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Chandler (Quebec)

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Overview

Wikivoyage guide · 26 sections

▸Introduction564 chars

Birthplace of traditional folk singer Mary "La Bolduc" Travers and championship hockey goaltender Mathieu Garon, Chandler is one of the largest towns in the Gaspé Peninsula, a deepwater seaport and industrial centre situated near the mouth of Chaleur Bay. Although it doesn't have a wealth of tourist attractions to offer visitors, Chandler prides itself on its status as a village-rélais — a Québécois term for a small village or town that boasts a disproportionate wealth of accommodations, shopping and dining options, and other services for highway travellers.

▸Understand384 chars

The city of Chandler took its current form in 2001, when it absorbed the municipalities of Grand-Pabos-Ouest, Newport, Pabos, Pabos Mills, and Saint-François-de-Pabos. The enlarged city was renamed Pabos, but a year later reverted to Chandler. Though the names of these places are still in use by locals, all their attractions and other points of interest are covered in this article.

▸History1,157 chars

The Chandler area was one of the first parts of the Gaspé Peninsula to be permanently settled by Europeans: as early as 1729, it was home to a community of Basque fishermen called "Pabos", a name of uncertain origin. Though it was razed to the ground by the British in 1758, during the French and Indian War, Pabos was soon rebuilt and flourishing. Through the 19th century it was the largest town in the area, a centre of civic and religious life in the Gaspé Peninsula.

Facts

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

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▸By car1,253 chars

Given its status as a village-rélais — not to mention its great distance from passenger airports of any size or importance — Chandler is especially well adapted for those arriving by car. Like most of the Gaspé Peninsula's towns, Chandler is located directly on Provincial Route 132, the main route on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.

The quickest way to Chandler from Quebec City is to take Autoroute 20 east to the end of the road in Mont-Joli; at the traffic circle, bear right (toward Amqui and New Brunswick) and continue for another 365 km (225 miles). Taking this route, the total travel time from Quebec City is roughly seven and a half to eight hours, excluding stops. However, in practice a majority of visitors to Chandler arrive from the direction of Gaspé and Percé. That route — north from the end of A-20 toward Sainte-Flavie and Matane, then eastward along Route 132 along the shore of the St. Lawrence — is by far more scenic and enjoyable than its counterpart, and it only adds another 15 minutes or so onto your travel time.

If you're coming from the Maritimes, cross the Quebec/New Brunswick border at Campbellton and take Route 132 east for around 200 kilometres (125 miles). Chandler is a little over two hours past the border.

▸By boat1,575 chars

Chandler is a port of call for the M/V CTMA Vacancier, a cruise ship that plies the St. Lawrence River from Montreal, taking in Quebec City, the Charlevoix, the Gaspé Peninsula, and the Îles de la Madeleine. There are fifteen departures between mid-June and late September which include both "classic cruises" and themed voyages focusing on health and wellness, Madelinot cuisine, Acadian history, and other specialties. Passengers on the Vacancier can purchase a round-trip ticket that includes two stops in Chandler (a brief one-hour call on the evening of the second day, and a full morning on Day 6 which includes shuttle service to Percé Rock), and one-way service between the different stopovers is also available. Prices are $999 round-trip; one-way service starts at $434 per cabin for the two-day Montreal-Chandler route, plus $205 per car and $25 per bike, or $730 per cabin, plus $519 per car and $50 per bike for those who want to visit the Îles de la Madeleine before disembarking at Chandler on the way back. All prices quoted here include meals and onboard activities but exclude taxes, service fees, port costs ($82 plus tax), and a $300 deposit that's refundable if cancelled at least 60 days in advance.

If you have a private boat, the marina at the 2 Chandler Yacht Club (Club nautique de Chandler) can be found at 510, rue Ernest-Whittom. The marina has 20 slips available for visitors at a rate of $1 per foot per day, $5 per foot per week and $10 per foot per 2 weeks, as well as fuel and pump-out services, showers, and wireless Internet on the docks.

▸By bus1,531 chars

RéGÎM is the public transit service for the Gaspé Peninsula, with a network that spreads over most parts of the region. There are two lines that serve Chandler:

Route 31 provides weekday afternoon service between Chandler and Percé, with two buses leaving Percé for Chandler at 13:00 and 17:00 and arriving at 13:56 and 17:56 respectively. Going the other way, buses depart Chandler at 11:59 and 15:59 and arrive back at Percé at 12:53 and 16:53, respectively.

