Salaberry-de-Valleyfield travel guide

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, commonly known as Valleyfield (formerly known as "Pointe-du-Lac" and "Sainte-Cécile-de-Valleyfield"), is an attractive town. It is a city of 42,787 people (2021) located in Beauharnois-Salaberry, in the Western Montérégie region of Quebec.

Wedged between the course of the St. Lawrence River (to the north) and the Beauharnois Canal (to the south), the city of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a leading recreational tourism destination and a cultural city.

Understand

The old Beauharnois Canal with skyline of downtown Valleyfield (Photo: User:P199, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The city is on an island on the St. Lawrence River.

It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Valleyfield and the seat of the judicial district of Beauharnois.

History

In Indigenous prehistory, as well as in the history of New France and the English regime, Grande-Île was recognized as strategically well positioned on the St. Lawrence River. In 1795, the Great Island became the property of Alexander Ellice, a merchant in Great Britain. Located near Pointe-du-Lac, one of the old names of Valleyfield given by French explorers, the site of Grande Île became strategically important in 1812 during the war between England and the United States.

During this period of military activities, the British government had the site of Grande-Île fortified. Thus, in 1813, the construction of a redoubt was carried out under the colonel of the militia and lord of Vaudreuil, Michel Eustache Gaspard Alain Chartier de Lotbinière, at Pointe-aux-Anglais. The infrastructure built in the form of a landing stage consisted of a chain passing from edge to edge of the bay in order to close the entrance. In fact, the most notable contribution of Colonel de Lotbinière, was to build a road across the width of the island so as to quickly reach Coteau-du-Lac on the north shore of the river. This road became Boulevard Grande-Île.

Salaberry was named after Colonel Charles de Salaberry who served with the British Army during the War of 1812. "Valleyfield" came from the Valleyfield Mills, a paper mill south of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Get in

By car

It is 65 km west of Montreal: take Autoroute 20 out off the city to Route 201 South. Follow that south, and turn right onto Rue Alexandre.

By bus

• EXO. Service on Route 1 from Angrignon station in Montreal.
• Société de transport de Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, ☏ +1 450-370-0600. Service from Vaudreuil on Route 338. Reservations required.

By plane

Montreal's

• Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (YULIATA) (also known to locals as Dorval Airport) is 50 km to the east. The airport is served by all major Canadian and U.S. airlines and is a major hub for Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet.

Get around

Société de transport de Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, ☏ +1 450-370-0600. Daily until 00:15. A shared taxi service. Call for reservations. The free Downtown shuttle is a pilot project since August 6, 2022, integrated into circuit 11. It aims to encourage the testing and use of public transport.

See

263, rue Victoria (Photo: Cantons-de-l'Est, CC BY-SA 4.0)

• MUSO - Deux-Rives Society Museum, 21, Dufferin St (at the corner of Grande-Île), ☏ +1 450-370-4855. Thu-Sun 12:00-17:00. It covers the economic and cultural history of the region. Adult $7.50, senior $6, student $4, child 12 and under free.
• Valleyfield Regattas, 395 Victoria Street, ☏ +1 450-371-6144. Since 1938, the event has taken place every year at the beginning of July over a three-day period in the heart of the city on Bay Saint-Francois. The regatta is an international hydroplane boat race, where the hydroplanes (planes without wings) can achieve speeds of up to 225 km/h. Attracting over 130,000 visitors per year, it is a great weekend of thrilling hydroplane races, dinners, parties, outdoor concerts featuring renowned Quebec artists. It is capped off by a fireworks show.
• Saint Cecilia Basilica-Cathedral (Basilique-Cathédrale Sainte Cécile), 19 de l'Église Street, ☏ +1 450-373-0674. Built in 1934, the Basilica-Cathedral is known as one of the most beautiful Gothic Revival buildings in North America. There are religious celebrations every day.

Remains of military fortifications with the waterway in the distance (Photo: Pierre Bona, CC BY-SA 3.0)

• Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site, 308 Chemin du Fleuve, Coteau-du-Lac (5 km from Valleyfield), ☏ +1 450-763-5631, toll-free: +1-888-773-8888. Late June to early Sep: daily 10:00-17:00. It features Canada’s first lock canal and the remains of a fort. With a history spanning 7,000 years, the site was a portage and encampment location used by First Nations people to avoid the rapids, a military fortification, and a canal that opened the way for commercial shipping. Free.

