A network of authentic heritage villages, located in remarkable landscapes

All Rights Reserved, 1998 / 2012, Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec

Select resort with a whiff of the open ocean

Métis-sur-Mer takes its name from the MicMac aboriginal word meaning “meeting place” – or possibly it means birch or poplar.

Located at the gateway to the Gaspé Peninsula, 350 kilometres from Quebec City and off the main highway, Métis-sur-Mer remains as beautiful and dapper as it has been for 150 years. Its architecture and physical setting are emotional reminders of its heyday as a vibrant vacation destination, when summer visitors swelled the local population tenfold. Founded by the Scot John MacNider and settled by immigrants from his native land in the early 19th century, Métis-sur-Mer attracted elegant vacationers from Montreal’s English bourgeoisie, including many McGill University professors, for almost a century from 1850 to the 1950s. They arrived first by boat, and later by train.

Although the great wooden hotels of old have disappeared, Métis-sur-Mer has preserved its architectural heritage of large Victorian summer homes clad with cedar shingles or clapboard. This is largely because the properties have been handed down within families for generations. The village also has four churches of different denominations – the Presbyterian Church dating from 1847, the United Church (1866), the Methodist Church (1883) and the Anglican summer church (1905). They reflect the variety of summer visitors at Métis-sur-Mer. Two 18-hole golf courses also recall the good old days and still play an important role in the village’s social and tourist life.

A pretty lighthouse built in 1909 is visible on a rocky point of land facing the village. Grey seals can be observed there, basking on the rocks at low tide, while cormorants fly about in the vicinity.

Métis-sur-Mer owes its charm to the nature and serenity of its maritime scenery on the one hand and the homogeneity and beauty of its architecture on the other. Its properties have conserved abundant vegetation and are often sheltered behind lovely, well-trimmed cedar hedges. Most of the houses are secondary residences that date from the same era, but there are subtle differences. The variety of styles includes Neo-Gothic, Second Empire, Neo-Queen Anne, Shingle and Vernacular Victorian.

The superb Reford Gardens, located at Grand-Métis not far from Métis-sur-Mer, absolutely must be visited. A jewel of Canadian horticultural heritage, it was created by Elsie Reford in the early 20th century and contains more than 3,000 plant species, including the famous Himalayan Blue Poppy that also likes spending the summer here. Her 37-room villa can also be visited. It is set majestically on a promontory overlooking the St. Lawrence River. A unique International Garden Festival features gardens created by international landscape designers that take your breath away with their creativity and innovation.

Welcome to Métis-sur-Mer, one of the most beautiful villages of Quebec.

Our village is the entrance to the Gaspé region and we are located at 350 KM east of Quebec City à 350 km de Québec.

Luckily, we have strived to keep our architectural heritage composed of Victorian vacation homes and cottages reminding us of the multi ethnicity of our roots. 

Métis-sur-Mer is officially recognized by the provincial government as a bilingual municipality. Come visit us !!

Jean-Pierre Pelletier, maire