Val David

Rush hour on Val David's main street

Any town named after me must be a winner,  I say.  And indeed, Val David is a Laurentian jewel just off highway 15, about a 25 minute drive from St. Jovite.  We have visited a few towns in the area including Ste Agathe, Mont Laurier and St Donat, and none have as much going on even though Val David is smaller than those other three. 

We originally visited because a friend recommended Val David as a nice afternoon visit...he knew of the town as his sister had attended a yoga ashram in the area.  I'm not a big yoga fan but decided to check it out anyway, and we were glad we did.  If I'm going to visit a town, I need somewhere good to eat, and Val Davide offers a number of good restaurants.  Our mainstay is Le Baril Roulante with exceptional food and deep selection of craft Quebec beer on tap. And another block or two further is Restaurant Les Zebres, a higher-end spot that we visited during a 2014 kayak trip in the area. There is also Au Petit Poucet, famous for their Quebecois delights (jams, meats, baked goods) and now features a restaurant.

Dining aside, what brought us to this town in the first place is the annual 1001 Pots, an outdoor festival of pottery attracting dozens of potters from across Quebec.  There are also many artist studios in town, as well as the master pewtersmith Chaudron, from whom we have purchased many oil lamps for our chalet.  And if you don't want to drive to Val David, you can cycle there along the Petit Train du Nord which passes right through town at the historic train station.