1, 2, 3… Launch!
Immerse the family in the world of
the St. Lawrence River’s sailors
at the Musée Maritime de Charlevoix.
For an outing that takes your breath away just as surely as the wind on the open ocean might, that requires the skills of a good ship’s mate (Hello, Spirit of Adventure!) and that combines the outdoors with a cultural activity, we set full sail, and point ourselves towards the Musée maritime de Charlevoix maritime museum. Located in Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, beside what, around here, we call the sea, discover a unique place that offers visitors 12 ways to be entertained: You’ll remember this as the best day of your vacation!
01-
Maritime shipyard
Make the old sawmill, the store, the workshop, the pier, and the hauling system your playground for the day; the museum is located in an old shipyard, a historic site recognized by Heritage Canada.
02-
Born to sail
The whole family taking to the river on a schooner, really? Mariners and storytellers alike, the families of Charlevoix sailors tell their tales in a touching and immersive film projected on three of the exhibit space’s four walls. Discover their stories.
03-
Les Fêtes de la mer [Celebration of the Sea]
Once a year (July 6, in 2025), a celebration descends on the Musée maritime when music, food, family fun, and presentations enliven the site, which also hosts small boat races in the river, and a competition to see who can build the best sailing vessel out of cardboard!
04-
Picnicking
The museum property includes many spots set up perfectly for picnics, not to mention a spot where visitors can buy coffee, a variety of drinks, and snacks.
05-
The boats
No matter your age, you can have fun pretending to be captain, and exploring the crew quarters! Step onto the bridge of each of the Musée maritime’s four vessels, including two motor schooners typical of the coastal shipping on the St. Lawrence River sheltered from the elements, one tugboat, and the magnificent Marie Clarisse, a sailing schooner that’s over 100 years old…
06-
Multimedia experience
The St.-André’s hold comes to life, and visitors experience the loading and transport of wood and dynamite on a voyage that takes places at the end of the 1950s.
07-
Escape game
Equipped with a backpack containing all the material you’ll need along the way, the whole museum site (even the vessels themselves) becomes a giant, outdoor escape game! (only in French)
08-
Sailing with the wind
In the Pavillon des pilotes du Bas Saint-Laurent [Lower St. Lawrence River pilots pavilion], visitors learn how to sail by playing mechanical games, brain games, and digital games (that’s right, we mean video games)!
09-
Parc des navigateurs [Sailors’ park]
An aerial adventure course, a hedge maze, an arboretum, a playground, and massive sculptures: An entire world visitors can explore, where they can let off a little steam on the sprawling maritime museum grounds.
10-
Forêt marine trail
310 metres of elevation gain, 4 linear kilometres, arched wooden bridge, lookouts on the river and Isle-aux-Coudres: Discover the forested area that once provided the wood for schooner construction, using your own feet!
11-
Jean-Richard exhibit
The dismantling of Quebec’s last schooner, built in Petite- Rivière-Saint-François, is highlighted in this new exhibit at the Musée maritime de Charlevoix.
12-
Naufrages exhibit
This “submersive” exhibit recounts the stories of 15 shipwrecks by way of testimonials from survivors, witnesses, and rescuers, as well as artifacts. For 2025, previously unseen video content of the exploration of the presumed wreck of the Minerva, a vessel more than 200 years old lying on the bottom in 45 metres of water near the Isle-aux-Coudres, has been added.
