Percé

At the end of the Gaspé Peninsula, Percé was once a large fishing center that now encompasses several coastal villages, from St-Georges-de-Malbaie to Cap-D’Espoir. Now the region’s main resort area, it offers a gorgeous setting, with superb views of Bonaventure Island and the famous Percé Rock. The 400-million-ton block of limestone is 439 m (1,440 ft) long and up to 88 m (290 ft) wide, and at low tide you can walk out to the rock. It used to be even longer, with as many as four natural arches. A short boat-ride offshore, Bonaventure Island is a major bird sanctuary and a summer home to 50,000 gannets, as well as puffins, cormorants and ...

At the end of the Gaspé Peninsula, Percé was once a large fishing center that now encompasses several coastal villages, from St-Georges-de-Malbaie to Cap-D’Espoir. Now the region’s main resort area, it offers a gorgeous setting, with superb views of Bonaventure Island and the famous Percé Rock. The 400-million-ton block of limestone is 439 m (1,440 ft) long and up to 88 m (290 ft) wide, and at low tide you can walk out to the rock. It used to be even longer, with as many as four natural arches. A short boat-ride offshore, Bonaventure Island is a major bird sanctuary and a summer home to 50,000 gannets, as well as puffins, cormorants and murres. Percé has been popular with vacationers since the 1930s, and a sizeable community of artists has grown here over the years. There are plenty of hotels, inns and B&Bs, a good mix of casual and more elegant restaurants to enjoy, as well as boutiques, galleries and artists’ studios. For hikers there are countless trails from nearby Mont Ste-Anne to the surrounding mountains.

About the Expert

Joanna Ebbutt is the author or editor of three Insight Guides to Toronto and Canada, and coauthor of Off the Beaten Track: Western Canada. She has been writing about travel for three decades, including chasing the aurora borealis in Northern Ontario.