Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie are two regions of natural beauty that continually wow visitors from all over the world. In addition, foodies will be delighted by the local flavours from the land and sea available throughout these regions. The Bas-Saint-Laurent – Gaspésie Tour, a 1270-km (790-mi.) journey along Route 132, which takes about 10 days, is a captivating road trip for those who enjoy long stretches on the open road and look forward to watching the St. Lawrence widen into a gulf while discovering unique landscapes and indulging in culinary delights.

Are you ready for a gourmet road trip through these two regions? Your starting point is La Pocatière in Bas-Saint-Laurent. And be sure to bring a cooler with you—it’ll come in very handy along the way!

Kamouraska area

Your first stop is at Fromagerie Le Mouton Blanc, a cheesemaker in La Pocatière, where you can discover delicious cheeses made with sheep milk, including Tomme du Kamouraska, which goes perfectly with both savoury and sweet dishes. While you’re there, you can also pick up some dry sausages. And because cheese and sausage go so well with bread, head next to the Du pain… c’est tout bakery, also in La Pocatière, where you can purchase a natural sourdough bread made with local organic flour that’s been freshly baked in a wood-fired oven.

Next, head to Kamouraska to visit the La Fée Gourmande chocolate factory, which offers exquisite caramels, chocolates filled with ganache, and truffles flavoured with an assortment of ingredients including lavender flowers, blackcurrants, hazelnuts, pink peppercorns and even coriander and chai tea. Other sweet options include their famous salted caramel tartlets with dark chocolate ganache. And that’s not all! Discover their dairy bar, where you can try a frozen poutine! If you’re there in the morning, you can enjoy a bite to eat on the patio, whether you’re looking for something savoury or something sweet. In any case, you’re unlikely to leave this shop empty-handed!

Another must-see in Kamouraska is Côté Est, which offers a variety of culinary experiences in a restaurant, on an outdoor patio and in a boutique. The restaurant welcomes you for dinner or Sunday brunch, both of which are deliciously inspired by local ingredients. The patio is one of the most beautiful in the region, with breathtaking views of the sea and direct access to the shoreline, which means you can dip your toes in the water while waiting for your tasty seal meat burger or smoked eel pizza! In the boutique, you’ll discover a selection of products honouring the culinary roots and know-how of the Kamouraska area, including halibut gravlax and arancini made with naked oats and forest mushrooms.

A little further east, in Saint-André-de-Kamouraska, discover the Tête d’Allumette microbrewery, which is housed in a heritage home and creates exceptional beers using local ingredients and a wood-fired brewing process that’s unique in North America. Book a tour to immerse yourself in this world and sample their unique microbrews, including La Nuit des Courges, a beer made with butternut squash cooked over a campfire. You can also enjoy some light snacks with your drinks. Before you leave, be sure to admire the magnificent counter made of wood reclaimed from bowling alleys and the upcycled multicoloured chairs!

Next, take a short detour inland to the Vignoble Amouraska vineyard in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska. Here you’ll discover a charming site where blackcurrants, plums, grapes, aronia berries, raspberries and cherries are carefully turned into delicious artisanal wines and other alcoholic beverages. Don’t miss this opportunity to taste some of them, perhaps even in a cocktail, while enjoying a bite to eat in the vineyard’s bistro. On a warm day, try a tasty slushy on the patio! You’re sure to want to take some of their delicious products home with you, such as the pear or plum cream liqueur!

Témiscouata area

Continue further inland on Route 185 towards Dégelis, in the Témiscouata area. Along the way, be sure to stop at the Fromagerie Le Détour cheese factory, in Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, which offers a wide selection of cheeses made from goat, sheep or cow milk. In Dégelis, stop in the Microbrasserie de la Madawaska brewpub, located in Hôtel 1212, which offers a menu inspired by the seasons and by local ingredients. Beer lovers will be delighted with the wide selection of brews available to accompany their meals.

Next, keep driving to Auclair via Route 295 to visit Domaine Acer, which showcases Québec’s most iconic food product: maple syrup. At this maple economusem, you’ll discover that maple sap isn’t just destined to become syrup or liqueur but can also be transformed into exceptional wines such as Prémices d’Avril, which is comparable to a dry white. This maple wine can be paired beautifully with the savoury flavours of sausages, cheese or gravlax… This is one of the times your cooler will come in handy! While you’re there, go on a guided tour and sample their products. You’re sure to leave with a Val Ambré or Charles-Aimé Robert, not to mention some maple syrup! Don’t hesitate to go for dark or very dark syrup, which has a stronger flavour!

Rimouski

Next, you’ll head to Rimouski via Route 232 or back via Route 132. Here are three places we recommend you visit.

Place Lemieux is a fish market, restaurant and canteen all in one. Here, you can enjoy dishes on the spot or buy what you need to prepare your own meals. Live crabs, lobsters and fish are kept on the premises in tanks full of water from the St. Lawrence. Try redfish, a large-headed groundfish that has experienced a resurgence after the fishery collapsed due to overfishing in the 1990s. Its white flesh and delicate, slightly sweet flavour pair perfectly with Prémices d’Avril from Domaine Acer. Place Lemieux also offers a variety of smoked fish and seafood as well as a delicious range of in-house products.

For more sweet and savoury treats, including ice cream and chocolates, you’ll want to make a stop at the Pâtisseries & Gourmandises d’Olivier pastry shop. (You’re on vacation—you deserve another treat!) Crunchy and creamy textures as well as sweet and fruity flavours await you here. You’ll be tempted by their lemon tartlets, sorbets, chocolate croissants and choux pastries… Is your mouth watering yet?

