La Malbaie: The good life

Living in La Malbaie, 
is to say “Yes” to happiness, 
“Yes” to the good life!

At the harbour park, things come alive when the Ferris wheel and games booths are set up… Children laugh, while parents picnic. Soon to take the summer stage, performers on the summer event program will lead the crowd in song while, three minutes walk from there, a heron stirs as passers-by look on. It soars silently above the shore, revealed at low tide, accessible by a granite staircase. Walking the beach, one almost forgets that dinosaurs walked the very cliff a meteor slammed into, shaping Charlevoix: the same cliff conquered by Champlain himself! All this, seen in the films projected on the Cité Mémoire tour, and admired, soft ice cream in hand, from the jetty’s ­illuminated bridge. The same one that made La Malbaie’s reputation, on Instagram! We could keep telling this story, of a typical summer evening’s stroll in La Malbaie for a while: tell you of colourful restaurants, of stairs that lead right to the casino, of fireworks that occasionally light up the night sky… This city is a living landscape, a painting brought to life, filled with joy and freely offered amusements, accessible to all, residents and visitors alike!

Downtown, on the newly revamped rue Saint-Étienne, we explore the shops, stand and look at the brand-new, brightly colourful elementary school. We hurry to the Saturday morning public market to find terroir [local foods]; it’s also a real public square where people can find each other; where, with a view of the bay shining in the summer sun, they can stop and have a good chat. To the left, the many-windowed library, modern and bustling. Below, the Parc du quai Casgrain park, with its play structures and, most importantly, the multicoloured ship that has put smiles on the faces of generations of children. The bike path, and access to the river, starts here. Off in the distance, you can see someone ­fly-fishing, from the parc du Pélican park. Slices of life in La Malbaie, just like this one, are to be collected, hoarded. Sometimes at the Cap-à-l’Aigle gardens, amid the profusion of flowering lilacs, other times at the skating rink, the pool, or even on skis at Mont Grand-Fonds! From the forest in Sainte-Agnès to the famous cheese shop in the village of Saint- ­Fidèle, the land is spacious, joy is plentiful, and life is good under the skies of La Malbaie. A city to experience, to discover, and to make your own!