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To the west of Chicoutimi, around Lac Saint-Jean , stretches a relatively untouched area whose tranquil lakeshore villages are linked by the circular route of Hwy 169. Named after Father Jean Duquen, the first European to visit the region in 1647, the huge glacial lake is fed by most of the rivers of northeastern Quebec and - unusually for an area of the rocky Canadian Shield - is bordered by sandy beaches and a lush, green terrain that has been farmed for over a century. The local cuisine, especially the delicious coarse meat pie called a tourtiere and the thick blueberry pie, is renowned throughout the province. Further bonuses for budget travellers are the lake's excellent youth hostel and its public transport : there's a daily bus service between Chicoutimi and both Alma and Dolbeau, the latter running round the south side of the lake; during the winter and spring a bus runs on Sundays only from Dolbeau to Alma via the villages on the north shore, and on Fridays only there's a service in the opposite direction. A relatively flat 256km bike route - the Veloroute des Bleuets ( www.veloroute-bleuets.qc.ca ) - encircles the whole lake, mostly as a wide paved shoulder, but a total of 60km of the route is completely free of cars. The path passes close to most of the major attractions and through many of the villages around Lac Saint-Jean and there are beaches all along the lakeshore where you can cool off after a hard day's ride. It's well set up for getting there - the train from Montreal to Jonquiere stops at Chambord on the south shore near Val-Jalbert and there's a bus from Quebec City to Alma. A growing number of B&Bs and other services are popping up to serve the two-wheeled visitors, and even the locals are laying out a warm welcome - some have even set up garden chairs to rest on near the bike path.
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