Do

• Parc Delpha Sauvé, 240 Victoria Street (in the centre of town, opposite the Desjardins pedestrian bridge). This bucolic park includes an outdoor aquatic complex, its beach in a natural environment, the Jacques-Cartier cross, the wharf of the Valleyfield kayak club, and a variety of major shows and cultural events.
• Old canal marina in the city center (Marina du Vieux canal au centre-ville), 420 Victoria Street (dockside parking is in the harbour of the marina protected by a pier). The marina of the Old Canal has a capacity of 400 boats at the quay. Its bucolic bay opens onto the majestic Lake Saint-François which is crossed by the St. Lawrence River. Visitors can take advantage of the urban promenade along the Old Canal, its Delpha-Sauvé park, its shore cycle network, the commercial streets of the city center, gourmet restaurants as well as admire the old built and well-restored heritage. This marina also offers a boat launch and a pleasure craft rental service.
• Parc régional des Îles-de-Saint-Timothée (St. Timothy Islands Regional Park), 240 St. Laurent Street (on Papineau Island). A beach, picnic tables, volleyball & bicycles, hydro-bicycles, canoe, a small restaurant.
• Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park (Parc régional de Beauharnois-Salaberry), ☏ +1 450-225-0870. Regional Park laid out on each bank of the Beauharnois canal. It crosses the municipalities/cities of: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (Saint-Timothée sector), Beauharnois, Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois and Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka. It includes a 72-km paved cycling circuit with no gradient. It includes a marsh area on Grande-Île at the border of the Saint-Timothée and Melocheville (Beauharnois) sectors.
• Valleyfield Golf Club (Club de Golf de Valleyfield), 3350, Bord de l'Eau Boulevard, ☏ +1 450-373-2323. This golf club has a pro shop and a bistro. The club offers tournament organization for groups.

Events

The city's website displays a program of local activities relating to the recreation department, school, local associations, training, etc.: HERE

Buy

• Centre Valleyfield, 50 Dufferin Street (corner of Grande-Île Avenue and Dufferin Street), ☏ +1 450-371-3366. Mon-Fri 09:30-21:00, Sat 09:00-17:00, Sun 10:00-17:00. About 30 shops and a 7-screen cinema.

Eat

• La Petite Grange, 415 Larocque Road (near St. Marie Boulevard), ☏ +1 450-371-3510. A bakery, chocolaterie, patisserie, and gift shop that also carries some local products. They have a good selection of cheeses.
• La Nouvelle Orléans, 182 Champlain Street (between Fabrique Street and Larocque Road, in front of the Albert Dumouchel Theatre), ☏ +1 450-373-7997. May-Dec: Wed-Sun from 17:00; Jan-Apr: Wed-Sat from 17:00. Traditional dishes from Louisiana in an ambiance that reflects famous restaurants from the New Orleans French Quarter. Mains $19-34.
• Club Touriste, 133 Victoria Street (entrance is on McLaren Street), ☏ +1 450-373-5290. Mon-Fri from 11:30, Sat from 16:00; mid-May to early Sep: also on Sun from 16:00. Fish, seafood, pasta, burgers, steaks in a Victorian-style mansion.

Drink

• Dooly's Valleyfield, 30 Centenaire Avenue (inside Plaza Hotel), ☏ +1 450-377-2755. Daily 09:00-03:00. Upscale billiard hall.

Sleep

• Hôtel Plaza Valleyfield (Formerly Hôtel Delta Valleyfield), 40 Centenaire Avenue (near Autoroutes 20 and 30), ☏ +1 450-373-1990. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. 124 rooms renovated in 2018. The hotel has a restaurant, a beautiful terrace, a hairdresser, a billiard bar, a fitness centre, a spa centre and an indoor pool. Private and covered parking is free and available on site.
• Motel Grande-Île, 1215 Boulevard Monseigneur-Langlois, ☏ +1 450-373-9080. 55 renovated rooms. All rooms and common areas have free high-speed WiFi. Each room has cable TV, air conditioner, refrigerator, and a microwave.
• Motel au Bord du Lac, 6885 Boulevard Hébert (route 132, in the Saint-Timothée district), ☏ +1 450-371-1039.
• Motel du Lac Saint-Louis, 7175 Boulevard Hébert (along Route 132 in the Saint-Timothée district), ☏ +1 450-373-7458.

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