In an era of high-speed technologies and relationships, “wellness” tourism, slow travel and religious tourism are part of a global trend that’s growing fast; according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), this generates annual revenues of $300 million worldwide.
To meet the needs of all these travellers seeking renewal, tranquillity and inner peace, Ulysses Travel Guides, in collaboration with Québec’s National Shrines, Tourisme Québec, Tourisme Montréal and Canada Economic Development, is publishing a unique guide, in French and English versions, for exploring the spiritual and religious places that are found throughout Québec’s regions: Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec. Whether or not you’re a believer, this is a wonderful invitation to immerse yourself in unique experiences.
Spiritual escapes into Québec’s most beautiful natural spaces
All in colour and strewn with magnificent photographs that reveal the beauty of Québec’s natural sites and the richness of its religious history and heritage, Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec offers a series of itineraries that showcase spiritual places, holy sites and places of worship such as shrines, churches, cemeteries, Ways of the Cross, pilgrimage routes and temples of various denominations. The guide also draws attention to new forms of tourism that offer spiritual experiences through personal renewal, encounters and communion with nature.
Québec’s five major national shrines figure prominently among the 15 itineraries proposed in the guide: Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal in Montréal, Our Lady of the Cape Shrine in Trois-Rivières, Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine and Ermitage Saint-Antoine de Lac-Bouchette in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.
Other tours wind their way through Québec’s various regions, with carefully-chosen photos shining a light on superb landscapes, archived documents and historic figures.
Starting in Montréal, one journey focuses on the “builders of the Christian Faith,” while “The Many Faiths of Greater Montréal” looks at more recent times. Then we travel through Québec City to get a closer look at its rich religious heritage, and on to the “Along the Water” tour, which journeys through the regions of Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie.
A guide for all lovers of history, art and religious heritage
The guide is for everyone—believers and non-believers. In fact, who hasn’t visited a church, a temple or a shrine while on a trip to Québec or further afield? If you need proof, just look at the keen interest people have in the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Europe, which attracts ever-larger throngs.
Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec will fascinate travellers from outside Québec just as much as residents of the province—in fact anyone interested in heritage, history, architecture and the arts. It will also please those whose travels are motivated by their faith, and those seeking personal growth and introspection.
About the author, Siham Jamaa
“The religious and spiritual journey is filled with emotion, because it responds to a profound quest. It’s a form of travel in which individuals aspire to be better people and seek to achieve their full potential. In my eyes, the fact that I can facilitate this process by participating in the research and understanding of Québec’s emblematic sites, symbols and figures, is a unique contribution. Paying tribute to these transformative travel experiences in which the chaos of everyday life evaporates to make room for contemplation and introspection makes me extremely happy.” [Translation]
Following studies in the scientific field and a career in investment banking lasting more than 10 years, Siham Jamaa completed an MBA in International Tourism that propelled her into the world of travel. Since then, she has acted as a sentinel, a researcher and a trendspotter, always keeping a finger on the pulse of this ever-evolving worldwide industry, working mainly for the Transat Chair in Tourism at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).
There she paid close attention to, analyzed and wrote texts on a variety of themes, in particular about spiritual and religious tourism, new technologies, sustainable development and the casino industry. Today, she finds herself particularly interested in trends in the entertainment field.
About Ulysses Travel Guides
A bookseller and publisher specialized in travel, outdoor and lifestyle activities, Ulysses Travel Guides offers a vast selection of travel guides in paper and digital formats. Ulysses has two travel bookstores in Montréal, located at 4176 Rue Saint-Denis (Mont-Royal metro station), and 560 Avenue du Président-Kennedy (McGill metro station). Its travel guides can also be purchased
online at www.ulyssesguides.com and www.guidesulysse.com.
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