Calixa-Lavallée

Calixa-Lavallée is a municipality with a great local history, in the regional county municipality of Marguerite-D'Youville, in Montérégie, in Quebec.

Calixa-Lavallée is an essentially agricultural destination with recreational tourism activities corresponding to this domain. Its rural and forest landscape occasionally displays old barns that are vestiges of its agricultural past and old houses that have stood the test of time. Its main attractions are:
 * its agricultural fair organized annually by the Agricultural Society of the County of Verchères;
 * its equestrian centres offering boarding and training services for sport horses;
 * its art forge;
 * its rural landscapes which display agricultural crops, the breeding of farm animals, modern agricultural machinery, farm buildings and the work of farms according to the seasons;
 * its countryside environment conducive to cycle tourism, with its shady paths and local products;
 * its picturesque built heritage, in particular the old houses on Chemin de la Beauce, including the Maison François-Xavier-Paquette-Dit-Lavallée.

Calixa-Lavallée is a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec.

Geography
In addition to the village area and a few small wooded areas including the Bois de Verchères to the south, the rest of the territory is mainly used for agriculture. The small village has a picturesque cachet. Calixa-Lavallée is the northernmost municipal territory landlocked in the middle of the land, without joining the banks of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River.

History
The name of the municipality evokes the life work of Calixa Lavallée (born in 1842 in this locality), author of the music for Canada's national anthem. The municipal territory was mainly colonized between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The locality has several historical monuments, some of which are classified as historical monuments of Quebec: the wayside cross, wells, bread ovens, old dairies and other vestiges of local history. While visiting the rang de la Beauce, travelers can admire a particular concentration of 18th-century stone houses; this picturesque built heritage is in relatively good condition.

By car

 * From Montreal (47 km, time: 41 min). Take the Jacques-Cartier Bridge (east); take route 132 (eastbound) to Varennes; take the Chemin du Pays-Brulé (towards the East); take Highway 30 (north); take rue Labonté (heading southeast), to the village of Calixa-Lavallée.
 * From Quebec City (255 km, time: 2 hr 36 min). Take autoroute 20 (west); after crossing the Richelieu River Bridge, take route 223 (north) to Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, then take Montée de Verchères (northwest) which will become Labonté Street.