Route 32 buses leave Paspébiac every weekday morning at 06:20, passing through downtown Chandler at 07:21 on their way to Percé. On the return leg, Paspébiac-bounded buses leave Percé at 09:00 and pass through downtown Chandler at 09:48. There are also abbreviated trips in the afternoon, with Grande-Rivière-bound buses leaving Paspébiac at 14:30 and passing through Chandler at 15:31, with westbound return trips leaving Grande-Rivière at 16:15 and passing through Chandler at 16:37. All buses on Route 32 except 06:20 departures from Paspébiac and 16:15 departures from Grande-Rivière require reservations made at least 24 hours in advance (call +1-877-521-0841).

Fare is payable in cash ($4) or with tickets ($3 apiece, available in books of ten from participating retailers or directly from the bus drivers). If you're planning on making heavy use of RéGÎM during your stay in the Gaspé Peninsula, it might be useful to buy a prepaid Access Card (available online for $5), which are good for a whole month and entitle you to the same discounted $3 fare as tickets.

▸See2,286 chars

1 Linda Molloy Art Gallery (Galerie d'art Linda-Molloy), 5, rue de la Baie, ☏ +1 418-689-3992. Open Jul-Aug. A self-taught watercolourist whose lovely landscapes and happy scenes of life on the shore of Chaleur Bay are painted in a bright yet not garish palette, Chandler native Linda Molloy operates a cozy, yet bright and airy, gallery in an unassuming two-story house on a quiet side street in Pabos Mills.

2 Mary "La Bolduc" Travers Museum (Site Mary Travers dite: « La Bolduc »), 342, route 132, ☏ +1 418-777-2401. M-W Sa 10:00-17:00, Th F 10:00-00:00, Su 13:00-17:00; open mid-Jun through mid-Sep. Located on the wave-lapped shore of Chaleur Bay in Newport, a 15-minute drive from downtown Chandler, is this museum dedicated to the Cinderella story of local native Mary Travers, an ordinary working-class housewife who became, in the 1920s and 1930s, one of the most famous and innovative voices in chanson, or Québécois folk music. The museum's permanent collection includes artifacts, historic photos, recorded music, and other items that tell the story of the "Queen of Canadian Folk Singers", and temporary exhibits and special events are frequently featured as well. You can also catch spirited musical performances over tea in the cozy little onsite performance space, with modern-day chansonniers singing the songs of La Bolduc and her contemporaries.

3 Pabos Archaeological Site (Site archéologique de Pabos), 75, rue de la Plage, ☏ +1 418 689-6043. Daily 09:00-17:00; open early Jun through mid-Sep. Located in Pabos Mills at the east end of Pabos Borough Park (Parc du bourg de Pabos), this site encompasses the former grounds of the manor of Jean-François Lefebvre de Bellefeuille, the seigneur (feudal lord) of Pabos from 1729 until 1758. There's a marked trail with bilingual interpretive plaques that leads visitors around the former townsite and past the remains of the chapel, an old mill, some fishing shacks, and the town cemetery. At the interpretive centre, artifacts of both European and Indigenous provenance are displayed, and plenty of exhibits are on hand for those interested in the history of Pabos as an 18th-century fishing village. $8, children 12-17 and seniors $7, families $16; with guided tour $10, children 12-17 and seniors $8, families $18.

▸Festivals and events1,199 chars

Pabos Country Fair (Foire country de Pabos). As the hometown of La Bolduc, Chandler is much better known as an epicentre of chanson than of country music. However, that doesn't stop folks from all over the region coming to the 1 Pabos Recreation Park (Parc récréatif de Pabos) for four nights of country line dancing and rollicking musical performances by local bards — including, in its 2014 iteration, a Shania Twain tribute show par excellence. But music is only one facet of the experience at the Pabos Country Fair: this is a full-scale country hoedown, with a horse show, target-shooting demonstrations, thrilling horse races, food and drink, and, on opening day, a grand parade through the streets of Pabos with inflatable floats.

Pabos Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Pabos). Every year in early February, locals brave the winter cold at the 2 Pabos Recreation Centre (Centre des loisirs de Pabos) for a weekend-long winter carnival that's fun for the whole family. By day, revelers can enjoy snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on the complex's manicured trails, as well as ice skating and tobogganing; in the evenings the festivities move indoors for a set of rousing musical performances.

▸Beaches1,271 chars

Despite its relative paucity of tourist attractions per se, one thing Chandler does have in spades is beaches. You'll find the best ones west of downtown, with 3 Pabos Bank Beach (Plage du banc de Pabos) the most popular of the lot (and, in fact, renowned as one of the finest beaches in all of Quebec). Located on a narrow sand spit between Grand Pabos Bay and the larger Chaleur Bay, this is the only beach in town that's patrolled by lifeguards (Jun-Aug, 11:00-17:00). As well, there are volleyball nets, a picnic ground, a large concession stand, and free parking. On the other side of the inlet, 4 Pabos Borough Park (Parc du bourg de Pabos) in Pabos Mills also has three beaches of a more secluded character.

