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Beginning about 80km southeast of Montreal and extending to the US border, the Eastern Townships were once Quebec's best-kept secret, but the nineteenth-century villages are fast becoming no more than shopping arcades fringed with apartment complexes for Montreal commuters. A growing ski industry - concentrated around Mont Sutton, just north of the Vermont border - is making its mark on the land too. However, the region's agricultural roots are still evident, especially in spring, when the maple trees are tapped for syrup. At this time of year, remote cabanes a sucre offer sleigh rides and Quebecois fare such as maple taffy - strips of maple syrup frozen in the snow. The land, once the domain of scattered groups of aboriginal peoples, was first cultivated by United Empire Loyalists hounded out of the United States after the American Revolution. Their loyalty to the crown resulted in land grants from the British, and townships with very English names like Sherbrooke and Granby were founded. In the mid-nineteenth century the townships opened up to industry, which attracted an influx of French-Canadians seeking work: today, 95 percent of the 400,000 population are francophone. Even so, the attempt to rechristen the area as L'Estrie was abandoned for the name Cantons-de-l'Est, a direct translation of the area's original English name of the Eastern Townships. You can reach the Cantons-de-l'Est from Montreal by the Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est (Hwy 10), which has a useful information centre for the whole region at exit 68 (daily: Mon-Fri & Sun 8.30am-5pm, Sat 8.30am-6pm; tel 1-800/263-1068). Hwy 112, which wends through small villages and past forests and lakes, is picturesque but requires more time. Most towns are served by Sherbus buses from Montreal (tel 514/842-2281) that stop in Granby, Magog and Sherbrooke.
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