St Vallier is 40 kilometres away from the Quebec City bridge on the pretty south shore and is ranked one of the most beautiful villages in Quebec. It is known as land of wild geese and “La Corriveau”
On a hillside overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse and it s neighbour Saint-Vallier have preserved their tranquility and old-world charm.
The area has had holiday cottages and villas along the river’s edge since the 1920s. The original village centre is near the 1767 Lanaudière Manor, the windmill (once run by the Sisters of Mercy), and the historical house of Dr. Côté at 350, rue Principale (all private property). In Spring and Fall, the Boyer River is a migratory stopover for white geese, attracting many who watch their spectacular take-offs nto their V-formations.
The village is also known for the story of La Corriveau, a woman who was condemned to death in 1763 for allegedly pouring hot iron in her husband’s ear while he slept. It is also alleged that she murdered six other people as well. In 1848, two gravediggers discovered her body, locked in an iron cage in which she was hung from a pole to die at Lévis-Lauzon Point.
The town can be accessed from highway 20’s Exit 356 or on a scenic drive along highway 132. The town has an old-style bakery, The Museum of Horse-Driven Vehicles (Le Musée des voitures à chevaux), and the Des Mères River shipyard, on the Lemieux road (Chemin Lemieux) two kilometers east of the village.
St Vallier de Bellechasse Attractions
- Bakery « La levée du jour », 344, rue Principale.(breads, goose patés, goat cheese feuilletés etc.) Terrace
- La Fromagerie du Terroir de Bellechasse, 585, route 132. (cheese maker)
- Le Musée des voitures à chevaux, 293, route 132.
- Le Domaine de la rivière Boyer (west of the village via highway 132 132) :thousands of white geese in autumn
- Le chantier maritime artisanal des bateaux de bois (Craft wooden boat shipyard), chemin Lemieux
- Le moulin des sœurs hospitalières (mill) 667, Montée de la Station