Richmond is a small city in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The town's historic buildings, often with slate foundations or decorations, have a unique New England industrial charm that make it stand out from other towns and cities in the region.
Understand
Richmond was founded on the banks of the St. François River in the 1790s by loyalists from the United States and settlers from Montreal. It became a local hub of transportation as the terminus of the Chemin Craig, a road from Quebec City to Richmond and thence upriver to the American colonies. Later, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway from Richmond connected Quebec to the coast of Maine in Portland. The Grand Trunk Railway took passengers and freight on to Montreal and Quebec City.
Nearby slate mines took advantage of the city's transportation infrastructure to get their product to the world.
With the opening of direct rail lines between Montreal and Quebec in the 1930s, and the closure of passenger service in and out of Richmond in the 1980s, Richmond's importance as a transportation hub plummeted. Many businesses closed, and the city's population dropped.
In the Quebec agglomeration effort of the 1990s, Richmond absorbed the village of Melbourne, across the river. The rest of Melbourne county remains outside the city limits, including the small village of Upper Melbourne, hugging the shore of the river southeast of Richmond.
Efforts to grow the Eastern Townships as a tourist destination have touched Richmond; the city and region are investing in parks and attractions.
Richmond has one of the highest percentages of native English speakers in the Eastern Townships; about 25-30%, compared to <5% for most towns around. You'll still need to speak some French to manage most transactions, however.
Richmond is easily confused with the marginally better-known New Richmond on the Gaspé Peninsula about 750 km away.
Get in
- By car. From Montreal or Quebec City, the easiest drive, especially in winter, is along Autoroute 20 to Autoroute 55, just west of Drummondville. Exits for Richmond are about 30 minutes south.
- By train. Passenger rail no longer comes to Richmond, but there is a Via Rail station in Drummondville.
- By bus. Autobus La Québecoise has routes through Richmond from Sherbrooke and other nearby towns.
- By bike. Richmond lies on the beautiful Cantonnière bike trail connecting the Eastern Townships to Quebec City.
- By foot. Sentiers de l'Estrie maintain a network of over 200 km of walking trails through the forests and towns of the Eastern Townships, including one that connects into Richmond. The hiking network includes campgrounds and sleeping huts.
- By boat. The St. François River is too shallow at Richmond to be navigable by anything but personal watercraft, but for many months out of the year, it's dotted with kayaks and canoes. There's a landing at the Parc Nautique de Richmond that makes a good spot to pull over and check out the town.
Get around
Richmond is divided by the St. François River which runs roughly southeast to northwest. Two bridges connect the town: the Mackenzie Bridge ("the old bridge") to the southeast, built in 1905, is a one-lane steel-girder bridge that hums as cars cross. To the northwest, the "new bridge" (officially, the Pont Frédérick-Coburn) is bigger, higher, and probably safer, but it has a lot less personality.
The main business district lies along the Rue Principale on the northeast side of the river, between the two bridges. It's crossed by Rue Craig, which comes to the river to cross at the Mackenzie Bridge.
The town is about 3 km across in any direction, and is pretty walkable and bikeable, especially for the downtown core. But the roads up from the riverfront can be steep, so plan on doing some hard work to get to higher ground.
Melbourne city hall and the farmers' market are a 20- to 30-minute walk from downtown Richmond, but route 243 doesn't have great pedestrian access for the last kilometre or so, so be careful.
See
- Mackenzie Bridge, 45.6579°, -72.1445°. 2022-04-09
- Richmond County Historical Society, 1161 Route 243, Melbourne Township, 45.6431°, -72.14°, +1 819-826-1332. Archives open by appointment only. 2022-04-09
- Museum of Slate
- Historic Downtown
Do
- St. Patrick's Day Parade. The second-largest St. Patrick's Day event in Quebec, this parade taps into Richmond's historic Celtic population. 2022-02-02
- Parc Nautique de Richmond
- Parc Gouin
- Richmond-Melbourne Ski Centre, 70 Chem. Lay, Melbourne, 45.6635°, -72.1861°, +1 819-826-3869. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. Day tickets for adults/children: skiing $20/$13.50, snowshoeing $11.50/$5.75 2022-04-09
- Richmond Golf Club
- Aréna P E Lefebvre
- Expo Richmond Fair, Route 143 (between Richmond and Windsor), +1 819-578 9288. First weekend in September, some events year-round. This county fair has been open since 1856. Attractions include crafts, food, contests, animals, and rides. The Demolition Derby on Saturday is the high point of the event. Some dinners and other get-togethers happen on site year-round. $20 for adults, $10 for children 2022-02-02
Buy
- Marche Champetre de Melbourne
- Les Gars de Saucisse
Eat
- La Vielle Gare, 739 Rue Principale Nord, 45.6649°, -72.148°, +1 819-826-6655. M-W 06:00-14:00, Th-Sa 06:00-21:00, Su 07:00-20:00. Pasta, pizza, chicken, poutines, submarines. 2022-04-09
- La Desserte
- Richmond Pizza, 187 Rue Principale Nord, 45.66°, -72.1428°, +1 819-826-3769. Su Tu W 10:00-20:00, Th-Sa 10:00-21:00. Pizza, grill, seafood, hamburgers, Italian cuisine, breakfast in the dining room or for take-out. 2022-04-09
- Repas Minute Richmond
- Horloge Cassee
Drink
- Brasserie L'Ardoise
- Pub Amigo, 213 Rue Principale Nord, 45.6603°, -72.1429°. Su-Tu 08:00-00:00, W 08:00-01:00, Th-Sa 08:00-03:00. Resto-bar serving pizza, sandwiches, burgers, quesadillas, nachos. 2022-04-09
- Café du Couvent, 200 Rue du Couvent #120, 45.6684°, -72.1486°, +1 819-644-0434. W-Sa 09:00-15:00. Café with outdoor and indoor seating on the ground floor of a former convent, now converted to a community arts space. Third-wave coffee, hot meals, salads and pastries are all available. The grounds of the convent are also nice for a walk beneath the trees. 2022-02-03
Sleep
- Hotel Grand Central, 45 Rue Principale Nord, 45.6587°, -72.1422°, +1 819-826-3322. 2022-04-09
- Motel de la Gare, 779 Rue Principale Nord, 45.6642°, -72.1485°. A clean economy motel. 2022-04-09
- Camping Melbourne Estrie
- Le Gite du Petite Canton
Connect
- Post office
- Municipal Wi-Fi
Go next
Upriver, Windsor is a pleasant, small town with a historic powdermill and walking trails. Downriver, Ulverton has a historic mill and a lovely winery, Vallons de Wadleigh.
The nearby industrial cities of Valcourt and Des Sources are bigger than Richmond and make a good day trip. Danville, on the way to Des Sources, has a beautiful pond and bird sanctuary; Tingwick features a one-of-a-kind art brut walking space you have to see to believe.
Drummondville to the north and Sherbrooke to the south are bigger cities with more infrastructure and good connections to Montreal, Quebec City, and the US. Past Sherbrooke, the US border with Vermont is about 90 minutes by car.