The world's largest winter carnival and one of the most joyful arguments for embracing cold rather than hiding from it. Two weeks of ice sculpture competitions, night parades, snow slides, canoe racing across the St Lawrence ice floes, and the iconic ice palace built each year at Parliament Hill. The mascot Bonhomme presides. The entire old city of Québec — already one of North America's most beautiful — becomes a winter playground. Night temperatures hit -20°C. Nobody cares. The glühwein helps.
The canoe race across the partly-frozen St Lawrence is genuinely spectacular to watch. Dress in extreme layers — this is serious cold. The old walled city itself is the backdrop and it's breathtaking under snow.