The rock at Percé is one of the most photographed things in eastern Canada, an enormous limestone wall rising out of the Gulf of St Lawrence, hundreds of metres long, with a natural arch at one end cut by waves. Another arch collapsed in the nineteenth century, in 1845, leaving the stack known as the Obelisk beside it, and the whole structure continues to erode slowly. The name means pierced in French, and from the village you can walk across the sandbar at low tide to the foot of it, though checking the tide tables is not optional.
Behind it, a few kilometres offshore, lies Bonaventure Island, which is a bird sanctuary and home to one of the largest colonies of northern gannets in the world, well over a hundred thousand birds nesting on the cliffs and grass in summer. Boats leave from the village harbour and circle the rock and the island, and landing lets you walk to the colony, where the gannets sit a few metres from the path, noisy, white and smelly, and quite unconcerned with you. It is one of the more unusual places I have eaten a sandwich.
On Route 132 the approach from either direction is fine riding, particularly from Gaspé, with the road winding over the hills and dropping to the sea in a series of easy curves. The village of Percé itself is a small tourist town with seafood restaurants, craft shops and guesthouses crowded in the high season, July and August, when traffic crawls and parking is tight, so try for the shoulders of the season, June or September, when the air is cooler and the crowds thin. The larger town of Chandler, about eighty minutes' ride south and with some eight thousand people, offers more fuel and services; you can also fill up in Gaspé.
Fog can hide the rock completely, so you may need patience, and winds from the gulf can be cold. Early morning light on the stone turns it a warm pink and orange, and it is worth getting up for. Take a waterproof layer for the boat.