Places to go in Québec.

Well I've traveled a lot in Québec and was wondering where else I should go. I've done the Outaouais, Montréal Area, Mt. Tremblant, Québec City Area, Rivière-du-Loup and Area, Rimouski, the Gaspé Pen.

I've head that the southern townships is nice, what part though and what is there to do? I'd personally like to go to the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, but it is so far. How is the road Autoroute 73 from Québec to Chicoutimi? If I go, I want to do the whole region, including Baie Comeau area and Sept Iles area and into Labrador. Anyone do this kind of trip, is it tough, how are the roads? Enough to see and do?

Thanks!

ehhh, ever seen a map of quebec, sept iles, baie-comeau and saguenay is not really in the same area you know...

i've lived in saguenay, so i guess i'm the better person for you for that region. for going into saguenay, you take the road 175. then you have around 250 km of road in woods sometimes with 2 lane for each direction, sometimes with only 1 lane for each direction. the road is in good condition, and very easy to drive, but dont go there between october and may without good winter tires. in the middle you have a gas station (it use to have a restaurant there but it burn two years ago). if you follow the road 175 you go straight into chicoutimi and the saguenay area, but sometimes before chicoutimi you have the choice of turning on the road 169 for going directly to the lac st-jean. once you are in the region you can easily travel with the brand new highway between saguenay and lac st-jean.

now in saguenay, the two biggest city are chicoutimi and jonquière. in chicoutimi you can visit some museum (like the olp pulpery, the flood interpretation center, the port...) there also a huge show that you can attemps. it's call " la grande aventure d'un royaume". in jonquière you can visit some industry (like Alcan), and there an art center. it's also great if youlike hicking, you can take a day to climb "le pic de la tête de chien" and have the unique view of all the saguenay area. somewhere in the north there also a reconstitution of a new-france village. anyway, feel free to ask question...

I know all to well the map of Canada and each of her provinces. In terms of Canadian geography, Chicoutimi, Sept iles and Baie-Comeau are the same area. 500km is considered close in my books, especially when you move away from the US border.

I'm not sure, but I plan to go to Chicoutimi, then on to Baie-Comeau and up to Labrador City and somehow across to the coast and then back through the Maritimes. It will be a good trip, lots of great pictures will be taken!

I live in Chicoutimi, so when I have the time I'll post you a full summary of things to do.

I lived in Val d'Or (about 4 hrs straight North of Ottawa) for 3 years and got married there (back a few years ago). There are several good places to go and visit and in all the places I have been, Quebec has got to have the most beautiful women......

Here's a place I discovered by accident a few years ago and never forgot: Baie-St-Paul. It's about an hour and a half north-east of Quebec City on the same side (north side) of the St. Lawrence. What's interesting about this whole area is that it sits in the middle of a giant meteor crater that hit this area millions of years ago. As you're driving along the highway you suddenly come to the lip of the crater and you can see it stretching all around for miles and miles. You'd miss it if you didn't know it was there. It was only discovered in the 1960s. The Quebec tourist centre just off the highway has a whole display on the geology and history of the crater (and earth meteor craters in general) that is well worth the voluntary donation they ask. There are inexpensive places to stay. Baie-St-Paul itself, though small, has a bit of nightlife. I especially remember that nice little brewpub run by the Lebanese family that makes wonderful beer using natural ingredients found locally. You can hike up a famous mountain called "Les Eboulements" (meaning landslides or rock falls). Les Eboulements can be seen from miles around. When the meteor fell, it literally liquified the rock at the point of impact, which for a few seconds behaved like water, splashing back into a kind of high drip in the middle which then solidified into rock again, forming this mountain peak. There's a free ferry ride to "Ile des Coudres" (meaning Hazelnut Island), which is actually an island-sized piece that broke free from the other side of the river upon impact. They discovered this by finding the "coudres" on this island, which are part of the Apalachian flora from the other side of the river. The St. Lawrence there is almost starting to be ocean. You can go whale-watching like in B.C. Everywhere you turn is like a painting. Romantic out-of-the-way inns. Good food. Quebecers take you in, party with you, engage you in impassioned discussions.