Further west still, in Newport, are 5 Beaux Sables Beach (Plage des Beaux Sables) and 6 L'Anse à Blondel Beach (Plage de l'Anse à Blondel), a pair of pleasant strands further off the beaten path that boast a range of services. In Chandler itself, you have 7 Chenal Beach (Plage du Chenal), a lovely sandy shoreline where kitesurfing is a popular pastime, as well as 8 Marina Beach (Plage de la Marina), which — as the site of a pair of wrecks including the Unisol, a Peruvian cargo ship that went down in 1983 — is popular with snorkelers and scuba divers.

▸Fishing1,092 chars

Though they fly under the radar compared to some other rivers of the region, the three Pabos Rivers (the Petit Pabos, the Grand Pabos Ouest, and the Grand Pabos Nord) boast some of the best salmon fishing in all of Quebec, thanks to stringent management of the fishery by the provincial government to aid in the recovery of this once-declining species. The three Pabos Rivers make up the Pabok Controlled Harvesting Zone (Zone d'exploitation contrôlée Pabok) and boast 50 km (31 miles) of fishable waters between them; salmon season is June 15-September 30 and is subject to licensing restrictions (licences can be purchased at various locations around town) and daily catch limits. Unique among Quebec's salmon-fishing rivers, salmon caught in the Pabos Rivers that measure more than 63 cm (25 inches) long must be thrown back — this is in order to aid continuing conservation efforts. The Pabos Rivers are also a great place to catch brook trout, three-spined stickleback, Atlantic tomcod, and rainbow smelt. For more information, check out the Three Pabos Rivers website , in French only.

▸Eat4,667 chars

Chandler's dining scene is remarkable not for its great diversity of cuisines, but for the surprising number of restaurants, cafés and snack bars to choose from in a town this size. The bread and butter here is fast-food establishments and chains — travellers along Route 132 can avail themselves of 1 McDonald's, 2 Subway, 3 Tim Hortons, and other roadside rest-stop favourites — but Chandler has its share of locally-owned operations as well, some of which are listed below.

4 La Chaloupe sur Mer, 399, boulevard Pabos, ☏ +1 418-689-6500. One of Chandler's nicest restaurants, La Chaloupe sur Mer's menu boasts an amazingly diverse selection of items including the seafood specialties ubiquitous to the area, some killer chicken kebabs, pizza, and from Thursday through Saturday, a range of Canadian-Chinese mains. There's also a prix fixe menu that is good value, comprised of soup of the day, your choice of appetizer, and a seafood entree. Try to get a table by the front windows: the view over Chaleur Bay from the dining room is unparalleled. Service can sometimes be slow and inattentive. Free WiFi is offered.

5 Le Chialeux, 195, rue Commerciale Ouest, ☏ +1 418 689-3938. Tu-Sa 11:30-14:00 & 17:00-21:00. Located right downtown across from the Chandler Golf Club, Le Chialeux's menu is dominated by a huge selection of pastas: you start with spaghetti, farfalle, or penne, or homemade fettuccine, linguine, tortellini, or ravioli, then you choose from a vast selection of specialty sauces to top it with (many of these are quite creative and luxurious, incorporating locally-sourced seafood as ingredients). Seafood is also the star of the show in the appetizer selections, whether it be crab rolls, smoked salmon, or a great seafood chowder. Panini sandwiches are served for the lunchtime crowd, and daily specials are offered. Bring your own wine. $15-40.

6 La Grave, 5, rue de la Plage, ☏ +1 418-689-6043. Daily 09:00-20:00, mid-Jun through early Sep. It doesn't get any better than this: at La Grave, you can relax on a breezy terrace overlooking the beach at Pabos Bank and enjoy fish chowder and other seafood specialties for lunch or dinner — or, in the morning, a wide range of breakfast platters (try the scrambled eggs with lobster). If seafood is not your thing, hot dogs, hamburgers, poutine, and other summery fare is also available. There's a large, airy dining room as well. $10-30.

7 Le Huard, 46, boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, ☏ +1 418-689-5052. This humble but pleasant little place in Pabos Mills serves pizza, seafood, and other homestyle specialties in a friendly atmosphere. Delivery is also available.

