Capitalize on Québec

Quick! What is Canada's capital city? (Hint: It's not Toronto). If you find yourself there on a weeknight for a stopover, the best suggestion I have, after you have strolled around the Parliament buildings, is to walk across the Alexandra bridge to the adjoining province of Québec! From there, grab a cab to Casino du Lac-Leamy, try out your French, and you can say you've been to Québec. Ottawa is a capital city with a small town heart, but proximity to French-speaking Québec gives it a bit of an edge.

Two weeks ago, a colleague and I, to compensate for her disappointment in Ottawa's lack of night life, did just that. If we had more time or more sense of adventure we could have made it all the way to Montréal, but it was sufficient to say we went beyond the provincial bounds of Ottawa. Vive la belle province!