Gatineau / Outaouais

One of the most popular attractions at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, and rightly so, is the larger-than-life historic panorama known as the Canada Hall.

Aylmer -- now a part of the City of Gatineau -- has one of the most impressive concentrations of heritage buildings in Quebec. Many of them date from the first half of the 19th century. Many of them may be found within close proximity of one another in the old village centre.

(Continued from Part 1)

Further up the street is another of Aylmer’s outstanding landmarks. The old Court House (120 Principale Street), built in 1852, is a neo-classical edifice of truly monumental size. At one time, a prison was housed within its walls, and to be lodged there was said to have been a grim experience. The old Court House is now home to the Centre culturel du Vieux-Aylmer.

The Gatineau River was a wilderness thoroughfare through unbroken Laurentian forest.

Before loggers and farmers cleared its banks, the 275-kilometre long waterway served Algonquin hunters as their main route to the game-rich hinterlands. The river was a link in a vast First Nations trade system joining Huron and Nipissing people in the Great Lakes with Montagnais Innu near Lac Saint-Jean.

The Outaouais-Pontiac Heritage Trail leads to pioneer settlements and historic sites on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, from Aylmer to Fort Coulonge.

Gatineau Park, one of eastern Canada’s premier natural heritage sites, is located at the edge of the Canadian Shield, a stone’s throw from the nation’s capital.