Episode Three: Quebec City, Tadoussac, and Rimouski

Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦 to all our readers! As we write this, we are enjoying beautiful weather here in Parc National du Bic on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.

🚗 Montreal to Quebec City

We chose the scenic route along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, which typically sees less traffic than the south shore. Our base was Camping de la Joie, a great private campground just outside of Quebec City. Upon arrival, we were hit with a brief, torrential downpour, so we quickly pulled into our site to wait it out before properly setting up camp.

Thanks to the campground’s shuttle service, getting into Old Quebec City the next day was incredibly easy. We hopped on a "hop-on/hop-off" city tour. The city has done a marvellous job of maintaining its historic buildings and character; every turn presented a new photo opportunity. We particularly loved exploring the Lower Town area.

Quebec City - Hop on / hop off tour bus

Fortified walls of the Upper Town of Quebec City

Beautiful Plains of Abraham 

Colourful Lower Town of Quebec City

More colourful advertising in Lower Town

Chateau Frontenac 

The Cradle of French Civilization

Old Québec City, founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608, is the cradle of French civilization in North America and the only walled city north of Mexico. This beautifully preserved UNESCO World Heritage site features a striking separation between the fortified Upper Town and the historic, bustling Lower Town (home to the cobblestone district of Place Royale).

Today, Old Québec stands as a living museum shaped by Indigenous, French, British, and Irish cultures. We can all be thankful for the past leaders who chose to preserve this rich history for future generations.

⚽ Pub St. Patrick

After our tour and lunch in the Lower Town, we stopped at Pub St. Patrick to watch the Canada vs. Switzerland World Cup game. Even though Canada lost 2-1, the pub crowd was packed with extremely enthusiastic fans, making it a fantastic and fun atmosphere.

Go Canada Go!!

⛪ The National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

The next day, our first stop was the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the oldest Catholic pilgrimage site in North America. For nearly 370 years, this sanctuary dedicated to Sainte Anne (the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus) has been globally renowned as a historic place of miraculous healings.

Discarded canes and crutches from those who were cured

Stained glass depictions of Sainte Anne's life

Why did it become such an important pilgrimage?

• The Sailor's Vow: The shrine's origins trace back to a group of French sailors from Brittany caught in a violent storm on the St. Lawrence River. Facing certain death, they prayed to Sainte Anne—the patron saint of sailors—promising to build her a sanctuary if they survived.
• Safe Harbor: After drifting safely ashore at Beaupré, the sailors immediately fulfilled their vow. On March 8, 1658, a local settler named Étienne de Lessard donated two acres of land to the Catholic Church to construct the first wooden chapel.
• The First Miracle: Supernatural events quickly cemented the chapel’s holy reputation. In 1658, a local labourer named Louis Guimond suffered from severe, crippling rheumatism. After placing three stones into the chapel’s foundation out of devotion, he was instantly and completely cured.

Word of these sudden healings spread rapidly throughout New France. Pilgrims began arriving by the thousands, leaving behind their canes and crutches as physical testimonies of their recovery.

Rising From the Ashes

The original church was expanded several times but was tragically burnt to the ground on March 29, 1922. Remarkably, history survived the flames: the famous golden statue of Sainte Anne on the exterior facade survived the intense heat, and the main interior oak statue was heroically rescued by priests before the roof collapsed.

The current monumental basilica was constructed between 1923 and 1946. It stands over 100 meters tall, adorned with intricate mosaics and vast stained-glass windows detailing the life of Saint Anne. The original exterior statue has been placed back at the peak of the new facade. Today, the shrine welcomes almost 1 million visitors each year, who are still greeted by giant pillars covered in crutches, braces, and canes. A visit here is truly breathtaking.

🥾 Canyon Sainte-Anne

Our next activity was a hike to Canyon Sainte-Anne. This spectacular, 1.2-billion-year-old gorge features a roaring 243-foot waterfall that plunges into a depth greater than Niagara Falls!

The canyon bedrock is part of the Canadian Shield shaped during the ice age. In the 19th century, it was used by local loggers to move their harvest, and it has been open to the public since 1973. The stunning views are greatly enhanced by multiple suspension bridges that allow you to cross directly over the roaring gorge. It is well worth the visit. 

Getting a bear hug at Canyon Sainte-Anne

Suspension bridge over the canyon

The spring "run off" from snow melt will completely cover all this exposed rock

Another suspension bridge

It's a bouncy walk across the suspension bridge

🐋 Tadoussac: A Whale-Watching Wonder

Next, we travelled 225 kilometres east of Quebec City to Tadoussac on the north shore. Getting there includes a short, scenic ferry ride across the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord.

An Environmental and Historical Gateway

Long before Europeans arrived, Tadoussac served as a vital summer meeting place for Indigenous groups, using the Saguenay River as a massive trade corridor. In 1535, Jacques Cartier became the first European to sail into the fjord. By 1600, Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnerait established Canada's first permanent fur trading post here. In 1603, Samuel de Champlain arrived and forged a commercial and military alliance with the Innu Chief.

Over the centuries, the local economy shifted from furs to lumber, and eventually to tourism. The famous Hotel Tadoussac was built in 1864 to accommodate summer vacationers. In 1983, the Quebec government established the Saguenay Fjord National Park to protect the fragile ecosystem. Today, it is a world-renowned hub for ecotourism.

