Happiness is in the scooter | Total change of scenery in Ahuntsic and Laval

What could be better than a scooter to discover the city, its shores and its thousand secrets? After surveying the South-West, Little (and medium) Italy and the South Shore last year, our journalists are going on an adventure again this summer. This week, Pierre-Marc Durivage ventures to the Rivière des Mille Îles, on a course designed by Sylvain Sarrazin.

Pierre-Marc Durivage
The Press

Knowing the reputation of our esteemed colleague for unearthing unsuspected nuggets, it was with an open mind that we first crossed the island of Montreal to reach the borders of the Ahuntsic district, the starting point of ‘a journey from which we will leave frankly disoriented.

The miller’s house

Built in 1727, the Maison du Meunier is an eloquent witness to the industrial past of this place, where people go today to escape the urban whirlwind. Operated by the Sulpicians, wheat was ground there, wool was carded, nails were cut and wood was sawn until 1960! Today, you can enjoy a pastry on the charming terrace of the café which borders the remains of the Moulins site, before going to explore the paths of the Île-de-la-Visitation nature park.

A second coffee option is available to us, however, if our steps ever guide us towards the Maison du Pressoir, and at the end of the small street of the same name. You then come across boulevard Gouin, nicely laid out between rue des Prairies and avenue De Lorimier. This is where we find the Café de course, a place that appeals to cyclists, but also to tourists on scooters!

Fleury district

We then discover the beautiful rue Fleury, first passing by the Promenade, on the east side, to then arrive in the Flo district, further west. The two sectors of the shopping street are teeming with finds; At Tolhurst Park, you stumble upon Picnic Wednesdays, a festive event with a food truck and local restaurant kiosks. A few steps away, a huge paella is being prepared on the terrace of Les Cavistes, like every Wednesday in the summer. We go to Espace Houblon promising to come back, before finally leaving with a pot of coffee caramel from the Caramel Factory. Its small format finds a nice place in the trunk of the scooter – the next stops proposed by Sylvain encourage us to keep some cargo space for the future.

Laval wine

After reaching the Lachapelle bridge while ogling the beautiful houses on Gouin Boulevard West — our colleague Silvia also passed here last year, go read her report! —, we cross at Laval, heading west. Although bland, Curé-Labelle and Samson boulevards provide transit to the peaceful and very uniform streets of residential Sainte-Dorothée, an ideal route for those who must avoid the expressways. And in a few bends along avenue Josaphat-Demers as well as rue Sylvie and rue Bigras, you suddenly find yourself in the middle of the countryside, on Montée Champagne, where the rural Route des Fleurs begins — fortunately, the speed limit remains. fixed here also at a very urban 50 km/h. A few minutes later, we arrive at our next stop, Château Taillefer Lafon. Yes, there is a vineyard in Laval! And not just any: the wines are developed there by Merched Fakhry, who studied at Châteauneuf-du-pape, in France, and at Château Kefraya, in his native Lebanon. The best bottles from the Laval vineyards can be found on some of the greatest tables in Quebec (Jatoba, Grinder, Europea, among others) and we understand why after the tasting led by Mathieu Guerit. Be careful, however, it is strongly advised to book before going to the vineyard for a tasting.

Our host tells us in particular that the estate cultivates almost exclusively grape varieties from Vitis vinifera (a variety of European vine), which is said to be “noble” and which does not normally survive Quebec winters — this is why the Château Taillefer Lafon team bury their plants every fall to protect them from the cold. Mathieu Guerit also tells us that the construction of a rural terrace set up in the heart of the vineyards will begin shortly; we bet that the 5 to 7 that we want to organize there will be (very) popular. In the meantime, we leave with a bottle of very dry Riesling and two excellent rosés, made from Cabernet Franc.

seaside Laval

For the last part of our hike, we have two choices: we continue on Montée Champagne and then turn left on Boulevard Dagenais, or we head west on Chemin Saint-Antoine. We chose to leave on the second before returning by the first, which led us to stop at the colorful Marineau farm to taste a strawberry soft cream entirely concocted on site! As we had a little space left in the trunk of the scooter, we completed our shopping with a jar of homemade strawberry jam.

We’ll save for the end the last surprise that Sylvain’s itinerary has in store for us: the Berge aux Quatre-Vents! It is a pretty, well-maintained, fine sand beach, hidden at the end of Laval-Ouest, which offers a beautiful view of the villages of Saint-Eustache and Deux-Montagnes, on the other side of the Rivière des Mille. He is. Not to mention the amazing sculptures made from dead tree stumps. Do we need to remind you that we left the city center on a scooter?

The word of the author of the circuit

“Don’t hesitate to send me across the bridge!” The message sent by my colleague Pierre-Marc was well received: to the initial plan (a visit to Ahuntsic around the Promenade Fleury) was added a large extension towards Laval, to take advantage of both banks. Of course, hoppy stops were scattered for our great beer connoisseur, but complemented by a visit to a vineyard in Laval, which I was totally unaware of! I already really appreciate the Gouin sector for its shores, and I hear more and more often about the beach on the Berge aux Quatre-Vents. A good summer plan? It seems so, according to the final report. —Sylvain Sarrazin The Press

Rediscover our reports from last year