Saguenay & the Heritage Route
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Port
Saguenay, Quebec, Canada
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Activity Level
Moderate
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Excursion Type
Local Sightseeing,All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At
$119.95
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 3½ Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
At the tip of a majestic fjord, where the waters of the Saguenay and the St-Lawrence Rivers meet, you will find the charming village of Saguenay.
Visit the district of Chicoutimi -- known for its decidedly French atmosphere and a touch of the Old World, and learn about the area's culture and history.
As you begin your sightseeing tour, you'll discover the importance of Saguenay Fjord, deeply chiseled into the Laurentian Mountains and once a natural trading route for the First Nations people. In the 1600s, France established its first fur trading post here. Colonization of the area soon followed.
While passing through the industrial area, you will see how the early 20th century brought exploitation of the river with logging, the pulp and paper industries, and aluminum production.
Drive along the main street, Rue Racine, and past the Old Port. Stop for photos at the Little White House that miraculously survived the flood of 1996 and at the Pulp Mill of Chicoutimi. Founded in 1898, the mill played an important role in the development of the area, producing high-quality pulp that was exported throughout the world.
Next, you will drive through Arvida -- the 'Washington of the North.' This is a perfect example of a 20th-century company town -- 270 houses were built here in 1926 in 135 days, each completely different from the others.
See the world's first aluminum bridge, built to display the strength and diversity of aluminum, and visit the Sir William Price Museum housed in a beautiful Anglican chapel built in 1912. The museum is dedicated to the pulp and paper dynasty of four generations of the Price family.
Drive by the homes of both management and workers of the company town of Old Kenogami.
Before returning to the ship, you will see the area of Jonquiere, also built as a company town.