C’est le fun! 

UK delegates will feel right at home in Canada’s most European city. The twisting cobbled streets of Old Quebec are a delight to explore, while the meetings and incentive product is modern, vibrant and fun.

As a place where rich history and classical grandeur meets forward thinking and creativity, there is more than enough to suit every palate.

I explored Quebec City from the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, the city’s most famous hotel. The 610-room, 18-floor hotel towers majestically over Old Quebec and the Saint Lawrence river, exuding status and style. As one of Canada’s great railway hotels it has hosted countless famous names since opening in 1893, including Queen Elizabeth II, Alfred Hitchcock, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt. Put it this way: if you went to Quebec City and you weren’t staying in the Frontenac, you’d soon wish you were.

The Grand Ballroom is a stunning option for up to 1,000 guests, boasting elegant décor and distinguished architecture, including 10 chandeliers - one for each province of Canada. We had a dinner for 50, the two long banqueting tables at the centre of a stunning light and sound show with endless branding possibilities on offer.

Fusing 19th century grandeur with modern style thanks to a recent refurbishment, Quebec City’s parliament building Le Parlementaire is also available for event hire. Once past the airport style security (which adds a touch of prestige to the evening, we agreed) you can have a reception in the grandly decorated main lobby area before heading through for dinner, where we were whisked back to a golden age of glamour by a jazz singer, complete with backing band and dancers.

The Québec City Convention Centre is a 9,000-capacity venue for conferences, exhibitions and meetings of all kinds. Boasting more than 27,000 sqm of total space, including 12,450 sqm of exhibition space, it’s bolstered by having indoor passageways that link directly to a pair of four star hotels, the Hilton Québec and Delta Québec, with a total of 948 rooms between them.

While the city is a year-round playground, winter offers a particularly choice array of delights for event planners. The annual Winter Carnival is the largest event of its kind in the world, and the carnival’s beaming snowman mascot Bonhomme is inescapable all over town every February. We were treated to a special after-hours visit to the carnival with an appearance from Bonhomme himself – it’s worth speaking to the convention bureau to find out what’s possible.

A short transfer from the city centre away lies North America's only ice hotel, the Hôtel de Glace. Built from scratch every year, the whole hotel is indeed sculpted entirely out of ice, each room coming with a different theme, with something to suit every taste. The bar serves refreshing vodka cranberry, as you’d imagine - ice-cold, while those staying the night have a room booked in the hotel next door as well, just in case you’re not quite in touch with your inner Queen Elsa and the cold does bother you anyway…

The Sugar Shack experience at Érablière du Lac-Beauport will live long in the memory of your delegates. Whisk them up to the densely wooded hills, first for a quick guide to making maple syrup and then through into the country style shack where a bespoke band will get a hoedown going while the group tucks into traditional fayre such as pie, hotpot, sausages and hash browns – all doused in free-flowing maple syrup. There’s more maple syrup for dessert, before heading outside for activities such as axe-throwing, snow-shoeing and log-sawing. Then it’s time to round things off with a beer or a boozy hot chocolate around the campfire, and try to stave off the sugar rush. As indulgences go, it’s hard to beat.

Intrepid delegates should be directed towards the Canot à Glace Experience, otherwise known as ice kayaking. Described as Canada’s most brutal sport, an hour or two spent pushing a huge metal boat across an icy river makes for a bracing and rewarding team building experience. Alternatively, you can take delegates ice climbing at the Montmorency Falls, where under expert tutelage, they can be scaling the face of a 1km high glacier within minutes.

The Strøm Nordic Spa in Old Quebec is a truly relaxing option for delegates to spend a morning or afternoon unwinding in style. Individual treatments such as Swedish massage and facials are available, while the hot and cold waters of the spa make for a thoroughly invigorating experience. I lay on the edge of the infinity pool overlooking the Saint Lawrence river and felt like I was floating off downstream.

Any visit to Quebec City wouldn’t be complete without a quick ride on the Tobaggan Slide, a tourist attraction since 1884 and a great deal quicker than it looks. Just a five minute walk from the Château Frontenac, as you haul your toboggan up the snowy steps it quickly becomes clear those screams from the riders ahead of you are real, as is the adrenalin rush as you rattle down the 140-year old course.

As a journalist, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy some stunning meals over the years – and the reception and dinner at Tanière is right up there. We were ushered through an unremarkable enough door in Quebec City’s old town into a coolly-lit den of gastronomic wonder.

From sea cabbage cocktails to foie gras and oyster canapes, we were treated to a real group discovery experience. Then once seated, the real magic began, as course after course of magic and theatre emerged from the kitchen, all with stunning matching wines. Before one course, we were presented with a cushion that held a key for each diner, which unlocked a drawer in our table, inside which was a clue in poem form as to the content of the next course… which turned out to be champagne and caviar. Magical all the way down.

"With its rich 400-year history, European charm, four-season adventures and incredible foodie scene, Québec City is one of the most coveted cities for meetings and events," says Ann Cantin, director of communication and marketing at Québec City Business Destination and Québec City Convention Centre.

"It truly offers a mesmerising backdrop for events and incentive programs in addition to event venues that can welcome more intimate business meetings all the way to sports competitions and international conferences.

"Along with this unique setting, Québec City is also great for business. With strong technology, life science and nutrition industries, Québec City fosters economic development thanks to a robust ecosystem between innovative infrastructures, businesses and research centres."