Tadoussac Quebec, Canada |
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Rating |
Excellent |
Age |
All |
Lockers |
Not Needed |
Restrooms |
Adequate |
Food |
Many Restaurants |
Closest Coffee |
A couple of coffee shops |
Recommendation |
Interesting little town where you will meet many people who don't speak English, and possibly some whales (they don't speak English either.) |
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Review: by Dad
This is a town famous for 2 things: the site of the Hotel New Hampshire (from the movie by the same title) and whales. It is a cute little town, with a long history. It is the oldest town in Canada. It is a bit of a challenge to get to Tadoussac, so the fair weather traveler is not going to make it here. We got there by driving northeast from Quebec city through the mountains of Quebec. This is a good two hour trip along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River on twisting two lane roads. It is beautiful. When you get close to town, you have to take a short ferry ride across the Saguenay Fjord. We did it at night, so we really did not get a sense of the beauty of the place until the next morning.
This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is rugged, cold and amazing. Most of the people there speak "a little" English, so it would be good to master some survival French before you go. It is an area based on tourism, but most of the license plates you see are from Quebec. There is really little need for them to speak English, so expect it to be a place where you will have to adapt.
Tadoussac is one of the oldest settlements in North America. It was settled by the French in 1600, but what really makes it a great science location is the whales. It is said that many times the whales can be seen from shore, although this did not happen for us. We did see three minke whales from a restaurant while were eating breakfast waiting for the ferry to the south side of the St. Lawrence, but technically that was not in Tadoussac.
Whales come to eat the abundant krill. These small, shrimp-like creatures congregate here for a couple of reasons. They thrive in the estuary created by the cold waters of the Saguenay Fjord mixing with the salt water in the St. Lawrence River; in addition, the riverbed rises steeply east of the fjord, creating a natural basin.When we were there the summer residents included minke, fin, and humpback whales. There is also a resident population of Belugas. Tadoussac is the farthest south that you can see these great white whales. We did not see any except for the one that had died and washed up on shore. We saw that one when we were eating dinner: the park rangers who were taking it in for an autopsy stopped at the restaurant to pick up a pizza.
Additional Review:
Sam: You have to try the Maple Butter Crepes at the Chantmartin!!! They make a great breakfast before going whale watching.
Mom: Second on the Chantmartin. It felt a bit like Denny's, but it was on the highway just past the ferry (making for easy access) and the food was basic, delicious and satisfying. Easy to please kids at this place. The abundance of water makes this town consistently damp--plan to dress in layers and expect some fog.