I just finished spending the summer in Chicoutimi, and it was incredible. If you do the Saguenay region, definately go to Tadoussac as well.

Tadoussac is where the St. Laurence and Saugenay rivers meet. It is absolutely incredible to be on a boat looking up at the massive cliffs that make up the fjord. It's really unbelievable. It is in fact the only true fjord in North America if I'm not mistaken. You can rent a kayak and tour on your own, or book a whale-watching tour. When I went we saw about 10 whales, including some belugas....There are also some very cool sand dunes in Tadoussac....beaches as well....

I didn't visit lac-st-jean as much as I would have liked. Some things that I wish I had done are: take the bike route around the le lac, visit the caves (I forget the name), visit the gardens. It is really amazing the amount of things there are to do around lac-st-jean....There are probably like 50 small picturesque towns surrounding the le lac that each have their own special attractions....example (St. Felicien - Zoo Sauvage, Val Jalbert - Ghost Town - Coolest Waterfall EVER - Old Rusty Mossy Very Cool Mill.....etc)

I would highly recommend calling tourism Quebec and requesting a pamphlet for the lac-st-jean saguenay tourism region....

Oh yeah, another thing to do...which I didn't get to do....is to go on these very cool sort of "in the trees" obstacle course parks. They are basicaly obstacle courses that are like a hundred feet up in the air, built in a forest....they also have cabins built in trees where you can rent a room over night and stuff....They are all over Quebec, but there is one that is like 15 minutes from Chicoutimi, and another one somewhere in lac-st-jean area I think.....

Another area to visit is the Charlevois (not sure on spelling) tourist region. It is basically another route you can take from Quebec City to Sagaueny, where you drive along the St. Laurence north to Tadoussac. Tadoussac is actually part of three regions ( lac-st-jean saguenay, charlevoix and another one)....I haven't been there but I think it would be a cool place to go....and a nice drive....

Also - The drive north from Quebec City to Chicoutimi is AMAZING! For an Ontario who had never before driven through mountains it was really breathtaking. There are numerous National Parks along the way where I think you can camp....really incredible scenery. And also kind of funny when you see about 4 different alert levels for moose crossings.....I saw one moose run across a highway....

ALso - in Chicoutimi there is a festival called Rythmes du Monde at the start of August that is pretty cool....they close down the main street and basically turn it into a huge party ground for a week...During the day its cool for families with face painting....music...dancing...performers...etc...a nd at night the music takes it up a notch, you can drink in the street....all the bars/restaurants build temporary extension to their patios...its awesome....

Also - In Roberval (one of the larger towns around lac-st-jean) there is some good stuff to do. They have some sort of festival of foods or something that I dont really know about...in July I think...And in July or August (I forget) There is this thing called La Traverse....where there are a bunch of swimming events...The big finish is an event where people swim across one part of the lake (32 km...its like an 11 hour swim....)

Please register to see links

The yearly event is somehow connected with FINA....

Also - (Sorry this is so long) The bike route around lac-st-jean...It is I think around 250 km. You can rent/bring a bike and everyday just bike as far as you want and then camp or stay in a bed and breakfast or whatever and then bike further the next day. I think its the best way to tour all the towns around lac-st-jean...and you can take as much or little time as you want...Theres also a bus service that will transport your luggage from stop to stop so you dont have to carry it with you on your bike....really cool idea....

Anyway, thats it for now. Good luck and I would highly recommend calling 1-800-BONJOUR and having them send you the tourist guides for whatever region you want to visit....

One more thing.....On the drive from Quebec to Chicout....Fill your gas tank every chance you get, because there are very few gas stations between and you do not want to get stranded in the mountains....

Hey Leveller, tell me more about the people?