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Captain Michael Moreau ties up his fishing boat, the Omirlou, across the river from The Old Factory at L'Anse-à-Beaufils harbour. He'll take you on a two-and-a-half-hour excursion on the water where you'll angle for mackerel and cod and try your luck with the lobster traps, while learning the ins and outs of the Gaspesian fishing industry. English is spoken.
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La Vieille usine
Once a fish processing plant, this sturdy clapboard structure at the heart of L'Anse-à-Beaufils' "cultural and tourist harbour" (havre culturel touristique) wears many hats: the Old Factory serves as a gourmet bistro with a pleasant terrace overlooking the water, a performance space hosting live music, plays, and comedy shows, a recording studio, and an art gallery where the work of about three dozen artists from the Gaspé Peninsula and all over Quebec is displayed. The gallery's collection is an eclectic one, encompassing both amateur and professional works in media that run the gamut from paintings and sculpture to jewelry and ceramic art. Arts and crafts courses for adults and youngsters are also held.
Magasin général historique authentique
Built in 1928 and once the central hub of L'Anse-à-Beaufils, the old Robin, Jones and Whitman General Store is now operated as a sort of living history museum, where old-fashioned dry goods, farm equipment, and other merchandise fill the shelves. On the guided tours they run, performers in period costume will step out from behind cash registers and grocery scales that look straight off a time machine and rattle off folksy anecdotes of local lore. Elsewhere in the museum, old photographs and artifacts relay the history of the village. Website in French only.
Bio-Jardins Rocher-Percé
The Percé Rock Organic Gardens is an extension of the work of Msgr. François Xavier Ross, the one-time Bishop of Gaspé who founded the Val-d'Espoir School of Agriculture (École d'agriculture de Val-d'Espoir) on this site in 1926 to spur the development of area farms. Today, this cooperatively-run institution is the home of a series of themed gardens where the accent is on sustainable agriculture and locally grown foods. You can also buy a modest range of other locally-produced artisanal products at the Gardens, including a line of all-natural cosmetics.
Phare du Cap-Blanc
This picture-perfect lighthouse stands 7 m (24 feet) in height, and was built in 1915 to replace an earlier structure from 1874. Though it's no longer operational, the light from this octagonal, stubby, red-and-white beacon once shone for 24 km (15 miles), warning ships away from the rocky shoals off White Head (Cap Blanc) south of Percé. The land where Cap-Blanc Lighthouse stands is today part of the Camping du Phare à Percé campground; while the grounds are nominally closed to visitors, campground staff tends to be tolerant of folks who stop by for brief snapshots.
Known in the 17th century as "Roland's Table" (La Table à Roland) due to its flat top, Mont Sainte-Anne's breathtaking majesty has made it a religious site for centuries of Gaspesians: from the Mi'kmaq who took their tribe's newborn babies here to present them to the sun god, to 19th- and early 20th-century Québécois devotees of St. Anne who would make pilgrimages there every July 26. Today, hikers can follow in their footsteps and enjoy great views over the town and out to L'Anse-à-Beaufils, Percé Rock, and Bonaventure Island.
It's a longer hike to Mont Blanc than either The Grotto or Mont Sainte-Anne, but it's worthwhile: the Sentier de la Crevasse trail takes you alongside a deep crevice in the side of the mountain which, at a height of some 300 m (1,000 feet) straight down, makes for a dizzying experience. Mont Blanc is a bit taller than Mont Sainte-Anne; its summit is accessible via a steep dirt track that begins at the end of sentier de la Crevasse and affords beautiful views over the Gaspesian coast north of Percé and out to the open ocean.