Baie Saint-Paul might be your best bet for a weekend escape in Quebec

Charlevoix has a way of pulling people in.

Maybe it’s the St. Lawrence stretching wide enough to feel like an ocean, or the way the mountains curl around Baie-Saint-Paul like they’re hiding it from the rest of the world. Whatever the reason, this small town an hour outside Quebec City has a hold, and if you’re making the trip from Montreal, there’s one place that sets the tone: Le Germain Hotel Charlevoix.

Built on former farmland, the hotel still carries that pastoral calm—rooms look out on wide fields where Highland cattle and alpacas wander. It’s the kind of place where you check in, and just exhale. Maybe you start plotting how to stretch out your stay, but the spa and pool give you excuses not to leave, and restaurants handle everything from a pizza loaded with local cheese to a breakfast spread that makes grab-and-go gas station-adjacent options seem out of the question.