Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is a city of almost 100,000 people (2021) in Montérégie, Southwestern Quebec. Agrotourism is one of the region's biggest draws, boasting orchards and cider-houses, vineyards and wineries, and maple sugar shacks (sucreries).

Understand
It is about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Montreal on the shores of the Richelieu River and about 30 km from the Canada-US border. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ranks eleventh among cities in the province. Regional capital of Haut-Richelieu in Montérégie, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu enjoys a strategic location and offers its citizens an exceptional quality of life.

The city is in an area rich with fertile soil. St-Jean is a manufacturing centre for textiles, food and wood products. It hosts an Area Support Unit (ASU) of the Canadian Forces, which functions as a primary recruit and officer training establishment.

History
The city has been an important transportation hub. The first railway line in British North America connected it with La Prairie in 1836.

The French built Fort Saint-Jean in the 17th century. Known to early English settlers as St. Johns, it provided an important communication link during the French and Indian Wars. During the American Revolutionary War control of the town changed hands several times as British and American forces moved through the area.

Local information

 * Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Town council website

By car
The city is split in two by Autoroute de la Vallée-des-Forts (Autoroute 35) which goes north-south.

By plane
It is close to Montreal's Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airport.

Get around
The Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu public transit system provides commuter and local bus services.


 * If you have a smartphone, you can enjoy walking around the city with free audio tours, published on izi.travel platform.

Eat
Several restaurants or dining rooms in the Montérégie have transformed the mode of meals at the tables into take-out or delivery service. In general, restaurateurs have demonstrated great resilience by updating their website, integrating interactive and automated applications for remote orders, as well as the display of the menu, opening hours, their mode of operation (e.g. by reservation, drive-through service), required health measures (e.g., vaccination record, mask, distancing), other services (e.g., caterer, shops, accommodation, access for disabled, wi-fi, take-out, delivery), contact details and often the history of the restaurant or site.

Sleep
You can look for a place to stay at the Government of Québec's official tourist site.



Communication
In terms of watercourse safety, the Quebec government's Public Security displays the results of flood water monitoring, particularly for the Richelieu River: HERE

Go next

 * — There are many recreational activities there: hiking (via the green trail that joins Saint-Hubert), cycling, nautical activities (on the Acadie or Richelieu rivers), its municipal parks, etc.
 * —Chambly is a major recreational tourism destination, thanks to its historical heritage, the Chambly Basin, the Chambly Canal, its enchanting site along the west bank of the Richelieu River, and its leisure facilities (bike paths, parks, landing stages, etc.).
 * — The rustic and the modern blend well here. It is renowned for nautical activities and its vacation resort on the east bank of the Richelieu River.
 * —Municipality overlooked by the magnificent mountain of Mont Saint-Grégoire which includes hiking trails to reach the summit where the panorama on the plain of the Saint-Laurent is bucolic. The northwest side of the mountain is the sugar bush capital of Quebec and Canada. The dining rooms of the seven largest maple groves offer various other attractions around maple products: catering service, maple products shop, horse-drawn carriage rides, mountain, playgrounds for children, and mini farm. Mont-Saint-Grégoire also has five orchards and agrotourism.
 * — This locality on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River is at the heart of the St. Lawrence plain. Agriculture being its first economic activity. The locality has two commercial zones: the zone of exit 21 of Highway 15, and the zone of the village served by local shops.
 * — Picturesque municipality of the plain of Saint-Laurent; agriculture is the main economic activity. This locality has several offers of recreational and tourist activities: camping area, an acceleration track, and a winter fun carnival in January.
 * — offering various recreational and tourist activities: sports complex and various leisure activities. Located on the west bank of the Richelieu River, boaters benefit from marinas and various services for boating. The resort is developed there.
 * — Locality whose main economic activity is agriculture. This locality offers various recreational and tourist activities: library, recreation pavilion, green spaces and sports fields
 * — Municipality on the east bank of the Richelieu River. The main economic activities are centred on boating (marinas, beach, boating services) and agriculture. The municipality offers a leisure infrastructure and a variety of leisure activities.