Discover Padoue

Padoue’s transportation and local history are as much a part of its character as the landscapes of the Notre-Dame Mountains. Historic Kempt Road, the railway and the gently sloping hills each give the village a distinct character. If you’re looking for a vacation rental for your trip, you can first consider whether you’re especially interested in historic connections, village history, landscapes or local events.

Kempt Road: a historic connection

Chemin Kempt Sud in Padoue is part of a historic road intended to connect the Bas-Saint-Laurent region to New Brunswick via the Gaspé Peninsula. Construction of Kempt Road was completed in 1832. A later change is also dated: in 1972, the section running from the village was completely rebuilt over a distance of two miles to reduce some curves and flatten the grade. The completion of the road and the targeted rebuilding of one section are therefore part of different chapters in Padoue’s road history. A guide to historic Kempt Road is intended for people who want to travel the route on foot, by bicycle or in a vehicle, on paved or unpaved roads. If you’re planning a trip, check the route’s current conditions.

The railway and the village

The section of the Intercolonial Railway running through Padoue opened in 1874. The railway played a significant role in the village’s economy. While Kempt Road was intended as a historic connection between the Bas-Saint-Laurent region and New Brunswick via the Gaspé Peninsula, the railway’s economic role in Padoue is an important local point of reference. These offer two different perspectives on transportation: a regional road connection and the railway’s importance to the village.

Hilly landscapes and local history

Padoue’s landscapes are shaped by the gently sloping hills of the Notre-Dame Mountains. Another local point of interest is Parc Katie Bérubé, where an information panel unveiled in 2023 commemorates Padoue’s stationmasters. If you’d like to include the panel in your visit, check beforehand whether it is still there. The site of the illuminated cross is also associated with a view of the village. Photographer Gino Caron climbed it in 2011 to take a photo of the village from this interesting viewpoint.

A glimpse of local events

Halloween à Padoooo! featured skill games and obstacle courses for children, as well as mazes and haunted houses in 2022. Several hundred people attended. If an event is important to your travel dates, check the current schedule before planning.

Choosing Padoue as a vacation destination

Before choosing Padoue as a vacation destination, you can decide which interests you’d like to focus on. Kempt Road and the Intercolonial Railway offer different points of connection if you’re interested in transportation and village history; the Notre-Dame Mountains’ hills are the village’s defining landscape feature. Events, on the other hand, are a time-sensitive planning consideration, as the 2022 program for Halloween à Padoooo! illustrates. Use these interests to guide your vacation rental search and decide what you’d like to shape your stay.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Sainte-Luce, Sainte-Flavie, Price, Métis-Sur-Mer, Mont-Joli.

Go to the main travel overview: La Mitis.