Quebec

From Gaspé to Tadoussac

From the Saguenay River to Lac Saint-Jean

From Île d'Orléans to Quebec

From Trois-Rivières to Montreal

From the Ottawa River to Chaudière Falls

Three ships took part in Champlain's first voyage to New France. Only two of them arrived at Tadoussac in the spring of 1603, the Bonne-Renommée and the Françoise. The third ship stopped at Newfoundland.

Replica of the Don de Dieu at Quebec's Tercentenary, 1908, Quebec, Quebec
National Archives of Canada/C-11472

A Trip in Record Time

Even before Champlain could travel the vast, almost unexplored territory of what is known today as Acadia, Quebec and Ontario, he had to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, the duration of the trip varies according to the weather. Champlain did not seem to be afraid to risk his "life to the raging ocean waves," as he explained it.

In 1610, he managed to cross the ocean in record time: 17 days from Honfleur to Tadoussac, "which was unheard of, assures Champlain, for more than 60 years, according to the old bargemen who regularly travelled to this country."

The Starboard Lookout, 1920-1940
W.R. Macaskill/National Archives of Canada/PA-123637