Continuation of our summer vacation in Quebec. After Gaspésie, which we left by crossing the St. Lawrence River from Matane to Godbout, I am now telling you about the other half of our family trip to this beautiful province of Canada.
Vacation Day 14:after disembarking the ferry around 10 a.m., we took the road, still just as magnificent, oscillating between green and blue... to descend to Tadoussac where we stay for 3 nights at the magnificent Hotel Tadoussac (the oldest in town). On the other hand, take breakfast outside, they may be very good at the hotel but expensive. The bakery this time, it's there.
Tadoussac is truly one of my favourites. We rode an electric bike there one afternoon to discover the coast, the trails and in particular this sector of magnificent houses belonging to English people for generations, hidden in the dunes… it is peaceful and so beautiful. You should also stop at the soap factory (I found the 1st dry shampoo there which suits me perfectly):Les Soans de l'Atelier de Tadoussac.
Well, Tadoussac is above all … whales ! Here we had in fact reserved a little further north an outing to go and meet them. Note that there are many service providers on site as well. Clearly, the main thing in my opinion is if your children are old enough to choose the Zodiac outing. You will go faster and above all closer. It’s super secure, we didn’t even get wet. We especially laughed a lot with our huge combinations. To know:you easily lose 10 degrees between the beach and the center of the river! So yes, it is very cold. But the result is...
I think what made me laugh the most was really the faces of these seals which seemed to say "hey oh look at me! I'm here too, who cares about the big whale "Except that after 15 days of Gaspésie you're borderline jaded seals! AH AH AH
Tadoussac is also the Fyord of Saguenay :one of the most beautiful in the world it seems (I only did this one). I really regret not staying longer to really "do it all". Our night in the city of Saguenay afterwards was clearly pointless. We "lost" a day, we would have had to drive directly to the St Félicien zoo (our next stop) from Tadoussac. I really fell in love with this village.
When it comes to catering in Tadoussac, you absolutely have to dine at Mathilde's table, it was DIVINE. Café Bohème for breakfasts and lunches, we fully validate.
Holidays Day 17:you understood, we then took the road to Saguenay . With a little break, not very green I grant you, but so much fun:a Quad outing with a guide at the 5-star farm in the village of Sacré-Coeur (this name…) towards Anse de Roche:
Holidays Day 18:after two nights in Saguenay, I can only say that we did not get hooked on the city. Direction the historic village of Val Jabert. I really wanted to do it, because last year in New Brunswick I loved visiting the historic Acadian village. It was a reconstruction, but really superb, with lots of extras, talking about their "jobs", it was huge, in short, a big success. Suddenly, I was a chouille disappointed by that of Val Jabert. What is great is that it is a REAL old village. These are the real houses, not a reconstruction. So we have a real story linked to this place. The owner of the paper factory who created this village and who really protected the families living there. They also had access to great benefits for the time. If you are in the area, you should indeed do it. Otherwise, it's not worth the detour. But since there is the Saint-Félicien zoo next door, we usually come to the area to do both.
In terms of accommodation, we missed our shot a bit:we had taken a camping chalet, far too far, on the shores of Lake St Jean but almost 1 hour from these two places to visit... let's say we drove a bit (again)…
The Zoo of Saint Félicien . We are not very zoo at the base, the only one that passes for us is Beauval! But it was highly recommended to us, it was highly rated, so we went. And no regrets! Indeed, it's a bit like in Thoiry (from memory because I went there as a child), we walk for 1 hour in a small mesh train (we are the ones in the cage) and the animals are "free " around. And we saw a LOT of them up close! It was superb. Then, the zoo is very pleasant, you can discover other species more classically. We spent a good half day there.
Finally, the trip ended further south in an outfitter for 3 nights. We settled there quietly. However, to do it again, we would stay longer in Tadoussac (I think you understood it correctly), one more night in Gaspésie National Park and one more night for Forillon National Park. We would have had our account that way! But it was fabulous, one of the most beautiful of our family trips!
Only one desire:to return to Quebec but in winter this time!!
