Bienvenue en Quebec! As William and Kate arrive in Montreal, we explore the region that does French better than France
…William and Kate have just landed in arguably the most surprising destination in North America.The Quebec region of eastern Canada is just a seven-hour flight from UK airports. Comprising ten provinces and two major cities, Quebec City and Montreal, it is three times larger than France, its founding country.
The language disorientates. Outside of Montreal, resolutely bilingual, French dominates. The architecture is a collision of cloud-skimming towers that this continent provided the blueprint for and older, European-style buildings, all winsome curves and curling wrought iron.
In parts, it can feel like you’ve crossed the Channel, not the Atlantic. Pâtissiers in Quebec City, 270km north of Montreal, battle it out to bake the best croissants in town…and farmers choose to preserve their French heritage by producing crème de cassis - France’s favourite blackcurrant tipple - in a country that is more famous for sapping syrup from maple trees.
A diplomatic word of advice for William and Kate though, don’t point out too many parallels between Quebec and France because while this region strictly adheres to the European country’s joie de vivre, there’s also a healthy disregard for the French.