8 Ô P'tit Café, 515, avenue Daigneault, ☏ +1 418-689-4420. Located at the Motel Chandler a stone's throw away from the Place du Havre shopping centre, Ô P'tit Café boasts an elegant yet cozy and relaxed ambience in which is served upscale dinners of chicken, pasta, meats, pizza, and — of course — the seafood that lies at the heart of Gaspesian cuisine, with a fresh-from-the-docks flavour you'll find in few other regions. Interestingly, the menu also contains a few Greek specialties, as well as a daily three-course prix fixe meal that's a good value for the money. The lunch menu is modest in size and consists of salads, sandwiches and burgers. There's also an extensive beer and wine list featuring craft beers from Pit Caribou, brewed just down the road in L'Anse-à-Beaufils.

9 Le Sieur de Pabos, 325, route 132, ☏ +1 418-689-2281. Daily until 22:00. You wouldn't expect the most refined fine-dining experience in Chandler from a motel restaurant, and certainly not at prices as affordable as these. But that's exactly what you get at the Motel Fraser's Le Sieur de Pabos. What the menu lacks in size, it makes up for in diversity and quality — going far beyond the seafood that's the stock in trade of restaurants around these parts, the ever-changing menu at Le Sieur de Pabos is crowned by a table d'hôte that features a diversity of delicious meals crafted from locally-sourced ingredients. There's also a range of à la carte options that run the gamut from steaks and chops to chicken to pasta (and yes, seafood lovers are well taken care of here too). Seasonal selections abound, and no matter what you order, you can be assured that everything is prepared artfully, in a way that balances time-tested tradition with creative innovation. Best of all, Le Sieur de Pabos' chefs are happy to cook dishes to order and to accommodate those with food allergies, special diets, and the like. The ambience features dim lighting and a contemporary, arguably Asian-inspired decor centred on a lovely glass-wall waterfall.

▸Hotels and motels1,724 chars

1 Motel Chandler, 515, avenue Daigneault, ☏ +1 418 689-4444. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Situated close to the Place du Havre shopping centre yet boasting a full slate of amenities, Motel Chandler is equally suitable for business travellers and tourists. Rooms contain either one king or two queen beds, as well as air conditioning, iron and ironing board, coffeemaker, refrigerator, and a flat-screen TV with cable. Soundproof rooms, local newspaper delivery, and up to one extra bed per room (subject to a $10 upcharge) are also available on request. Relax on the sundeck in the summer, in the sauna or hot tub in cooler weather, and year-round at the lovely onsite restaurant where locally-brewed Pit Caribou craft beer is on tap. Free WiFi is available. $95-135/night in high season for up to two people; $10 for each additional person.

2 Motel Fraser, 325, route 132, ☏ +1 418-689-2281. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 11:00. The Fraser is the smaller and less expensive of Chandler's two motels, but don't let that fool you: this place has its own charms, from the comfy rooms newly renovated with a modern decor and eco-friendly materials such as cork flooring and hypoallergenic Milano bedding, to Le Sieur de Pabos, Chandler's most upscale restaurant with a breezy terrace bar looking out over the outdoor pool (open seasonally), to special packages for snowmobilers and ATV enthusiasts during the autumn and winter months. All 31 of the Motel Fraser's rooms contain a fridge, coffeemaker, and flat-screen TV with cable, and WiFi is free and available throughout the property. Pets are also accepted, subject to additional fees. $80-109/night in high season for up to two people; $10 each for additional person.

▸Gîtes2,483 chars

For a more unique and charming experience, you might consider spending the night at a gîte — the Québécois term for a bed & breakfast.

3 Parfum de Mer, 320, boulevard Pabos, ☏ +1 418-689-5806. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 11:00. Parfum de Mer is an odd mixed bag: the proprietor, Madeleine, is bilingual, supremely friendly, knowledgeable about things to do in the area, and really gets down to the nitty-gritty in providing guests with a pleasant, peaceful getaway from the workaday world, yet she is also by some accounts a stickler for the rules, especially when it comes to noise. It's on busy Route 132, but in a quiet location on the outskirts of Pabos, with a peaceful terraced garden in back with sweeping views over Chaleur Bay, and a private beach and kayak launch to boot. Breakfasts are artfully prepared in-house, and Madeleine's homemade jams are legendary — but the preparation happens the night before and the food is refrigerated overnight in the kitchen, with guests left to make their own plates in the morning. The guest lounge and kitchen are spacious and inviting, but tucked away in the basement and, in the case of the kitchen, only open during breakfast time — another of those house rules Madeleine enforces strictly. If you can take the good with the bad, Parfum de Mer might be for you. There's three guest rooms, with decor that's pleasant if a bit dated: two boast a full-size bed and come with en suite bathroom and kitchenette, hair dryers, iron and ironing board, and free WiFi; the third room is somewhat larger, with a queen bed and all of the above-listed amenities plus cable TV and soundproof walls. No children under 5 are admitted. Open year-round. $73-83/night in high season.

