Saguenay travel guide
Fjord cruises from La Baie, a pulp-mill museum and Jonquière's bar street
A merged city of three old towns on the Saguenay River, about 200 km north of Quebec City. Come from late June to early September, when fjord cruises run daily and blueberries ripen around Lac-Saint-Jean. Allow two or three days, with one on the water. Prices are very high, and visa-exempt air travellers need an eTA.
Saguenay sits on the Saguenay River about 200 km north of Quebec City, and the drive in tells you how remote it is: two and a half hours of four-lane road across provincial parkland with a single place to refuel. The city was stitched together in 2002 from Chicoutimi, Jonquière and La Baie, and the three boroughs still feel like separate towns. Chicoutimi began as a French fur trading post in 1676.
La Baie is the fjord end of the city. Cruises on the Marjolaine II leave its wharf between June and mid-October. The Musée du Fjord, a museum with an aquarium, explains the landscape and the 1996 flood that hit this shore hard. In July and August the town's theatre stages La fabuleuse histoire d'un royaume, a big pageant of regional history, with an English version in the autumn.
Chicoutimi has La Pulperie, the regional museum, inside a former pulp mill set in a large park, plus the little white house that stood firm in the 1996 flood. Jonquière is livelier at night: rue Saint-Dominique, the Saint-Do, packs its bars close together. Nearby in Arvida, the aluminium arch bridge was the first of its kind in North America. Locals will steer you to tourtière and, in August, wild blueberries from around Lac-Saint-Jean.
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Top things to do in Saguenay
A fjord, a pulp-mill museum, an aluminium bridge and a street of bars.
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Best time to visit Saguenay
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 22 to 25 C, daily Marjolaine II sailings from June 24 and the pageant in La Baie; July is the wettest month at about 112 mm.
January averages -10 C by day and -20 C at night; the Carnaval Souvenir in Chicoutimi and ice fishing on the bay at La Baie make the cold worthwhile.
Blueberry farms around Lac-Saint-Jean open for picking in August, weather permitting.
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Getting there
Route 175 through the Laurentides reserve, Intercar and Bagotville
Drive to Saguenay from Quebec City on Route 175, about two and a half hours on four lanes through the Réserve faunique des Laurentides with one service stop, so leave with a full tank. From Montreal it is a long day by road. Intercar coaches also run, and flights land at Bagotville airport near La Baie. Intercar coaches link Chicoutimi and Jonquière with Quebec City and Montreal, and with Alma, Roberval and Dolbeau around Lac-Saint-Jean. Flying is quickest: Air Canada connects Montreal with Bagotville airport (YBG) in La Baie in about an hour, landing on a field shared with the air force base. Take a taxi or hire car from there; Chicoutimi is around half an hour by road. VIA Rail runs a train three times a week from Montreal to Jonquière, a slow day of about 11 hours through the Mauricie forests.
- Intercar from Quebec City
- Chicoutimi in 2.25 to 2.5 hours, several days a week
- Intercar from Montreal
- Chicoutimi in about 5.75 hours
- Air Canada to YBG
- About an hour from Montreal
- VIA Rail
- Three trains a week from Montreal to Jonquière station on rue Saint-Dominique, about 11 hours via Joliette and Shawinigan
- In winter, check road conditions before driving Route 175; storms can close the park stretch.
- If you fly, hire the car at Bagotville; the fjord villages need one anyway.
Where to stay
Rue Racine, the Saint-Do or the bay at La Baie
Choose one Saguenay borough as a base and drive to the others, since they lie 20 to 30 minutes apart. Rue Racine in Chicoutimi has the restaurants and museums, the Saint-Do in Jonquière has the nightlife, and La Baie sits on the bay closest to the fjord cruises.
- Chicoutimi, rue Racine
- Hotel Chicoutimi and restaurants on the main street, near La Pulperie; the most central option
- Jonquière, rue Saint-Dominique
- Right on the Saint-Do bar strip; fun at weekends, noisy until late
- Rivière aux Sables, Jonquière
- Auberge Cépal by the river, with a cycle path and summer pool; quieter, car needed
- La Baie
- On the bay beside the cruise wharf and the Musée du Fjord; little nightlife and fewer restaurants
Getting around
Société de transport du Saguenay routes and the fjord road east
Drive around Saguenay, because the boroughs are far apart and the fjord villages lie east along the shore road. Transport STS, the Société de transport du Saguenay, runs buses linking Chicoutimi, Jonquière and La Baie, though long gaps suit commuters more than sightseers. Taxis and Uber work in town. Taxis are easy to book in both main boroughs, and Uber works in town. Chicoutimi's centre around rue Racine and the old harbour is walkable, as is the Saint-Do in Jonquière. For everything else, drive: Jonquière to Chicoutimi takes 20 to 25 minutes, La Baie lies east along the bay, and the fjord villages and Lac-Saint-Jean are well beyond any bus route.
- STS bus
- Routes between the three boroughs; slow and infrequent in the evening
- Taxi
- A52 and Taxis Unis in Chicoutimi, Taxi Diamond in Jonquière
- Uber
- Available in Chicoutimi and Jonquière
- Car
- Essential for the fjord, Sainte-Rose-du-Nord and Lac-Saint-Jean
Know before you go
What makes Saguenay worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- A Marjolaine II cruise from La Baie, the easiest way onto the fjord between June and mid-October.
- La Pulperie de Chicoutimi, the old pulp mill turned regional museum, surrounded by a big park.
- The aluminium bridge in Arvida, North America's first all-aluminium arch bridge.
Good to know
- Fuel up in Quebec City; the road north crosses parkland with only one stop.
