12 Best Sights in Charlevoix, Side Trips from Quebec City

The casino is one of four gaming halls in Québec (the others are in Montréal, Gatineau, and Mont-Tremblant) owned and operated by Loto-Québec. Charlevoix's, the smallest of the lot, still draws around 800,000 visitors a year—some of whom stay at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, which is connected to the casino by a tunnel. Largely renovated in 2016, it offers 21 gaming tables and more than 800 slot machines. The minimum gambling age is 18, and a photo ID is required to enter the casino.

You can learn more about the whales and their habitat at this interpretation center run by a locally based research team. They're only too glad to answer questions. In addition, explanatory videos and exhibits (including a collection of whale skeletons) serve as a good introduction to the mighty, but endangered cetaceans.

A free, government-run ferry from the wharf in St-Joseph-de-la-Rive takes you on the 15-minute trip to the island where Jacques Cartier's men gathered coudres (hazelnuts) in 1535. Since then, the island has produced many a goélette (a type of sailing ship), and the families of former captains now run several small inns. You can bike around the island and see windmills and water mills, or stop at the stores selling paintings and crafts, such as traditional handwoven household linens.

Many of Québec's greatest landscape artists, including Jean-Paul Lemieux and Clarence Gagnon, have depicted the area, and a selection of these works is on show here (some are also for sale). The gallery was Gagnon's former studio and also the home of painter René Richard for the last 43 years of his life. Guided tours of the studio are available for groups.

This museum highlights modern and contemporary art created by Charlevoix artists from 1920 to 1970. It also has a robust collection from the province in general, with works from Georges D. Pepper, Kathleen Daly, René Richard, the Bolduc sisters, and others. For more than 30 years, the museum has been organizing a yearly modern art symposium, held in late July and early August.

The museum traces the region's history through a major permanent exhibit. Folk art, paintings, and artifacts help reveal the past, starting with the French, then the Scottish settlers, and the area's evolution into a vacation spot and artists' haven. Temporary exhibits change every season.

This museum, housed in an old shipyard, commemorates the days of the St. Lawrence goélettes, the feisty little wooden freighters that were the chief means of transporting goods along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River well into the 1960s. Very large families lived in cramped conditions aboard the boats, some of which are part of the exhibits. To modern eyes, it doesn't look like a comfortable existence, but the folklore of the goélettes, celebrated in poetry, paintings, and song, is part of the region's strong cultural identity.

The 800-square-km (309-square-mile) marine park, at the confluence of the Saguenay and St. Lawrence rivers, has been created to protect this marine area's three fragile ecosystems.

A 40-minute drive from La Malbaie will bring you to a stunning stretch of the Malbaie River, surrounded by impressive steep slopes and rocky peaks. There are plenty of beautiful views to take in—whether it's from a kayak on the river or while hiking a network of trails—and lots of fresh air, in this central part of the Charlevoix Biosphere Preserve.

Visiting potters, many from France, study Canadian ceramic techniques at this pottery studio, about 25 km (15½ miles) east of La Malbaie. Classes for amateurs are available from late June through August (by the hour or longer, starting at C$15). Half of the bright yellow barn housing the studio is a store, with ceramics and other crafts made by Québec artists.

From Baie-St-Paul, instead of the faster Route 138 to La Malbaie, drivers can choose the open, scenic coastal drive on Route 362. This section of road has memorable views of charming villages and rolling hills—green, white, or ablaze with fiery hues, depending on the season—meeting the broad expanse of the "sea," as the locals like to call the St. Lawrence estuary.