A bartender at Quebec City’s fashionable L’EChaude restaurant expresses mock indignation when a visitor asks how Quebec’s capital compares with the province’s largest city, Montreal. “They are not truly French,” the bartender says, conveniently overlooking the fact that as a Canadian, neither is he. “In Montreal, people speak French 50, maybe 55, percent of the time.” He steps back from the bar and folds his arms to proclaim, “Here, we speak French 95 percent of the time.”

Welcome to Quebec, the only Canadian province whose sole official language is French, only a short hop from the U.S. border, yet culturally worlds way. Indeed, the language and the lifestyle in this Eastern Canadian province are reminiscent of the motherland across the Atlantic. There is an authenticity of experience here that fools travelers into thinking they’re traveling not in Canada but in France itself.

It’s no faux French either. English does not even rank as an official language in Quebec, and though English is spoken with fluency in the big cities, things can get more challenging in the province’s hinterlands. A waiter in the village of La Bai apparently must have owned a French-English dictionary too heavy for him to heft, because each time we asked the English equivalent of a menu item, he trotted off to the kitchen and returned with the translation. The fact that he did so gladly was a clear indication that we were not in France.

Snobbery (that unfortunate French attribute) is conspicuously absent in Quebec; friendly people and genuine hospitality are not. Even locals who struggle with English are happy to give directions and advice.

Extending the spirit of generosity to their bottom lines, many Montreal restaurants even invite patrons to “apportez votre vin,” or “bring your own bottle of wine,” making the cost of meals with wine ridiculously inexpensive when compared to what you would pay for similar meals with wine elsewhere.

Nearly 400 years after the French explorer Champlain sailed along the St. Lawrence River to pitch camp at what would become Quebec City, French Canadians still hold France in high esteem. Today, 82 percent of the population speaks French in this North American crossroads between America and Europe.

Cruise “turn arounds” provide a great opportunity to spend time in the area before or after your cruise. Combine Montreal with a three-hour train journey to or from Quebec City, then rent a car to drive to Saguenay.

Seldom will U.S. travelers have the opportunity of being so close to a place that seems so far. It’s like having France in the backyard.

If there is one phrase that characterizes Quebec, it is ‘et pourquoi pas?’ The phrase, which translates to ‘and why not?’ seems to be on the tip of every Quebecer’s tongue.

It is a ready response of permissiveness and tolerance, a defender of an important concept — the joie de vivre or ‘joy of living’ — that is alive and thriving in Quebec.

And no place more so than in Montreal, a metropolitan city of 2 million where anything and everything goes. ‘We don’t care if you’re straight, gay, whatever,’ says Aline Bernier, a Montreal city guide. ‘We’re very open to all people and lifestyles.’ (In 2006, both Traveler’s Digest and AskMen.com ranked Montreal as the world’s number one city to live in for its culture, architecture, history and ambience.)

That tolerance perhaps explains why Montreal is so good at welcoming visitors. Stroll down almost any street to feel the palpable city vibe. Sidewalk cafes spill over with patrons sipping coffee or glasses of wine or champagne (et pourquoi pas?), cyclists pedal along sections of the city’s 400 miles of biking trails, shoppers crowd boutiques and shops both above, and below, ground. That’s right: below ground. With 22 miles of mazes and walkways, Montreal boasts the world’s largest underground city.

Indeed, Montreal is a city of dual identities — an above ground metropolis and an underground city within a city; the French joie de vivre mixed with North American pragmatism; modern architecture (UNESCO designated Montreal a ‘City of Design’) mixed with a well-preserved historic quarter.

To put yourself in the center of it all, check in at the Intercontinental Montreal, a five-star hotel situated in the International Quarter and also linked to the Underground City. Or plant yourself at Hotel St. James. If nothing else, stop in the St. James to admire its grand architecture and perhaps take afternoon tea or a bite at XO Le Restaurant.

The second largest French-speaking city after Paris, Montreal fools visitors into thinking they’ve arrived in France, but without accompanying jetlag or expense. And snobbery (that unfortunate French attribute) is conspicuously absent in Montreal; friendly people and genuine hospitality are not. Even locals who struggle with English are happy to give directions and advice. They are Canadians, after all.

It’s an easy walk from either hotel to ‘Old Montreal,’ where the city was founded in 1642. (For arriving cruise passengers the cruise terminal also is located only a few blocks from the hotel and Old Montreal.) Find your way to Rue Saint-Paul, ‘the street’ where it all happens, our guide Celine tells us as we walk along the cobblestone roadway.

You can drop in the Tourist Information Center or visit the official web site before leaving home for suggestions on what to see, but simply to walk and absorb the ambience is a sufficiently pleasurable experience.

