Port Profiles | Portipedia

Stockholm may just be the most beautiful city in the world to reach by water. The journey begins nearly 50 miles east, at the tip of a beautiful archipelago comprised of 30,000 islands, islets and rocks. Many of the islands are uninhabited, rocky outcrops that are homes only to birds. Other islands are dotted with quaint red-and-white summer cottages.

If you are in Stockholm for a few days, you surely will want to venture out to the archipelago on ships that depart from the city center. It’s about a two-hour journey to Sandhamn, a small village where you can take lunch at Sandhamns Vardshus before setting out on kayaks for smaller, uninhabited islands just a few miles away. Return to relax in the sauna before boarding the ship back to Stockholm. The experience is quintessentially Swedish and one that should not be missed.

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A few key points that you should keep in mind if you are cruising to or from Stockholm:

Most cruise passengers arrive in Stockholm at one of two places: Arlanda Airport (Stockholm serves as the initial port of departure for many cruises); or for those arriving by sea, the city center.

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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. Continue Reading »

It’s a 2.5-hour drive from Quebec City to the Saguenay region. We pointed our car toward La Baie, where we checked in to L’ Auberge des 21. Located on the shore of the Saguenay Fjord, the warm family inn also features fine regional (read: French) cuisine at a shockingly good restaurant for such a small inn. Continue Reading »

Quebec City offers beauty, fine dining and delightful diversions. And that’s just in the train station. Our three-hour train journey from Montreal to Quebec ended in what has been called ‘the most beautiful train station in North America.’ Reminiscent of similar grand terminals in Europe, Quebec City’s train station attracts those who come here not only to travel by rail but also to dine at the best steak house in town, according to our cab driver. The train station also houses a few shops and even a dentist office, should you want to dash in for a quick cleaning before the conductor calls ‘All Aboard.’ Continue Reading »

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.’

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I had traveled the world before traveling to Quebec, and if my foot could reach my behind, I would kick myself for doing so. Of all the places I have visited, Quebec surely ranks in my top ten. The irony is that I traveled halfway around the world to visit less-inspiring places when Quebec was (and is) fewer than three hours by air from my home. The French-speaking Canadian province is practically in my own backyard, and yet it took a cruise (from Boston) and 49 years to get me there. Continue Reading »