4 La Petite Auberge, 493, rue Réhel, ☏ +1 418-689-7100. A handsome wood-frame house built in 1916 for the Langlois family, La Petite Auberge's location in the heart of downtown Chandler just a block off Route 132 isn't what you would call quiet. However, owner Gilda Grenier really does a good job crafting a pleasant, relaxing experience for her guests. The four guest rooms each are equipped with cable TV, free wireless Internet, and fireplaces; two bathrooms are shared among them. There's also a comfy sitting room where breakfast is served each morning from 7AM to 9PM: a full spread of French toast, pancakes, cereal, homemade jams, a selection of meat, and coffee. Parking is on-street, but free of charge. Website in French only. $75/night in high season.

▸Campgrounds1,976 chars

5 Pabos Borough Campground (Camping du Bourg de Pabos), 75, rue de la Plage, ☏ +1 418-689-6043. Open early Jun through late Sep. Boasting an ideal location at Pabos Borough Park directly adjacent to some of the finest beaches in all of Quebec, Pabos Borough Campground is a perfect choice for families with children as well as inexperienced campers — a number of trailers and tents are available for rent for those without their own, and themed celebrations including "Pyjama Day" and "Western Day" are a hit with the younger set. Pabos Borough Campground has 128 campsites; water, electricity, and sewer connections (or any combination thereof) are available, as well as primitive campsites located directly on the beach. There's also WiFi Internet, a public phone, a children's playground, horseshoe pits and a pétanque terrain, an extensive network of hiking trails, laundry facilities, and a community lounge with a small kitchen area and indoor activities available for rainy days. Shower and toilet facilities are handicapped-accessible. Full service sites $36/day, $215/week, and $540/month; primitive sites $20/day, $110/week, and $280/month; see website for further pricing details.

6 La Seigneurie, 99, route de l'Église, ☏ +1 418 689-3031. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 11:00. Open Jun-Sep. This 60-site campground is part of the gargantuan La Seigneurie Outdoor Centre (Centre de plein air La Seigneurie), so campers here are not wanting for things to do: go-karting, frisbee golf, rock climbing, miniature golf, hiking, and mountain biking are just a few of the activities offered at La Seigneurie, and there's a 1.5-km-long (1 mile long) beach for those with something a bit more relaxing in mind. As for the campground itself, both serviced and unserviced sites are offered at a variety of rates, free WiFi is available all over the property, and the community room contains a TV, microwave, and laundry and shower facilities. Website in French only. $24-34/day.

▸Go next2,248 chars

If you're following the Route 132 circuit south and west from the direction of Gaspé and Percé, Chandler is the gateway to the Chaleur Bay region — and a quite different side of the Gaspé Peninsula than you've seen thus far, with flat, lush farmland sandwiched between the low foothills of the Chic-Choc Mountains and the bay that gives the area its name.

The first town you'll pass through when heading west is Paspébiac, which, like Chandler, is one of the oldest settlements in the region — the lagoon that gave the town its name (derived from the Mi'kmaq word papgeg ispegiag) once teemed with cod, around which coalesced a motley settlement of Norman French, Basques, Jèrriais, and above all, Acadians. Today, the restored Charles Robin Company warehouses are open to the public as the Paspébiac Fishing Bank National Historic Site, and there are also some pretty good beaches there.

Further west, Acadian heritage also abounds in Bonaventure, founded in 1760 by some of the first wave of refugees who fled the expulsion of the Acadians (Grand dérangement) from the Maritime Provinces. Don't be fooled by its sleepy appearance, though: thanks to the gargantuan Quebec Acadian Museum (Musée acadien du Québec), a huge complex featuring everything from historical artifacts to traditional art to reconstructed artisans' workshops to living history displays, and the Gaspé Biopark (Bioparc de la Gaspésie), where a few dozen species of native animals are displayed, Bonaventure is one of the most important tourist towns in the Chaleur Bay region.

If you're heading in the other direction, you'll soon come to Percé, home to the Gaspé Peninsula's two marquee tourist attractions, which together make up Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park (Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé). If elbowing your way through a bustling souvenir shop or people-watching from the terrace of a nice restaurant sounds like the perfect antidote to the solitary tranquility of the rest of the Gaspé Peninsula, Percé is the place for you — but if you're hungry for more quietude, there's also secluded beaches in places like Coin-du-Banc, sea kayaking in off-the-beaten-path Pointe-Saint-Pierre, and long hiking trails through the mountains.