Old Montreal embodies the many periods of the city’s history: the winding paths of the former French colony, 18th- and 19th-century architecture and the first Canadian skyscrapers. Architects came here from nearby Boston and other cities south of the Canadian border, so you’ll see a lot of American influence.

The center of Old Montreal is Place Jacques-Cartier, named for the explorer who founded the city. Walk to the top of the square to the monument of Admiral Nelson for superb views of the old port, then make your way down the festive sloping street past street artists, musicians, jugglers, mimes, face painters and other entertainers. Stop in a sidewalk cafe for lunch, a light snack, coffee or cocktail.

Recommendations in the area include: Restaurant du Vieux Port (good and reasonably priced), or if you’re willing to spend a bit more, Auberge de Saint-Gabriel or the unique Jardin Nelson, with its beautiful gardens.

For a romantic, five-star dinner, hail a taxi for Casino de Montreal on Notre-Dame Island. Dine at Restaurant Nuances, awarded the 5-Diamond Award by the Canadian and U.S. AAA/CAA associations.

On one day of your visit, hop on a bicycle at Caroule Montreal on Wheels and ask the shop’s owner to direct you on a flat 25-mile ride along the canals.

Break for lunch at Atwater Market, where you can pick up some cheese (La Fromagerie has more than 400 types of cheese from France and Quebec) and bread (from Premiere Moisson Bakery where the croissants are also tasty) and fresh vegetables. And that bottle of champagne you’re eyeing? As any Montrealer would tell you, ‘Et pourquoi pas?’

Montreal is an Avid Cruiser Recommended Destination On Saint Lawrence Cruise Itineraries.

While many travelers embark on Canada/New England cruises for the blazing fall foliage, few water-bound travelers venture all the way down the St. Lawrence Seaway to end their cruises in Quebec (cruises, of course, also start in Quebec). From Boston, our cruise called on Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Saguenay Fjord; and Quebec City before ending in Montreal. Of those ports, I had been only to Halifax, which I loved.

A few years ago, I stepped into the cruise terminal in Halifax and sneezed, causing no fewer than five Nova Scotians to look up and reply, ‘Bless you.’ My feet had been planted only a few minutes on Canadian soil, and yet it appeared what the Scottish hairdresser working for Princess Cruises told me just might be true — that the people in Halifax were the nicest people she had ever met in a port. Step off the ship, and people politely offer you directions, maps and literature about the area — without trying to sell you anything at all.

But even as an avid cruiser, I had not given Quebec a lot of thought until The Avid Cruiser’s Summer 2005 issue, when Holland America Line Captain Jonathan Mercer chose Quebec City as his favorite port to sail into. It took me going there to see why Captain Mercer made his choice.

Known as the ‘most European city in North America,’ Quebec City is perhaps the most romantic city in North America too. Pitch camp at the legendary Le Chateau Frontenac, dine on fine cuisine at sidewalk cafes over a bottle of French wine, step into a horse-drawn carriage and listen to the clack of hooves on narrow cobblestone streets. The language, the lifestyle, the cuisine — nothing suggested we were just a few hours from the U.S. border.

Montreal was equally enchanting. The two cities, in fact, rank among the best I have ever visited. I liked them so much that I found myself looking for apartments to rent, a hazard of my profession.

I loved Saguenay too. I found it charming and relaxing and other-worldly. Life there seemed to revolve around the fjord and the fresh breezes off the water. As noted in one of the preceding stories, a hotel receptionist in La Baie, said of the Saguenay lifestyle, ‘We know how to breathe.’ That’s an important attribute that residents in few other places in the world can claim.

If you’ve read the stories preceding this one, it should be apparent that I also loved Quebec because it has many of the positive aspects of being in France — and none of the negative ones.

There’s no jetlag, as Quebec is only a short flight from most U.S. gateways. And although the Canadian dollar was gaining strength against the U.S. dollar when I was there and when this article went to press, Quebec is still a bargain when compared to most of Continental Europe. The fact that you can bring your own bottle of wine to many restaurants also makes Quebec even more of a bargain.

While my intention is not to bash France, comparisons are necessary with two places that are so much alike — and so very different. Quebec has none of the snobbery that many tourists attribute to France, deserved or not. Quebecers, in fact, are some of the friendliest and most hospitable people I’ve ever met.

If you’re ending or beginning a cruise in Quebec, you owe it to yourself to add a week (two nights in Montreal, three nights in Quebec City, and two nights in Saguenay). And if not, then it’s time to begin planning. Don’t do what I did and put off visiting Quebec. If you do, you’ll want to kick yourself for waiting so long.