Québec Winter Wonderland

Seven nights in Quebec in winter, built around one night that most people would not otherwise book.

Montreal opens it with two nights, and the city in winter is a different proposition from the summer version: frost on the bistro windows, snow on the cobbles and gabled roofs of the old town, and an underground network of thirty kilometres that exists precisely because of the weather.

The Hotel de Glace is the centrepiece. It is the only ice hotel in North America, built entirely from snow and ice each December and melted away each spring, so the building is different every year. There is an ice bar, an ice slide and a vaulted Grand Hall, and the rooms are kept at a few degrees below zero, which is survivable in the sleeping bags provided and makes for a memorable night. One night on ice is included.

Quebec City follows, then Hotel Sacacomie, a log lodge in the forest bordering the Mastigouche wildlife reserve, looking over a lake that freezes solid, with a spa and heated outdoor hot tubs. The return to Montreal runs along the St Lawrence. Canadian Affair include the flights, the hire car, the hotels and the ice hotel night, with fuel, insurance and meals separate. The price is per person. Winter driving in Quebec requires some respect, but the roads are cleared properly and winter tyres are a legal requirement there, which is more than can be said for most of Britain. Seven nights is the right length for a winter trip of this kind, long enough for the ice hotel and the forest lodge to feel like separate experiences rather than a single novelty.