If you like cold weather vacations, or even if you don't, Quebec is the place to be when snow flurries fall and people bundle up. Never mind that the rest of the continent may stay inside during the coldest and darkest time of year, Quebecers ignore the inconvenience and think nothing of it. In fact, they celebrate the winter like no other place.

Quebec is Canada's largest province, and its resorts draw skiers who enjoy the apres-ski adventures as much as their swift downhill ride. Add in cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing, and it is hard to resist winter's charms. Afterward, warm up with a libation at one of the local watering holes or relax with a soothing spa treatment.

Quebec City, provincial capital, with its narrow historic streets, superb setting, and Victorian buildings, is the perfect place for holiday cheer. Its historic district is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Quebec City celebrates Christmas for 20 days, from the second week of December through the turning of a calendar page into the new year. You can be sure to have a white Christmas with carolers strolling the streets and street performers enchanting both young and not so young. Shops and homes twinkle with holiday lights and good cheer. Picture yourself warm and cozy under a fur blanket as you enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh ride in Canada's oldest city.

Nativity scenes from many countries are a highlight at Bibliotheque Gabrielle-Roy, and you can visit an outdoor creche by lantern, leaving from Moulin des Jesuites on Friday and Saturday nights.

Throughout December, the city's museums go all out for the holidays. Six Associates Historic Guided Tours will lead you back in time to a Victorian Christmas, as you learn how your ancestors celebrated. Or observe the season with a cruise down the St. Lawrence River aboard the M/S Louis Jolliet.

Is Christmas ever complete without "The Nutcracker" ballet? The Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal performs the Tchaikovsky classic at the Grand Theatre de Quebec. It is almost as much fun to watch the audience, where youngsters with eyes wide are thrilled to see toys spring to life.

Beginning in early October right through New Year's celebrations, Noel Hamel is the place to go for Canada's largest collection of holiday decorations from around the world.

On a hill overlooking the St. Lawrence River is the historic Chateau Frontenac, with bundles of Old World charm. The Chateau is an easy funicular ride from the top of the hill (Upper Town) down to the center of Old Town. The funicular lets you off at the Petit Champlain — the oldest commercial street on the continent — near boutiques and gift shops in Lower Town.

Quebec City doesn't slow down after the holidays; in fact, the holiday fun is the opening act for carnival. For more than a half-century, the Quebec Winter Carnival — the biggest in the world — (Jan. 30-Feb. 15, 2009) has enchanted locals and visitors with 300 shows and activities, sports competitions, family fun, a children's village, and two night parades. The 2009 theme is Masquerade, with costumed characters appearing throughout the carnival.

Competitions include snow sculpture, dogsled races, canoe races, soapbox derby and a sleigh race. The popular Snow Bath features intrepid folks, wearing only swimsuits making quick dips in snow banks. Non-competitive folks have plenty to do, too — from a flapjack breakfast to dance parties, from sleigh rides to enjoying the outdoor movie theatre.

Quebec City has just spent a year celebrating its 400th anniversary, but you can be sure that the parties and special museum exhibits will continue through the winter.

Montreal, Quebec's largest city, about 170 miles from Quebec City, is no stranger to snow. It gets about 100 inches a year, and holds its winter festival —Fete des neiges — usually in late January, and a Festival Montreal en Lumiere (High Lights Festival), Feb. 19-March 1, 2009. The High Lights Festival is a 10-day orgy of activities involving ballet and other performing arts, cuisine, ice shows, and dazzling light shows. It concludes with the All Nighter, where 100,000 night owls party through the night, with dozens of activities to choose from. The Quays of the Old Port of Montreal has fire and ice — sparkling fireworks that reflect off the ice as you skate outdoors. Skaters enjoy the rink all winter, and the fireworks (during High Lights Festival) add drama and excitement.

A different type of attraction is the Sir George-Etienne Cartier House National Historic Site. It is both educational and festive, as they present the holiday magic of a Victorian Christmas from Nov. 12-Dec. 21. The house is bedecked as it would have been in the 1860s, with period decorations and gifts, and a theatrical presentation reveals the origins of holiday traditions.

Indoors or out, there is no shortage of merry winter entertainment throughout the province. Quebecers do not let Mother Nature's gift of snow and bone-chilling temperatures stop them from celebrating boisterously. You can join their merriment and at off-peak prices. The air may be cold, but your welcome will be warm.

IF YOU GO

For more information: www.bonjourquebec.com.

Kay Grant is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.