Asbestos was discovered here in 1876 and the rest is history. The region was the largest producer of asbestos in the Western World until the closure of the last mine in 2012. Former mine pits in Thetford Mines, Black Lake, and Asbestos can be viewed from observation points. Yes, there Read more
Drummondville is probably the prettiest town in Quebec south of the St. Lawrence and north of Sherbrooke. Yet, it’s so obscure that even the Reader’s Digest’s Canadian Book of the Road omits to mention the place. I’ve searched every page between Montreal and Quebec City and couldn’t find a single Read more
There’s the regular Beaupré and then there’s Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré. If it sounds like this town is deeply religious, that’s because it is. Pilgrims arrive just before the saints feast on July 28 and have done so since the 1650s. The iconic Basilica of Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré is the town’s centrepiece. Built during the Read more
I visited the National Gallery of Art in Ottawa and learned that behind Quebec City and Montreal, Baie-Saint-Paul is the third most painted location of all the artwork in the gallery. It’s known for having beautiful scenery at the foothills of the Laurentians looking out to the largest river estuary Read more
Jacques Cartier set foot on the Île d’Orléans in 1535, but Saint-Pierre still only consisted of a handful of families into the 19th century. It wasn’t until 1935 when the 4.4km-long Post d’Île was built did Saint-Pierre see a period of growth. Located just to the north of the bridge, Read more
Saint-Famille on Orléans Island is home to the island’s historical museum – the House of our Ancestors. It commemorates the 300 founding families of New France that now love all over the continent. The area in front of the museum is a wonderful waterfront park with a little artisan shop Read more
The Naval Museum of Quebec is only open during summer and run by the local detachment of the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve. All of the stories told in the museum are of individual sailors during the Second World War. Many of the artifacts were provided by family members of veterans Read more
The best place to see the effect the seigneurial system had on the landscape of Orléans Island is at Saint-François. Narrow plots of land stretched inland from the St. Lawrence River to provide every farmer with direct water access. The wooden observation tower at the tip of the island gives Read more
Stanstead is right on the border with Vermont, an American state. The community spills across the two countries and is called Derby Line on the US side. Its most famous sight is a public library purposefully built half on the Canadian side and half on the US side. The Haskell Read more
I read an article on the CBC website soon a Friday afternoon. Bruno Marchand, the new mayor of Quebec City (in office just since last November), said he wouldn’t let protestors interfere with citizen’s ability to live their lives and told visitors to come to the Carnaval de Quebec, an Read more