4 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
A 30 minute drive from Old Quebec
When to go
All year round
Minimum stay
One day
Wendake (Canada)
©
Flickr cc Pierre-Olivier Fortin
Practical information about Wendake
Reviews of Wendake
The Huron-Wendat community chose tourism as the way to stimulate its socio-economic development. It's the perfect way for them to promote their identity as a native community of Quebec.
My suggestion:
Raymond Gros Louis is the spiritual leader of the community. He invites you to take part in the ceremony of the Rising Sun around the campfire. This ceremony transported me to a totally different culture, even though it took place in my own country.
Summary:
Tourisme Wendake was founded in 2006 as a not-for-profit organisation. The council of the Huron-Wendat nation took the reins of this project which has been a great success and should be explored when staying in this part of Canada.
Wendake is just fifteen minutes by car from the city of Quebec in eastern Canada. It's a really interesting and accessible place to visit, if you're interested in finding out more about this native community of Quebec.
I loved the restaurant in La Traite hotel-museum. The architecture alone is impressive and the menu is both original and delicious. The chef offers fusion dishes based on cooking techniques and ingredients from the Huron-Wendat heritage. If you've never tried it, now is your chance to taste meat cooked over a wood fire. The restaurant is also part of the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations. So it's a visit with stimulation for every sense.
©
Flickr cc Pierre-Olivier Fortin
Wendake, a Huron village in Quebec, is the most well integrated and economically successful Amerindian settlement in Canada. Here, no one depends on government handouts, there is a fully functioning economy and the Amerindians work hard.
My suggestion:
I love visiting this Huron village, as much for the discoveries I make about Amerindian life in colonial times as for seeing a Huron community fully integrated into Quebecois life. And don't forget to eat the "wild meat"!
Summary:
During your trip to Canada, you should visit the Huron village of Wendake. Not just the traditional Huron site, but also the centre of the village to see how well this Amerindian community has integrated. Boulevard Bastien, which is the main road, is full of shops selling Huron handwork and a restaurant with local cuisine. The last time I ate there, there was boar, elk and venison on the menu: I had the wild salmon.
Whilst you are at Wendake you should visit the traditional Huron site of Onhoua Chetek8e. The guides are from lots of the different Amerindian tribes that live in Quebec. Notre Dame de Lorette church is a historic monument and worth a visit to see its collection of Jesuit treasures and learn about the history of the first Amerindian saint, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. When you come out of the church in the centre of the village you have a choice: walk along the Kabir Kouba waterfall or visit the Huron-Wendat Museum.
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Mathieu Nivelles
164 travellers' photos
