Charlevoix

The Charlevoix region is a couple of hours north-east of Québec City, with the Saint Lawrence river on one side and the Laurentians mountain range on the other. At this time of year it was absolutely stunning thanks to the changing colours of the leaves. Autumn never looked so good.

On our way out of the city we stopped at Montmorency Falls. You can actually drive past the bottom of the falls if you stay on the highway out to Charlevoix but we followed the GPS right into the main entrance where you have to pay to park. There is a cafe and you can walk over a suspended footbridge that goes right across the top of the falls. It was busy and touristy but we felt worth it. There are steep steps that you can take all the way down to the bottom of the falls for a view up close. And with the blue skies and bright sunshine, we were in rainbow heaven!

We continued on towards Charlevoix. Starting in a village called Baie Saint Paul, the region runs up to another village called La Malbaie; with Route 362 taking you along the Saint Lawrence and Route 138 taking you inland. There are other small towns and villages scattered between the two, each with their own selection of shops, cafes and restaurants. The area is well-known for its natural beauty and the Flavour Trail which showcases the best food, local produce and wine of the region. We spent four nights in the area, driving around (a car is a MUST) most days exploring, eating and hiking in the national parks.

The Alpaca Farm was a highlight. It was a cold. grey and drizzly day but ohmygod the alpacas were SO CUTE! Tiny fluffy things bouncing around, chasing each other and come over to see if we had any food for them, squeezing their heads through the fence to say hello. We paid a small fee to walk around and they have info for you to read about the farm.

Another great find was Azulée, a small lavender farm owned by the lovely Louise Vidricaire who lives in a small house and grows lavender in the garden. She uses it for food produce, creams, candles and bath salts; all of which are certified organic. We tried edible flowers from the garden and she has lemon balm and other fresh herbs growing which she uses mostly for cooking. The lavender wasn’t in bloom so we didn’t get the full effect but it was a really special place.

We drove north one morning and took the ferry across the Saguenay River to a village called Tadoussac, a really popular spot for whale watching; we didn’t spot any but saw two huge tour boats heading out as we walked around the headland. We sat in the sunshine outside Cafe Boheme for a caffeine pit-stop before heading back across the water and down along Route 362 again, stopping to admire the epic scenery.

We picked the perfect day to head to Grands-Jardins National Park. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining down we hiked up one of the many trails for a 360 view of the park. It was sweaty work but worth every second. It felt like we were on top of the world with not a soul in sight.