n case you haven’t heard, Quebec City—arguably the most beautiful city in Canada—is turning 400 this year. Over the next few months the town will be experiencing an influx of tourists, costumed Opera singers, massive floating dance floors, gigantic multimedia screens and possibly even a visit from the Pope. Sure the locals will still give you dirty looks if you reveal that you don’t speak French, but for the duration of the celebration, the angry stares will be accompanied by false smiles. There won’t be a celebration this big in the city until either the 500th anniversary or the announcement of a Quebec separation from Canada.

An ongoing series of events will play throughout the rest of the summer.

Quebec City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada because it has a distinctly European feel. Streets wind into each other in confusing and exciting ways, stores and restaurants looks as though they’ve been around for centuries, horse drawn-carriages wander through the twisted backstreets, and all the locals feel nothing but contempt for Americans. If it took 8 hours on an airplane to fly to Quebec the experience of visiting the city would be identical to that of visiting Europe. It’s the perfect weekend getaway for the traveler with a fear of flying and a city that more than deserves the love that is lavished upon it by outsiders each year. The 400th anniversary of this wondrous place is more than enough reason for the city to throw a gigantic celebration, and that’s exactly what will happen.

The people of Quebec are not the type who will let something like a 400th anniversary slip by without notice, which is why they have events planned that will run from March to October and plenty of overpriced souvenirs available. The first major event will be the "Symphony of a Thousand,"(by the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec). 150 musicians and 850 singers will combine forces to make beautiful music on March 15 and not a single person in the city will be allowed to complain about the noise. Next up, will be the World Hockey Championship, which will be held in the city from May 1-15 (the ideal hockey season). The International Eucharistic Congress will follow swiftly from June15-22, and the Pope himself might even attend, preaching his superstitions to the open ears of the city.

The actual anniversary itself will occur on July 3-4 and to celebrate, the city will be holding 3 major events. The first will be a massive group mass, which is sure to please all the religious nuts. The next event will be a gigantic group photo on the Planes of Abraham that will thrill all the history geeks in the city. But the most exciting event to occur during this period has got to be the Urban Opera that will play for several nights throughout the entire city. Over 150 professional singers and 1,500 extras will be involved in the massive operatic event that will have to be seen to be believed.

As if that weren't enough, an ongoing series of events will play throughout the rest of the summer. An international fireworks competition will be held in the last few weeks of July. A series of parades called the New France Festival will run from Aug 5-10. A huge floating show will be held on massive floating dance floor on the St. Lawrence river, followed by an all night dance party on August 15. And for the entire summer (starting June 20th), a 40-minute multimedia projection will be shown on 2,000 foot long and 130 foot tall screens on the river. The show is being produced by Cirque Du Soleil video projection designer Francis Laporte and will henceforth be known as the largest multimedia projection in the world.

Speaking of Cirque du Soleil, the famous French circus group has been given the grand responsibility of closing the celebration on October 19th. The group intends put on a spectacular one-time-only production. Given Cirque’s impressive track record of unforgettable shows, the French-Canadian group is sure to provide a perfect finale for the festivities. So if you love Quebec City (or even if you don’t), this summer will be the ideal time to visit your favurite place on earth. While the streets will be even more congested with tourists than usual this summer, these incredible events will be more than worth your trouble. It’s time for the great Canadian City to get the 400th year celebration that richly it deserves. If only because the city may not even be a part of Canada anymore when it turns 500.