Trois-Rivières

Founded in 1634, Trois-Rivières is the second oldest permanent French settlement in North America after Quebec City. The name comes from the three channels the Saint-Maurice makes at its mouth, not from three rivers. The Forges du Saint-Maurice, established in 1730, were the first ironworks in Canada and ran for a hundred and fifty years making stoves, cannon and cast iron; the site is preserved with the blast furnace foundations and the master's house. A fire destroyed much of the old town in 1908, so the surviving colonial fabric is patchy, but the Ursuline monastery and several stone houses came through it.

What you actually see

• Les Forges du Saint-Maurice - Canada's first ironworks, run for 150 years.
• The Ursuline monastery - a surviving colonial religious complex.
• The riverfront - the St. Lawrence and the Saint-Maurice mouth.
• The poetry inscriptions - lines of verse set into the old town pavements.

When to go

May to October; the Forges site closes for winter. A large poetry festival runs in October and an international vintage car grand prix in August. The old town is walkable year-round.

Honest expectations

The 1908 fire destroyed much of the colonial town, so the historic core is smaller than the founding date suggests. The Forges are foundations and interpretation rather than standing works.

Nearby

La Mauricie lies north; Quebec City is northeast.