English isn’t Québec’s first language, but the province’s great cities of Quebec and Montreal only benefit from the French connection. Meanwhile, places like Mont-Tremblant, the Laurentian Mountains, Saguenay Fjord and Gaspé Peninsula have a beauty that is pure Canadian.

Vive le difference. The province of Québec has a history and a modern-day continental flavour that sets it apart from any other region in Canada. Whilst strolling round the elegant byways of Quebec City you will find its French origins are constantly re-affirmed; in the French language shop and street signs and in the traditional architecture. Quebec City, for instance, is the only city in the entire of North America that still has its original town wall fortifications. Whilst Montreal is a symphony of tile-hung towers and steeply-raked roofs that wouldn’t look out of place in Rouen or Paris.