Worth Exploring: Life is Good in Rimouski

Rimouski in the background, where the Rimouski River meets the St. Lawrence. This salmon river is very dear to the City's inhabitants, with designated walking and cycling trails on each bank.

Rimouski tends to be a pleasant surprise for first time visitors who are more comfortable speaking English than French. It may be the hospitality of the predominantly French-speaking population that wins them over first, but the wilderness character of the urban surroundings is often what finally makes loyal fans of unsuspecting visitors.

There are nearly 50 kilometers of bike paths around town, the vast majority of which are paved. They are sometimes shared with pedestrians and vehicles, but often exclusively available to cyclists, along some of the City's most magnificent venues, including a seaside grand promenade featuring double-decker observatories shaped like ocean liner decks. With only 48,000 inhabitants to drive their development, that's quite an achievement.

Located on the St. Lawrence River, about a 5-hour drive north-east of Montreal, Rimouski boats a University and a number of other post-secondary institutions that make it attractive as an education centre. It's also known as a service centre that values entrepreneurship.

Local residents are proud to note that Rimouski is a great place to retire, especially if you plan to remain active in a more outdoorsy kind of way than perhaps you have been in the past. The best way to verify this to go for a visit first. Fall is a particularly good time to do this -- the fall colors will await you when you are ready.