16km (10 miles) NE of Québec City
Ile d'Orléans was long inhabited by Native Indians and settled by the French as one of their first outposts of New France in the 17th century. Long isolated from the mainland, the island's 7,000 current residents keep a firm resistance to development, so far preventing it from becoming just another sprawling bedroom community. Many of the island's oldest houses are intact, and it remains a largely rural farming area.
Until 1935, the only way to get to Ile d'Orléans was by boat (in summer) or over the ice in sleighs (in winter). The highway bridge that was built that year has allowed the island's fertile fields to become Québec City's primary market-garden. During harvest periods, fruits and vegetables are picked fresh on the farms and trucked into the city daily. In mid-July, hand-painted signs posted by the main road announce FRAISES: CUEILLIR VOUS-MEME (STRAWBERRIES: YOU PICK 'EM). The same invitation is made during apple season, August through October. Farmers hand out baskets and quote the price, paid when the basket's full. Bring along a bag or box to carry away the bounty.
Thousands of migrating snow geese, ducks, and Canada geese stop by in April and May and again in late October. It's a spectacular sight when they launch themselves into the air in flapping hordes so thick that they almost blot out the sun.
