around). If you want a Presto card you can get one at Rideau mall at the "OC Transpo" location at the top floor (probably the best location to get it because it's downtown), but tickets can be usually bought at some Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall pharmacy, etc. If all else fails, just use cash but make sure you get a transfer.

[MarysLittleFlower]

Oh, I hate when prices are writed without taxes. My poor brain has to do too much math ! 

Cobblestone are a living hell  I found a website about the accessibility of Montréal :D I will be in Montréal for a week, so I will get a cards, thanks. Is there a website about public transport, with all the informations about the differents cards ? 

Ignatius, don't worry. My spoken-english is not very good, but I understand it very well ! It's very nice of you to care about it ! 
I will try to speak a normal french, because I have a very strong accent from my region, and sometimes it is difficult for my french friends, so imagine for a québéquois  "Canadians don't shoot each other." hahaha, it's cool, because my mother is a very anxious women. So anxious that she did not want me to go to the US (we wanted to do Lousiana/Mississipi, Georgia, Tennesse, and South Carolina), because "you know, they always shoot each other. the US are NOT a safe place." 

I looked "Poutine." Well, first, maybe I'm a little influenced by the fact that I really don't like Poutine (the president), haha, and second, ... well... It doesn't look good... Who had this idea ?! I will try it of course, because I like trying new foods but... Well... Wait and see x) 

​haha.. to be honest I don't know if you'd like poutine. It's the type of thing you'd like if you like French fries - the American version of it. It's probably very different from European food and I'm not sure if I'd like it if I was from Europe... but it's very popular here for some reason.