Walking down Rue Saint-Joseph in the revitalized Saint-Roch district of Québec, the frigid air swirled around me as it snaked its way along the snow-covered avenue. But wrapped snugly inside my thermal underwear and down parka, the cold was nothing more than a minor inconvenience as I completed some of my Christmas shopping. And in the absolute stillness of the snowy scene, the sounds of the city were so far away I could almost hear the snowflakes softly hitting the sleeves of my jacket.

Winter Wanderlust
I'd come to this frozen part of the continent to experience a truly "white Christmas" in the Québec Province of Canada, and our northern neighbor seemed like a perfect match. Getting there is easy and relatively inexpensive, plus the U.S. dollar — weakening in other parts of the world — is still worth about 20 percent more in Canada than at home. And though most of the area's inhabitants speak English, the fact that French is their native language provided me with the opportunity to feel like I'd traveled much farther than the eastern corner of North America.

My journey had begun several days earlier in Montréal, where an easy connection through Newark brought me to the Pierre–Elliott–Trudeau airport, a short half-hour drive from downtown.

Walk This Way The underground pedestrian walkways in Montréal can be mind-bogglingly complicated, but they are a great option in winter. Don't be afraid to stop and ask directions as often as you need to, and remember that you can always head outside to get your bearings.

Located at the same latitude as such cities as Venice, Milan, Geneva and Lyons, it seems fitting that Montréal should carry with it such a European flair. Its nearly 2 million residents (the majority of whom speak French) make Montréal the second-largest French-speaking city in the world outside Paris. But amazingly, it's located only 45 miles from the U.S. border — with crossings in New York and Vermont — each only an hour from the downtown area.

Arriving at my lodgings, the recently renovated Hotel XIX Siécle (Hotel 19th Century), I stepped gingerly across the frozen sidewalks and up the steps of the former Canada District and Savings Bank, built in 1870. Warm and inviting, the hotel's greatest strength is its location, which is within easy walking distance of the Montréal Convention Center, the International Quarters, Place Jacques-Cartier and Montréal's famed underground walkways.

Going Underground
The weather was definitely a factor in my decision to shoot right for the underground pedestrian walkway — a vast network of interconnected routes beneath the city's streets. More than 175 entrances access the walkways, which spread out over 20 miles and link 10 subway stations, 62 buildings, seven hotels, 1700 shops, 200 restaurants and 40 movie theaters. It's estimated that more than a half-million people travel throughout the underground "city" every day.

I spent a few hours wandering around, dropping into various boutiques and sampling the occasional French pastry, and I quickly came to realize that getting lost was relatively easy; but since I was planning to end up at a well-known location, I just kept asking for directions every time I got turned around. Eventually I made my way to the exit that would deliver me as close as possible to Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal's Museum of Archaeology and History.

Pointe-à-Callière is a national historic site and is the impetus behind the museum's new permanent exhibit "Where Montréal Was Born." A tour route enables visitors to enter the bowels of the building to view portions of the city that were excavated over 10-plus years. As you walk under vaulted stone tunnels that carried the city's water supply and view the remnants of an ancient cemetery, you'll also see a variety of objects that were unearthed throughout the years.

With Christmas looming on the horizon (and undoubtedly because Québec Province is a predominantly Catholic region), the museum was hosting a special event for school-age children called "Who Is the Real Santa Claus?" As children pass through the museum's archaeological areas, four costumed "Santas" greet them in English and in French. St. Nicholas (from Turkey), Babushka (from Russia), la Befana (from Italy) and finally our own Santa Claus explain to the little ones how Christmas is celebrated in their country and good-humouredly vie for the title of the "real" Santa.
  >>> NEXT: CELINE DION, MONTRÉAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, A FRENCH CONNECTION AND MORE...

Top photograph by Erin Caslavka; bottom photograph courtesy of Montréal's Museum of Archaeology and History