Matthew Farfan

The inaugural edition of Partir, a new French-language Quebec travel magazine, spotlights the five villages in the Eastern Townships that are part of the prestigious Association des plus beaux villages du Québec (Association of Quebec's Most Beautiful Villages), which numbers only 32 member villages across the entire province.

The five villages featured in the May 2004 issue of the magazine are Frelighsburg, Stanbridge East, Knowlton, Stanstead, and Inverness.

Writes author Danielle Goyette, "Sprawling Victorian mansions, white wooden churches, little houses made of fieldstone... the Eastern Townships are rich in heritage and waiting to be discovered all along the region's scenic country roads."

Goyette says that visitors will be delighted by the many surprises they encounter, from the region's heritage to its culture to its cuisine. She also says that people should not hesitate to take roads that are off the beaten track. "You may well come upon a round barn or a covered bridge, but more than anything you will be surprised by the irresistible charm of these quaint little villages"(1)

1) Note: Editor's translation.