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Percé

Located at its east end, Percé is the bustling tourist epicentre of the Gaspé Peninsula, with a permanent population around 3,000. Though it's a proud member of the Most Beautiful Villages in Quebec (Association des plus beaux villages du Québec), Percé may be off-putting at first: the crowds, tacky souvenir shops, endless roadside motels and gîtes, and miscellaneous tourist schlock is a jarring contrast to the majestic scenery along Route 132 that visitors have likely spent the past few hours or days drinking in. But there's a good reason for the brouhaha: Percé Rock (Rocher Percé), the arch-shaped offshore rock formation from which the town takes its name, is an awesome natural wonder that

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12 places match

  1. Buy

    Agate et Caillou

    Jewellery and decorative baubles designed and produced in-house using a variety of gems and stones of local origin: agate, jasper, onyx, labradorite, gaspeite, petrified wood, and more. Or even if you're just wondering what the weird-looking stone is that you found on the beach, the folks at Agate et Caillou will identify it for you.

    Daily 09:00-18:00

  2. Buy

    Au Bon Secours

    The oldest continually operating souvenir shop in Percé, open since 1930 in a former drugstore a stone's throw from the harbour, sells a mixed bag of merchandise including clothes, touristy souvenirs, and decorative tchotchkes including carved stone figurines of seabirds by local artist Suzanne Tétreault-Massé.

  3. Buy

    Boutique Nature

    Run by Sépaq as the official gift shop of Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park, Boutique Nature is in a converted waterfront warehouse that dates to the 19th century. On sale is a treasure trove of literature and visitor information on all aspects of the national park, as well as works by local artists and artisans and souvenirs of varying descriptions.

    Daily 09:00-17:00, May 30-Sep 23; till 21:00 Jun 27-Aug 26

  4. Buy

    Boutique de la Mer

    This extravagantly decorated little shop just off the main drag in downtown Percé sells fashionable ladies' clothes, a bevy of brightly coloured lawn and garden decorations, and other gifts and souvenirs of all kinds.

  5. Buy

    Donald Cahill Art Gallery

    Galerie d'art Donald-Cahill

    Displays the seaside landscapes and other maritime-themed paintings of Donald Cahill, a native Percéen who moonlights as the captain of a whale-watching boat. Other artists working in a variety of media are also represented. Prints are sold. Website in French only. Open during off-season.

  6. Buy

    La Fabrique d'Antan

    This is where renowned artisan Pascal Riopel offers unique, high-quality cabinets and other rustic furniture, handmade onsite using only traditional designs and methods — hence the name of his store, which in English translates to something like "the workshop of yesteryear". You can also pick up charming folk art, handmade pottery, and vintage tchotchkes in an appropriately rustic setting about midway between L'Anse-à-Beaufils and Percé town centre. Website in French only.

  7. Buy

    La Marinière

    True to its name, the stuff that's on offer at La Marinière tends to have a maritime theme: the clothes boast more than their fair share of loud horizontal stripes and anchor motifs, and Marie-Josée Tommi's carved gannet figurines are a hot seller as well. Handbags, artisan jewellery, and homey souvenirs complete the picture.

  8. Buy

    La Marée Basse

    The handcrafted work of local artisans is the order of the day at this gift shop in the heart of Percé's town centre: everything from paintings and decorative baubles to stylish, one-of-a-kind clothes and jewellery fashioned from local agate.

  9. Buy

    Le Sablier Collection Studio and Boutique

    Atelier-Boutique Collection le Sablier

    At his workshop and boutique in L'Anse-à-Beaufils, Serge Bourget sells unique gifts that make a distinctive statement: handmade sand-casted and stone-casted items such as picture frames, carvings, and decorative baubles produced with materials he finds on local beaches.

  10. Buy

    Margot Mérette Studio

    Atelier Margot-Mérette

    A graphic designer by trade, Margot Mérette's passion for painting and sculpture ignited during her college days at UQAM and has now come to full fruition in her second career. At her studio in Barachois, she'll show you some selections from her collection of acrylic paintings — dreamlike fantasy scenes that shine in vibrant, radiant colours and celebrate the harmonious cooperation of man and nature — and you'll take a walk through an outdoor sculpture garden, a "lost paradise" (in the words of her website) of carved driftwood and whimsical works in ceramic. Website in French only.

    Open year-round by appointment

  11. Buy

    Mylène Henry Studio and Gallery

    Atelier-Galerie Mylène-Henry

    A native Gaspésienne, Mylène Henry's local landscape scenes are realized in a brightly coloured, cartoonlike, somewhat surreal aesthetic that is shared with her work as an illustrator of children's books — the other half of her artistic career. In addition to her original paintings, Mylène's gallery at the south end of Percé town centre sells copies of those books, as well as postcards, greeting cards, and calendars adorned with her work. Website in French only.

    Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00

  12. Buy

    Wazo

    Though Martin Boucher Arsenault now runs about a half-dozen Wazo boutiques all over the Gaspé Peninsula and elsewhere in Quebec, the Percé location, located in the heart of downtown, is the original. Art jewellery is the name of the game here: the artist draws on his mixed Indigenous/Acadian heritage as well as forms found in the natural world to create earrings, pendants, bracelets, and other pieces in bold, unique designs that are respectful of the diversity of source materials he uses (gold and silver, semiprecious stones native to the area, even coral and starfish found on local beaches). You can choose from a range of preexisting designs in stock — the "Peace & Love" medallion, commissioned by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, is undoubtedly the best-known of these — or Martin will work with you to custom-design a piece of your very own. Website in French only.

    Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, May; daily 08:30-21:00, Jun through mid-Sep; daily 10:00-18:00, mid-Sep through mid-Oct, by appointment the rest of the year