Percé and L'Anse-à-Beaufils

The town of Percé, named after Percé Rock, is located at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, directly opposite the famous rock and Bonaventure Island. Percé Rock has captured the attention of passersby for decades: descriptive notes by Samuel de Champlain from 1603 mention the beauty of the area.

Once a small fishing village, Percé offers a unique built heritage and an exceptional maritime panorama: Percé Rock, like a massive ship stranded near the shore, is overflown by birds and accessible at low tide, with steep cliffs on either side, and nearby, Bonaventure Island, now a Quebec national park, a summer refuge for over 250,000 migratory birds, including 120,000 northern gannets.

Behind the magnificent Saint-Michel Church, trails lead to the lookouts at the summit of Mont Ste-Anne, the Grotto, and the Crevasse, where one can marvel at the site's beauty.

In the village, there are old fishing buildings, ancestral homes, a museum, art galleries, and an impressive tourist infrastructure.

Photo source: Wikipedia, by Claude Boucher

This village was named L'Anse-à-Beaufils after a French nobleman named Bonfils. This nobleman is said to have lived there at the beginning of the New France colony. According to legend, he bore a strong resemblance to the King of France, and a great mystery surrounded his origin. Some claimed he was the twin brother of Louis XIV, the famous Man in the Iron Mask.

L'Anse-à-Beaufils was, until 1971, a village in Eastern Quebec. Since then, the village has been merged with the town of Percé.

Today, L'Anse-à-Beaufils offers interpretation and animation activities along a beach known for its agates and jaspers.

Photo: L'Anse-à-Beaufils in 1949 (Wikipedia, by E.L. Désilet)