4 Best Sights in Side Trips from Quebec City, Quebec

Maison d'affinage Maurice Dufour

The Dufour family produces some of the best cheese in the region, made from the milk of the herds of sheep and cows that can be seen grazing around the property in the summer. A modern and elegant tasting room allows visitors to discover the various cheeses and find out more about production, and taste the fresh and fun wines that they make from local vines. They've even started distilling vodka and spirits from whey, a fun way to produce something delicious from cheese-making by-products. A restaurant called Les Faux Bergers, featuring lots of wood-fired dishes, is also on the premises.

Maison René Richard

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.

Musée d'Art Contemporain de Baie-St-Paul

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.

Art Gallery
23 rue Ambroise-Fafard, Baie-St-Paul, Québec, G3Z 2J2, Canada
418-435–3681
www.macbsp.com
Sights Details
Rate Includes: C$10

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Route 362

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.