If you’re a fan of gin or whisky, you’ll want to make a stop at Distillerie du St. Laurent, a pioneer in Québec’s craft distillery world, where you can discover handcrafted spirits inspired by the sea, including the St. Laurent Gin. This is also the perfect place for a memorable happy hour during which you can soak up an incredible view as you savour a cocktail. (Mojito lovers will want to try their mojito made with St. Laurent Gin Citrus!) Enjoy the perfect atmosphere and opt for a charcuterie platter, cheese platter or cheese fondue, depending on the season.

Once you arrive in Sainte-Flavie, you’ll have a decision to make: will you continue your journey clockwise or counterclockwise around the Gaspé Peninsula, seeing either the north or south side of the region first? For the purposes of this blog post, we’re taking you inland first, towards the Matapédia Valley.

Matapédia Valley and Chaleur Bay

Your first stop is in Val-Brillant, at La Vallée de la Framboise, a raspberry economuseum. You’ll love discovering all the products made at this family-run business that’s all about raspberries but also makes a myriad of products with other berries, including black currants, red currants and gooseberries. Be sure to try their berry mistelles!

Your next stop is at Distillerie des Marigots, a distillery perched high on a cliff in Caplan, in the La Baie-des-Chaleurs sector. Plan to go on a tour to sample their craft spirits infused with the flavours of the surrounding land and nearby sea. Leaves, flowers, roots, various types of fruit and maple syrup are all distilled into unique gins from the Gaspésie region. The distillery also makes a single malt whisky and two fruit gin liqueurs, one flavoured with strawberries and the other with rhubarb.

Only a few minutes down the road, you’ll find Ferme Bourdages Tradition in Saint-Siméon-de-Bonaventure, a family business that has been farming the same land for seven generations and now specializes in strawberries. Tradition and passion are embodied with authenticity at this farm. You’ll be warmly welcomed by kind-hearted people who make a delicious range of jams, spreads, tarts and wines, including Alexis strawberry wine, which is delicious on vanilla ice cream!

Percé

Just before you arrive in Percé, make a stop at the Pit Caribou microbrewery in L’Anse-à-Beaufils, where you can enjoy a drink on the patio while soaking up a breathtaking view of the sea. Whether you’re a beer connoisseur or not, you’re bound to find a brew that suits your taste here!

Your next stop is Percé, home to iconic Percé Rock! For an authentic experience, head to La Maison du Pêcheur, a restaurant that’s long been renowned for its wide variety of fish and seafood dishes, including lobster, arctic char, whelk, halibut, scallops and more. Reservations are highly recommended!

Gaspé and La Haute-Gaspésie

In Gaspé, at the eastern tip of the peninsula, stop in at Marché des Saveurs Gaspésiennes, a gourmet shop that offers a wide selection of local products, including cheeses and deli meats as well as beers and pastries. This is a great place to pick up fixings for a picnic along the St. Lawrence. At this point, Route 132 curves back west along the north side of the peninsula. Be sure to make a stop at Atkins & Frères, in Mont-Louis, to discover their smoked fish and seafood.

To admire a stunning panoramic view of the St. Lawrence Estuary, make a stop a few minutes up the road at Carrefour Aventure in Mont-Saint-Pierre. And why not soak up a sunset at 430 metres (1410 feet) above sea level before enjoying one of their delicious homemade ice cream products?

Next, head to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to visit Exploramer, a science museum that showcases the marine environment of the St. Lawrence. This is where the Smarter Seafood program was founded, to promote little-known edible marine species. This is your opportunity to participate in a “Dare to Taste” guided activity as well as a sea excursion that will introduce you to sustainable fishing.

Another must-see is the Couleur Chocolat chocolate economuseum, also in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. You’ll be delighted by their salted caramel and toasted pecan pebbles, caramel truffles, forest chocolates and chocolate hazelnut spread. Take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy an 8-minute virtual reality tour of the economuseum, an immersive experience that will allow you to discover the world of master chocolate maker Carl Pelletier.

About 10 minutes further up the road, in Cap-Chat, discover Distillerie Cap-Chat, nestled between the St. Lawrence Estuary and the foothills of the Chic-Choc Mountains. This distillery draws inspiration directly from the land to create gins with subtle aromas derived from local flowers, plants and wild herbs. They also produce a vodka made with local spring water. Unique flavours await you here!

La Matanie and La Mitis

Your gourmet road trip is coming to an end, but before it does, here are two more stops we recommend you make.

First, Projet La Ruche in Baie-des-Sables (slightly inland via Route 297) is a charming country-style restaurant in the middle of the forest offering a seasonal farm-to-table experience in an intimate atmosphere. The sharing menu will add a friendly touch to your dining experience, presuming you want to share!

Finally, in Grand-Métis, the Reford Gardens are an open-air living museum imagined and created by Elsie Reford. For a total immersion in this unique world, the restaurant in the Estevan Lodge (once the Reford family’s fishing camp) offers a seasonal menu featuring edible plants from the site’s vegetable garden, flower beds and woods. You’re guaranteed to enjoy a memorable gastronomic experience full of authentic flavours and culinary creativity in this restaurant!

You’ve now come to the end of your gourmet road trip via the Bas-Saint-Laurent – Gaspésie Tour. Of course, there are many other foodie stops you could make along the way as well as fine dining options available in many of the lodging establishments in both Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. In addition, be sure to let the unexpected enrich your experience along this drive—and take the time to enjoy your adventure along over 1000 km (620 mi.) of road to the fullest! A word of advice: plan to stay longer than one night in some locations to get a better feel for the essence of these vast regions. Enjoy your trip!