Detailed road map of Victoriaville area, Quebec Canada

The Bois-Francs      

First settled by the French in 1825, the Bois-Francs stretches  from the St. Lawrence plain to the Appalachian foothills and connects  the Arthabaska and Erable regions. The Bois-Francs provides a wealth of  historical sites and monuments, cultural activities and festivities for  visitors. Agriculture is the backbone of the area; its dairy farms are  the most attractive and the largest in all of Canada, and "Les Bois," as  it is commonly called, is known around the world for its maple syrup.  The Bois-Francs also inspired many famous personalities who helped shape  Canada's political and cultural life, such as Wilfrid Laurier, artist  Marc-Aurele de Foy Suzor-Cote, and botanist Frere Marie-Victorin. The  source of their inspiration is still alive and well today, and can be  found in the riches of the region's many art galleries, theaters,  museums, festivals, parks, and lakes.      

Notre-Dame-du-Cap Shrine      

Becancour [A1] Home to both the Abenaki First Nations reserve  and Quebec's only operating nuclear power plant, this dynamic industrial  city affords a window on the past through its covered bridges and mills  that once harnessed the power of water and wind.      

Black Lake [E8] The largest asbestos mine in North America  sits on the site of the drained Lac Noir, whose surface once was said to  appear entirely black. At a lookout point on Hwy 112, you can watch  asbestos being mined through each step of the extraction process.      

Cap-de-la-Madeleine [A1] Named after a historic seigneury,  Cap-de-la-Madeleine has a rich and storied religious past. The  Notre-Dame-du-Cap Shrine has been the site of pilgrimages since 1883.  Each year, the city hosts the Public Entertainers Festival, a  celebration of clowns, magicians, jugglers, tightrope walkers, and  mimes.      

Inverness [В7] Founded by Scottish immigrants, this town of  855 is home to many Quebe-cois clockmakers, artists, and sculptors. The  latter display their bronze creations at the Art Foundry of Inverness,  where you can view and purchase their works.      

Plessisville [C6] Named for Maj. Joseph-Octave Plessis, the  eleventh bishop of Quebec, Plessisville is the world's maple capital,  producing three million kilograms of maple syrup a year! If you can't  make the annual Maple Festival held in May, visit La Sucrerie d'Antan, a  sugar shack that's operated the old-fashioned way, with buckets,  panels, and work horses.      

VlCTORIAVILLE [D4-5]      

When the seigneuries along the St. Lawrence River became  crowded, farmers came to clear new land in the hardwood forests of the  Bois-Francs, and Victoriaville was born in 1861. Sir Wilfrid Laurier  lived here for 20 years, and the brick house built for him in 1876 is  now a museum. The economic heart of the region, Victoriaville was once  famed for its hockey sticks, and still offers a myriad of sports  activities, like the Great Challenge, a pentathlon of sports in August,  and the Bois-Francs Linear Park, a cycling path running 77 km along an  old railway through the Bois-Francs. Victo, as the locals call it, also  boasts an acclaimed experimental music festival in May and the  International Amateur Theatre Festival in July.      

Warwick [E4] Named after the city of Warwick in England, this  town is known for its handsome golf courses and elegant gardens. In  June, a cheese festival invites cheese producers from across the  province.      

ATTRACTIONS      

BECANCOUR      

Wolinak First Nation Reserve Gentilly River Regional Park  Gentilly-2 Nuclear Power Station Saint-Gregoire Windmill Biodiversity  Centre      

BLACK LAKE      

Lab Chrysotile Mine Observation Point (Hwy 112)      

CAP-DE-LA-MADELEINE      

Notre-Dame-du-Cap Shrine Cultural Centre      

INVERNESS      

Art Foundry of Inverness Inverness Bronze Museum Lysander Falls      

PLESSISVILLE      

Maple Museum (Musee quebecois de I'erable) La Sucrerie d'Antan (sugar shack) Bourbon River Park      

VICTORIAVILLE      

Bois-Francs Linear Park Mont Saint-Michel Laurier Museum Sir Wilfrid Laurier      

House Post Off ice (1910) Saint-Christophe Cathedral (1873)  Sainte-Victoire Cathedral (1897) Cinq-Chicots Wood Schoolhouse (1903)      

WARWICK      

Warwick Gardens      

Solar Clock Covered Bridge Mount Gleason Ski Centre