- French is the language of daily life; the college in Jonquière runs an immersion programme that draws civil servants from Ottawa.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Saguenay, month by month
A short summer and a long, snowy winter; measured at CFB Bagotville.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for CFB Bagotville (Environment Canada, via Wikipedia).
La Pulperie, a Marjolaine II cruise and a night on rue Saint-Dominique
Chicoutimi and the fjord share a Saguenay weekend. See La Pulperie, the old pulp-mill museum beside the river, and the little white house that survived the 1996 flood, cruise the Saguenay Fjord on the Marjolaine II, and spend an evening in the bars of rue Saint-Dominique, the Saint-Do, in Jonquière.
Start in Chicoutimi. La Pulperie fills the old buildings of a pulp mill set in a big park beside the river, and its galleries explain how wood and paper built the region. From there, walk to the little white house that stood in the torrent during the 1996 flood while the streets round it washed away; it is now a small museum. Dinner on rue Racine, the main street, closes day one.
Day two belongs to La Baie. Board the Marjolaine II at the wharf for a cruise into the fjord, where dark cliffs drop straight into the water. Back on land, the Musée du Fjord and its aquarium cover the geology and the sea life of a fjord where salt water lies under fresh. In July and August, book an evening seat at La fabuleuse histoire d'un royaume, the big-cast pageant of regional history; the shorter English version runs in September and October.
On day three, drive west to Arvida, the company town Alcan built in Jonquière, and walk across the aluminium arch bridge over the Saguenay. With time to spare, continue to Lac-Saint-Jean, or loop north-east to Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, a village tucked into a cove of the fjord. End the trip with a drink on the Saint-Do in Jonquière.
Tourtière du Lac, gourgane soup and Mistassini blueberries
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean cooks for long winters. Order tourtière du Lac-Saint-Jean, a deep-dish pie of cubed meats and potatoes baked for hours, unlike the thin ground-pork tourtière of the rest of Quebec, and gourgane soup made with the region's broad beans. In August, wild blueberries from around Mistassini fill pies and stalls.
The name tourtière is often linked to the tourte, the passenger pigeon once common around the lake and now extinct. Order it in a family restaurant or buy one from a bakery to take home.
The second is soupe aux gourganes, a thick broth of broad beans, barley and vegetables, a staple across the region that turns up on lunch menus in the colder months.
August is blueberry month. The wild bleuets around Lac-Saint-Jean are small and intense, and farms around the lake let you pick your own when the weather cooperates. North of the lake, the Trappist monks of Mistassini are known for coating the berries in chocolate, a souvenir worth the drive.
In the city itself, rue Racine in Chicoutimi has the widest choice, from the Papy Resto Pub steakhouse to Restaurant les Colombes. Jonquière is more casual: Sorrento in the Place Centre-Ville mall for pizza, Restaurant aux 3 points on boulevard du Royaume for breakfast and barbecue, and Brasserie Arvida for steak and the hockey on screen.
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How we research our Saguenay travel guide
For Saguenay we use the City of Saguenay, Destination Canada and the eTA rules, and we confirm fjord cruise seasons and Route 175 notices before summer.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Saguenay.
Booking
About two and a half hours from Quebec City on four-lane road. There is only one fuel stop on the park stretch, so fill up before leaving.
General
Yes. Give a day to each borough; add a fourth if you want Lac-Saint-Jean or the fjord villages.
It is a deep pie of cubed meats and potatoes cooked for hours, closer to a stew under pastry than the ground-pork tourtière of Montreal.
Rue Saint-Dominique, Jonquière's main street, where a long run of bars sits side by side; it fills up on weekend nights.
An abridged English version plays in September and October. The full French production runs through July and August in La Baie.
Torrential rain in July 1996 sent rivers through Chicoutimi and La Baie. The little white house that withstood the water in Chicoutimi became its symbol.
Drive around Saguenay, because the boroughs are far apart and the fjord villages lie east along the shore road. Transport STS, the Société de transport du Saguenay, runs buses linking Chicoutimi, Jonquière and La Baie, though long gaps suit commuters more than sightseers. Taxis and Uber work in town.
Timing & weather
From June to mid-October, with daily departures from June 24 to early September, leaving from the wharf at La Baie.
Usually in August, depending on the weather. Several farms around the lake open their fields for picking.
The best time to visit Saguenay is Jun to Sep. Fjord cruises from La Baie, the summer pageant and blueberry picking in August.
- Fjord season: June - September (Highs of 22 to 25 C, daily Marjolaine II sailings from June 24 and the pageant in La Baie; July is the wettest month at about 112 mm)
- Northern winter: December - March (January averages -10 C by day and -20 C at night; the Carnaval Souvenir in Chicoutimi and ice fishing on the bay at La Baie make the cold worthwhile)
Getting there
About half an hour by road. The airport is in La Baie and shares its field with the air force base.
Yes, three times a week, a trip of about 11 hours through Joliette, Shawinigan and Hervey-Jonction to Jonquière station on rue Saint-Dominique.
Drive to Saguenay from Quebec City on Route 175, about two and a half hours on four lanes through the Réserve faunique des Laurentides with one service stop, so leave with a full tank. From Montreal it is a long day by road. Intercar coaches also run, and flights land at Bagotville airport near La Baie.
Visa & documents
Visa-exempt travelers, including citizens of the UK, the EU and Australia, need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to fly to or through Canada. US citizens need only a passport. Other nationalities need a visitor visa.
Health & safety
Canada's main risks are natural: wildlife, summer wildfires and extreme winter cold. Store food properly in bear country, check wildfire and road conditions before summer drives, and carry winter gear when driving in snow. Call 911 for police, fire or ambulance anywhere in the country.
