Where to Stay in Saguenay, Québec

What is Saguenay known for?

On the deep waters of the Saguenay where cliffs rise sheer from the river, it grew as a lumber and paper town far up in the north, and it keeps the old Chicoutimi pulp mill by the falls, the little white house that survived the great flood, the lookouts high over the fjord, and the French life of the northern country. The cliffs fall straight to the water. Deep water fills the fjord.

What are the main landmarks in Saguenay?

The fjord is the wonder of Saguenay. The deep blue trench of water walled by great rock cliffs, running for miles between the forests, is the emblem of the region, past the town. A little white house stands by the river.

The Petite Maison Blanche, spared by the great flood, sits alone by the water, while the old pulp mill, the fjord lookouts, and the deep bay of Ha! Ha! mark the country around Saguenay.

What is the history of Saguenay?

Saguenay grew on the timber of the north. In the nineteenth century French settlers pushed up the fjord to fell the great forests, and towns rose on the river to saw the wood and grind the pulp, chief among them Chicoutimi at the head of navigation. Wood built the towns.

Sawmills and pulp mills lined the falls, and the river carried the timber and the ships far down to the sea. Later came aluminum and flood. Great smelters rose at Jonquière to turn the north's power into metal, and the towns of the fjord grew together into the city of Saguenay.

Then the waters rose. In 1996 a great flood tore through the valley, and one little white house that stood against the torrent became a symbol of the region, kept ever since by the river. The fjord still guards the city.

Saguenay keeps its cliffs and its river on the deep fjord.

Where is Saguenay?

Saguenay lies in the north of Quebec, on the Saguenay River where it runs through a great fjord. The city spreads along the river where the water fills a deep trench between high rock cliffs, cut long ago by the ice, in a northern land of forest and lake beyond the settled south. Steep rock walls rise from the water.

The dark river runs east to the sea.

What is the climate of Saguenay?

Saguenay has a cold northern climate of long winters. Short warm summers and long, cold winters cross the fjord country, with deep snow through the winter and cool bright summers, sharper than the south for its northern reach. Deep snow blankets the town in winter.

The fjord holds the cold late into spring.

How do you get to Saguenay?

Saguenay lies in northern Quebec, up the fjord road from Quebec City. Roads run to it north through the forest and the mountains, and a small airport links the south. Boats ride the fjord to the sea.

Quebec City lies to the south.