Sillery - Avenue Maguire
Overlooking the river from the top of the cliff, the neighbourhood features a superb view, no matter where you look, whether you have your eyes turned towards the horizon or towards the vibrant and picturesque Avenue Maguire. Discover the charms of Sillery's heritage!
While Sillery is a bit removed from the city centre, it's clearly worth going out of your way to experience the bustling life around Avenue Maguire, its major shopping street. Over the span of a few hundred metres, the latest fashionable boutiques, excellent restaurants and cafés where you can sit and relax are huddled together tightly. In summer, you'll gladly settle onto a terrace for a glass of wine or a latte, which you can sip peacefully while you watch the Avenue's street life.
Local products and specialties fill the menus of the little bistros that line Avenue Maguire, a definite highlight. We love tasting and discovering the talent of local producers, but there's always room for a wonderful culinary trip to the four corners of planet food. Fine pizzas, delicate sushi, perfect tapas, succulent grilled chicken and many more delicacies are in store for you!
On the other hand, bakeries, pastry shops, tea houses, ice-cream parlours and chocolate shops allow you to fill your bag with sweets and tasty surprises you can give away as gifts... or eat yourself when no one's looking!
To help you digest, go for a walk nearby and wander into the side streets, where you'll find 200-year-old pastel-coloured dwellings that look like doll houses. From the Saint-Michel church near the cliff, a walk along the Grands-Domaines-de-Sillery trail allows you to enjoy a unique point of view over different heritage sites.
A bit further to the north-east, you'll find the majestic Bois-de-Coulonge park, which embodies all of Sillery's grace and refinement, with its walking trails, arboretum, flower gardens and breathtaking view of the river.
Below the cliff, promenade Samuel-De Champlain extends for more than 6 km along the St. Lawrence River. Its Station de la Plage (Beach Station) section is particularly popular in summer because of its fine sand beach and its endless swimming pool.
A Bit of History
Upon its creation in 1637, Sillery was originally a seigneury occupied by Jesuit missionaries. Over the centuries, given the territory's vast lands, the area became a well-to-do suburb favoured by rich English families wishing to establish their villas there. Still today, Sillery has an air of New England about it. You just need to go and admire Villa Bagatelle or the Domaine Cataraqui's beautiful vegetable garden, and you'll fall under the spell of this neighbourhood in no time!
