Rue Principale (Main Street)

Percé is a small village at the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, and its main road is the place where everything meets: the shops, the restaurants, the wharf and the view. Rue Principale runs through the village along the shore, and it is part of Route 132, the highway that circles the peninsula. Along it, wooden houses and inns face the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at the southern end of the street the great limestone mass of Percé Rock rises from the water, about 430 metres long and some 88 metres high, with a natural arch at one end that gave the village its name, from the French for pierced.

The street is the commercial centre of Percé, and its character is that of a seaside resort. Restaurants serve the produce of the Gaspé coast, from lobster and snow crab to cod, scallops, shrimp and smoked fish, and many have terraces with views over the bay. Cafés and bakeries line the road alongside craft shops, galleries and boutiques selling local art, pottery, knitwear and souvenirs. Several inns and small hotels, some in historic buildings, offer rooms above the street, and the whole scene is busiest in July and August, when evening strollers fill the sidewalks.

The street is also the gateway to the village's great natural attractions. Boats leave from the wharf for Bonaventure Island, a short crossing away, where a vast colony of northern gannets, among the largest in the world, nests on the cliffs. Tours circle Percé Rock and cruise near seabird colonies, and in summer whale-watching trips go farther out. The national park, Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, protects the island and the rock. On the hill above the village, the Géoparc de Percé has hiking trails and a suspended glass-floored platform that gives a spectacular view down over the village and the sea, and Mont-Sainte-Anne and the Cap-Barré area add more walking.

For the quietest visit, note that Percé's roads fill with visitors in summer, and the quieter shoulder seasons of June and September offer an easier pace, with fewer crowds. Many businesses close from October to May, so plan accordingly outside the summer season. A walk along the street takes less than half an hour, but sunset on the wharf, with the rock lit by the last light, is worth waiting for.

Visitors on a Quebec road trip around the Gaspésie, along with couples and families, will find it suits them.