Us taking the short ferry ride across the Saguenay Fjord

Entrance to the Saguney Fjord

View from above Tadoussac

Our Zodiac Adventure

Whale watching was our main priority. We booked a tour through our campground (Camping Tadoussac) and had a fabulous two-hour outing. We saw numerous minke, fin, and humpback whales. At one point, we had a humpback whale at close range on each side of our 32-seater zodiac! The conditions were so calm and quiet that we often heard the whales surface and exhale before we even saw them.

Dressed for whale watching

Our "ride"

Minke whale

Humpback whale

Humpback tail shot

Why are there so many whales here?

1. The Fjord Effect: The Saguenay Fjord pushes out cold, oxygen-rich fresh water.
2. The Ocean Tide: The St. Lawrence River tide brings in deep, salty ocean water from the Atlantic.
3. The Underwater Wall: The deep Laurentian Channel suddenly goes from a depth of 300 metres to just 20 metres near Tadoussac.
4. The Nutrient Elevator: When the cold ocean tide hits this massive underwater cliff, it forces nutrients upward. This "upwelling" brings billions of krill and capelin to the surface, mixing with sunlight to trigger a massive plankton bloom.

This creates a giant, concentrated feeding station that whales migrate thousands of miles to enjoy. It is truly one of the best places for whale watching in the world.

Cooking on the griddle

🌲 Crossing to Parc National du Bic

Our next travel day had us crossing the St. Lawrence River via ferry from the village of Les Escoumins on the north shore to Trois-Pistoles on the south shore, and then on to Parc National du Bic near Rimouski.

This park was established by the Quebec government in 1984 after decades of gradually acquiring properties to protect its unique coastal ecosystems. While a portion of this land is used as a beautiful provincial campground, the vast majority is kept as a pristine nature reserve with hiking and bicycle trails. We chose one of the shorter trails to hike, and the sweeping coastal views and absolute peace was fabulous. 

Our rig at the front of a jam packed ferry acrossing the St. Lawrence 

On our hike at Parc National du Bic

🚢 Our Canada Day Outing: The Empress of Ireland & HMCS Onondaga

Our Canada Day outing was a visit to the Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site to tour the Musée Empress of Ireland. Located right on Rimouski’s waterfront, this wonderful museum chronicles the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland. Through a video presentation and a vast display of recovered artifacts and photographs, the museum does an incredible job of keeping this story alive.

The Story of Canada's Titanic

The Empress of Ireland was a 14,191-ton ocean liner commissioned in 1906 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Measuring 170 meters long and 20 meters wide, she could cross the Atlantic in just six days at a speed of nearly 20 knots. Across her four steel decks, she could accommodate 1,550 passengers.

On May 29, 1914, the Empress completed her mailbag exchange at Rimouski and was preparing for her 96th transatlantic crossing. She dropped off her harbour pilot (ships transiting the St. Lawrence are legally required to have a local pilot take control of navigation) at the Pointe-au-Père station. As the crew gathered speed and headed for open water, an exceptionally thick fog rolled across the river. 

Shortly after 1:30 AM, the SS Storstad—a 3,500-ton Norwegian ship carrying a cargo of 11,000 tons of coal upriver—rammed into the starboard side of the ocean liner at mid-ship. The Storstad penetrated nearly 6 meters into the liner's hull. The Empress’s skipper frantically directed the captain of the Storstad via megaphone to keep his engines full ahead in hopes of plugging the massive hole. Inevitably, the two ships separated. The ocean liner immediately began taking on an astronomical 270,000 litres of water per second. Though close to shore, beaching the vessel was impossible. She listed sharply, tipped onto her side, and slipped beneath the freezing water in a mere 14 minutes.

Dawn revealed a horrifying scene as hundreds of bodies washed ashore or were brought to the local wharves. The final death toll was 1,012 lives, many of whom were never recovered from their watery grave. In a sense, it was even more terrifying than the Titanic or Lusitania because it occurred in the dead of night while passengers were fast asleep, leaving almost no chance for escape. The Empress of Ireland still holds the tragic record for the largest loss of life on a passenger liner during peacetime.

⚓ Step Inside a Cold War Submarine: HMCS Onondaga

Sharing the same property as the museum is the HMCS Onondaga, a decommissioned Oberon-class submarine. It is Canada’s very first publicly accessible museum submarine, allowing visitors to step directly inside an authentic Cold War-era naval vessel. Built in Chatham, England, it was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy from June 22, 1967, until July 28, 2000, conducting covert intelligence gathering and tactical training alongside NATO allies.

After sitting in Halifax for six years awaiting its fate, the submarine was purchased by the Rimouski maritime museum for just $4 plus tax! The 1,400-ton vessel was towed up the St. Lawrence River to Rimouski to begin its second life. However, hauling it out of the water and across dry land to its permanent dry dock became an engineering nightmare. The submarine actually keeled over during the attempt, a dramatic crisis captured by a film crew and featured on the Discovery Channel’s hit television show, Monster Moves (in an episode titled "Supersize Submarine”).

Engine room

Radar screens

Galley

One of numerous compartment watertight doors

Forward torpedo room

Our tour of the sub was absolutely fascinating and well worth the visit. That being said, trying to imagine the daily life of a submarine crew in those incredibly cramped quarters? Not for us!