Taste the Townships

Le Café Du Flâneur in the Small Town of Saint-Camille...My Latest Personal Favourite!

Updated on Aug 8, 2018

Last week, I visited the Café du Flâneur, in the village of Saint-Camille. Being registered with the Cafés de village network, I had often heard people speak of it. I was told about how charming it was and about the gourmet food they serve, but I absolutely had to see it with my own eyes and when I did, I instantly fell under its charm.

In the words that follow, I will tell you about my visit to Saint-Camille, which made a much bigger impression on me than what I would have imagined.


Much More than a Simple Café

The Café du Flâneur, is more than a Café. It’s a gathering place, it’s the soul of a magnificent village, it’s local products. . . It’s all this, and much, much more.


The Café du Flâneur, is also Le P’tit Bonheur, in the same building, which every year for over 30 years, has been presenting about fifteen famous entertainers. Artists such as Louis-Jean Cormier, Patrice Michaud, Dan Bigras have all performed here, in this hall which can welcome about a hundred people. It’s also l’Espace Hortense on the second floor, where you can admire between six and eight art exhibitions per year.

The Café du Flâneur, is also the soul of Saint-Camille. It’s a café set in the heart of the village with a splendid view of the Camillois, operating both as a convention centre and a place of worship. It’s also a gourmet stop on the Townships Trail with a spacious and peaceful terrace where escaping from the daily routine is the easiest thing to do.


A Gathering Place in the Heart of a Charming Village

Le P’tit Bonheur de Saint-Camille is an idea that grew in the hearts of the village citizens, who had just lost their regular gathering place. The goal was, and still is, to help the 520 Camillois and Camilloises by organizing different cultural and community activities.

So, every Friday since it has opened, Le P’tit Bonheur organizes homemade pizza meals with the help of local volunteers. Two Tuesdays per month, citizens are also invited to participate in a traditional community dinner.

That’s when you realize how community is important in the village of Saint-Camille. Everything is done to please everybody, so that each person feels right at home. As a visitor, I quickly noticed this sense of belonging to the village as much through all the smiling faces I met, as with how they greet each other. It was as if, for a moment, I found myself at a very large family gathering.

It’s incredible how, in such a short time, a simple place can transmit so many things.


A Menu Offering Local Flavours

On site, I tasted one of the Café du Flâneur’s specialties: The gourmet chicken burger. It comes with a garden salad and delicious French fries. I also had a café au lait on the spacious terrace of the Café du Flâneur. It was delicious! Plus, being a Café de Village, this restaurant always places the region’s products at the forefront and supports its local growers.

A Small Cultural Paradise

Although Saint-Camille is a very small village, there are still many things to visit here. On my way to the café, I noticed many farms and local producers, such as the Ferme lait sangliers des bois and the Lune de Miel honey producers. You can also enjoy the Concerts de la chapelle presentations, the Masq’alors! Festival, the Journée des Cordes, which presents string ensemble concerts, the family trail, the Maison grise cheese makers in Wotton, the vegetarian sugar shack in Dudswell. . . All this, plus the magnificent flower-covered landscape which adorns the village of Saint-Camille!

The Café du Flâneur, is a café that deserves to be visited over and over again!

Camille Provencher

As a writer interning for Eastern Township Tourism, I am very happy to introduce you to my personal blog. Being a great traveller and nature lover, I arrived in the area a couple of years ago, and from the first moment, I fell in love with the Eastern Townships. There is so much to discover here; the region keeps on surprising me every day. I invite you to follow me in my little outings as I explore the Townships.
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