île d’Orléans – The Garden of Quebec

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Just 5 km east of downtown Quebec City, the Île d’Orléans is known as the “Garden of Quebec.” Even at the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal we started seeing fresh fruits and veggies originating from the Île d’Orléans, from tomatoes and potatoes to their famous strawberries. Since we were on a food tour, of course we had to visit and taste some of the amazing foods at their source.

Tomiko and I brought our bicycles all the way from Toronto, stuffed into the back of our minivan. We had hoped to have a few bike rides during our trip, but we were turned off cycling on the Île d’Orléans. There was no designated bike lane, let alone a wide shoulder to ride on. There are four cycling routes on the island, the shortest being a 20 km loop on the south-west part of the island, and the longest being the whole 67 km perimeter. The vehicular traffic drove pretty fast, so we decided to just drive by car. I guess we should have looked up the aspects of the bike route before we packed our bikes. Our one recommendation to the island administration: please put in bike lanes! There were quite a few hard-core cyclists on the road, but I’m sure more casual cyclists and families would bring their bikes if they felt a bit safer.

After visiting the Montmorency Falls, we drove around the perimeter of the island clockwise, starting at the bridge on the south-west part of the island. Just after touching down on the island, we stopped at the tourist information centre where we picked up maps that listed the attractions (agritourism farms, restaurants, sugar shacks, boutiques, lodging, and art galleries) in numerical order. Each of these attractions had their number placard placed by the side of the road, so finding and stopping at the sites is super easy.

Nevertheless, we had an amazing experience; here are some of our stops on the Île d’Orléans:

Boulangerie Blouin

Boulangerie Blouin is a bakery located in the village of Sainte-Famille. We stopped here to pick up some lunch items – a crusty baguette and a buttery, flaky croissant!

Chocolaterie de l’île d’Orléans

Located in a 200-year-old building, the Chocolaterie de l’île d’Orléans makes chocolates from raw ingredients imported from Belgium.

Les Fromages de l’île d’Orléans

We bought two cheeses at this fromagerie, and ate them with our bread, some vegetables we brought from the Marché Jean-Talon, along with our freshly-picked strawberries.

The island is renowned for its strawberries, apples, potatoes, wineries, and cideries.

Tomiko and I went strawberry picking, filling our baskets with the tiny Quebecois strawberries that are super sweet and flavourful.

The pick-your-own farm that we visited had several varieties of strawberries staked out. Of course we taste-tested all of them, and we found that the Veestar strawberries are the famous, super-sweet small strawberries that we saw on roadside farmstands and larger farmers’ markets.

The stone Église Saint-François is located in the village Saint-François on l’Île d’Orléans and was built in 1734.  It is one of the oldest churches on the island.

La Maison de nos Aïeux, the House of Our Ancestors

La Maison de nos Aïeux, which means the ‘House of Our Ancestors’ is a genealogy centre where visitors can learn about the history of the 300 families that descended from the original French colonists. The island was one of the first areas in Quebec to be colonized by the French, and many Quebecois can trace their roots to the Île d’Orléans.

Little kiosks like this dotted the Île d’Orléans and the rest of Quebec, selling fresh Quebecois strawberries and blueberries. Tomiko and I went through several containers of these luscious strawberries, and now that we’re back in Toronto, no strawberry can compete!