Route des Navigateurs

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Quebec City

   Quebec City is the only walled city north of Mexico, and the old town, perched on a rock above the St Lawrence, still has the feel of a French provincial capital transplanted to North America. The city was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608, and the narrow cobbled lanes, stone houses and steep stairs of the lower town retain the layout of the first settlement. The Château Frontenac, the grand hotel with its copper roofs that dominates the skyline, was built in 1893 and is among the most photographed hotels in the world.

   Read the complete Quebec City write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Quebec City is where the day begins. Next is Levis.

2. 2. Lévis

   Lévis sits on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, directly across the river from Quebec City, and the first thing to know is that the best view of the old capital is from here. The Château Frontenac rises on its cliff over the water, the walls of the old town spread along the ridge, and the river, narrow at this point, flows between with ferries and freighters passing. The two cities are close enough to wave at, and a small ferry, one of the oldest in the country, crosses between them in about fifteen minutes, with the skyline growing larger with each minute.

   Read the complete Levis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Lévis comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Riviere du Loup.

3. 3. Riviere du Loup

   Rivière-du-Loup, the River of the Wolf, takes its name from the sea wolves, which is what the early French called the seals that basked on the rocks at the river mouth. The town of nearly nineteen thousand sits on the south shore of the St. Lawrence at the point where the estuary has widened so much that the opposite bank, the mountains of Charlevoix, is a blue line twenty-five kilometres away. It is the end of this ride, and it is a good place to arrive, with a harbour, a waterfall in the middle of town and several decent restaurants.

   Read the complete Riviere du Loup write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 213 km into the recorded legs you reach Riviere du Loup. Next is Rimouski.

4. 4. Rimouski

   Rimouski stands on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, where the river has widened into an estuary so broad that the far shore, forty kilometres away, is a blue line of mountains. The sea is only a taste of salt and a tide here, but it changes the weather, the light and the character of the town. About forty-two thousand people live in this lively regional capital of the Bas-Saint-Laurent, with a university, a long waterfront and the unhurried feel of a place that most visitors pass through on the way to somewhere further east.

   Read the complete Rimouski write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Rimouski closes the day.