MALBAIE, QUEBEC It’s the biggest thing in these parts in, well, about 10,000 years. That’s when a massive meteor slammed into the region north of Quebec City, shaping it forever. Now, it’s the railroad coming to town. Called Charlevoix’s Destination Train for now, it’s scheduled to make a maiden trip Sept. 9 to Malbaie, and then add a station at Baie-Saint-Paul in 2012. They are the main towns in Charlevoix, a region that hugs the St. Lawrence River and embraces the mountains, too. The train will showcase both bold landscapes with upscale service that will cost just shy of $249 for a seven-hour round trip from Quebec City. But it has humble roots, going back to street entertainers in Baie-Saint-Paul. Daniel Gauthier and Guy Laliberte began Cirque du Soleil on its narrow sidewalks. They were just clowns on stilts then. But both men are still walking tall, and seriously, in the entertainment world. Gauthier sold out to Laliberte about 10 years ago and has since launched a hugely ambitious resort, Le Massif, with an eye to being part of a Quebec City bid for the Winter Olympics. It already has been accredited for nine of 10 events by the world ski federation, points out Frederic Gonzalo, vice-president of marketing and communications for Group Le Massif Inc. This winter it will add a serpentine luge run and open summer activities in 2012 when the resort will debut a five-star hotel in Baie-Saint-Paul with a train station to serve it and the ski hills. Groupe Le Massif is circumspect about what this railroad has cost, but the 140 kilometres of upgraded rail line will likely become Canada’s largest private railroad, at least among those dedicated to the tourist trade. It was to open in the early summer but track restoration took longer and cost more money than expected as much of it close to the water needed to be shored up. And the railcar makeover was a big-ticket component. Gonzalo explains that 1950s panorama-style cars were found in Illinois and reconfigured for optimum viewing for passengers. “The work was done in Quebec City and essentially took out the second level of the cars and created an 11-foot-high car with lots of windows,” he noted. “After all, 80 per cent of the track runs along the (St. Lawrence) river.” The buzz in Charlevoix a few years back was that Gauthier would provide some Cirque-inspired entertainment during the trip, but Groupe Le Massif has chosen to go understated, letting the views and food entertain. “We didn’t want to be intrusive, so we decided we would tell the story of the region in a subtle way during the trip,” Gonzalo explained. “We will have iPads at every quad seating pod and will give musical cues when we’re passing something of interest.” Passengers can tap into the iPad to get a swift history primer at their own pace. The trains can carry 528 people. Gonzalo said Groupe Le Massif is flexible in how service will play out over time, beginning with the high-end trips that will feature a three-course meal in the leg from Quebec City to Malbaie, then a four-course meal on the way back. The trip includes a three-hour layover in Malbaie at a station not far from the five-star resort, Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, which has a casino. Le Manoir’s kitchens will provide the meals served on the train. But Gonzalo said a key goal is to serve the resort and ski hills outside Baie-Saint-Paul through all seasons starting in 2012. Either way, it presents an intriguing double-dip for visitors. You can stay at an elegant old-town accommodation like Hotel 71 on Rue. Saint Paul in Quebec City, then catch up with train just outside of town near the majestic Montmorency Falls for the trip along the river. Mind you, it’s a worthy trek by car, too, especially from Baie-Saint-Paul to Malbaie. There are plenty of grand outlooks to the river, modest to high-end accommodation and a thriving local-food movement supplying restaurants. The drive itself features a few turns so tight you can read you collar size and heights of land that provide vast panoramas of river and hills. You’ll pass Le Massif resort just before Baie-Saint-Paul, which has several excellent restaurants spotted among a vibrant arts scene displaying the work of Quebec artisans and artists. Le Saint-Pub on Rue Racine is the home of award-winning beers like Dominus Vobiscum and Vache Folle, both Belgian-inspired. The beers are featured in menu items like the hearty and tasty French onion soup ($6.50) and the fennel-flavoured broth of the massive mussels dish ($13.95). Right next door is the Auberge La Muse and Chez Bouquet Eco Bistro, a century-old Victorian conversion with comfy rooms and restaurant featuring local meats, fish, cheeses and produce. The Trout à la Toscana featuring the product of a local fish farm ($24) was a lovely combination of the delicate fish and capers and tomato in a steamed envelope alongside a rich risotto and fresh and crunchy medley of vegetables. Another place to check out is Restaurant Mouton Noir, which has a deck overlooking the Riviere du Gouffre and a house dish, the Cocotte ($23) that is a Quebecois staple. The big pork pie boasts a gorgeous crust and thick chunks of meat and vegetables. A bed and breakfast just over the bridge from Mouton Noir, Le Gite Fleury, offers small, pin-neat rooms and a voluminous breakfast featuring a mild local pâté and lots of fruit, from $75 single to $120 triple occupancy. Highway 362 rises north-east from Baie-Saint-Paul and gives some perspective on the impact of that meteor. It takes some imagination, but the outer rim of mountains and central elevated area indicate a crater about 60 kilometres in diameter. The southern lip of the crater fell into the St. Lawrence and the effect is to create a UNESCO world biosphere reserve. A few kilometres along 362 is Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, a community strung along the river with a unique paper manufacturer. Papeterie Saint-Gilles shows how gorgeous crushed cotton paper is made, often with indigenous flower petals to provide a unique pattern. The product is available at an on-site store in many variations. The free car ferry to the Isle-Aux-Coudes is just down the road. This island discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1535 is a bucolic spot with a road around it of about 20 kilometres. It’s mostly flat with gentle grades, ideal for cycling. Cartier named it for the wealth of hazelnut trees (coudriers) he spotted from the river but now it’s more famous for its ciders. Cidrerie Verger Pedneault is not far from the ferry terminal and offers more than 20 ciders, many of them award-winners. There are daily tastings. Over on the other side of the island, Les Moulins shows the traditional method of milling grains. It has a windmill, water mill and miller’s home on a lovely patch of land that features a river reddened by passing through an area of peat moss. Back on the mainland, it’s about an hour to Malbaie, so named because Samuel de Champlain woke one morning in 1608 to find his anchorage was poor and his ship was resting on its side. It’s been mostly all good since then, spectacular even, when you visit Charlevoix Museum and see the exhibit of the White Ships, the gleaming boats that caused businessman Louis J. Forget to build the first Manoir Richelieu in 1894. The exhibit captures that grand era and the modern Manoir reflects a new kind of grandeur with five-star service, fine dining and a golf course offering stunning views as well as extensive spa. It commands a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence and a foodie’s attention with a tasting menu at Le Charlevoix Restaurant spanning seven courses that draws on local provisions within an 80-kilometre radius. But it’s not all plush seating and foie gras in this region. Katabatik offers thrilling kayaking on the St. Lawrence near Baie-Saint-Paul and north of Malbaie at Saint-Simeon Les Palissades provides hiking, rappelling, climbing and zip-lining adventures as well as some rough-and-ready accommodation from $35 a person. Special to The Hamilton Spectator. John Kernaghan was the guest of Tourisme Quebec. If you go For information about Charlevoix travel, visit tourisme-charlevoix.com or call 1-800-667-2276. For information about Quebec travel, visit bonjourquebec.com, or call 1-877-266-5687. For information about Le Manoir Richelieu, visit fairmont.com, or call 1-800-441-1414. For information about the train, visit www.groupelemassif.com http://www.thespec.com/print/article/573529