Three Pines Tour

Published on Nov 12, 2024

Beloved Quebec author Louise Penny is a literary ambassador for the Eastern Townships. Penny is a best-selling writer who has created a 19-volume murder mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec as the main character. Many of the books are set in the fictional village of Three Pines. The imaginary town is full of charming businesses, quirky characters, and a beautiful natural backdrop. Three large pine trees dominate the common of the town, hence the name.

Penny has drawn her inspirations for settings in her books from sites in the Eastern Townships. A popular tour brings visitors to the sources of Penny’s inspirations for Three Pines.

As a fan who has read all her books and eagerly awaits the next Gamache tome, I was delighted to join the tour with other fanatic Three Pines seekers. The van drive to the sites across the Eastern Townships was like being in a book club on wheels. Tour participants reminisced about their favorite characters or scenes in Penny’s books in anticipation of the next stop.

The tour starts at the Hillhouse Bed and Breakfast in Lac Brome. Louise and Gilles are the genteel, welcoming innkeepers and the owners of the Three Pines Tour. I could tell right away that our tour guide, Lynda, was a captivating storyteller worthy of her title as a skilled raconteur.

As we drove, Lynda set the scene with the fascinating history of the Eastern Townships. The first stop was at the Old Mansion House in Georgeville. Brought to life as the Old Hadley House in Three Pines in several Gamache novels, it’s a vacation rental in the real world. I explored the eight bedroom house, imagining where the Three Pine characters had held their Easter séance.

The picturesque hamlet of Georgeville is packed with Louise Penny inspirations. The general store and the church were Penny’s creative sparks for Monsieur Beliveau’s General Store and St. Thomas’s Church in Three Pines. We stopped at the Magasin General Store for a latte and a fresh baked croissant. The store was a cacophony of historic memorabilia and practical products locals might need. Next, we admired the intricate stained glass of the St. George Anglican church, as I imagined Armand Gamache seeking respite here.

The palatial Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac was our next stop. Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac is a Benedictine community of about 30 monks living, worshiping, and working together tucked in the green hills near Lake Memphrémagog. It was the inspiration for the Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups monastery in Penny’s Beautiful Mystery book. The tour was perfected timed so we could hear beautiful Gregorian chants of the monks in the chapel.

There is a working farm and orchard at the abbey where products such as cheese, cider, and fruit preserves are made. In the on-site boutique, you can purchase the creamy Bleu Benedictin that Three Pines characters enjoy on their cheese plates.

Penny’s Gamache thriller A Rule Against Murder is set in the fictional hotel Manoir Bellechasse modeled after Manoir Hovey on the shores of Lake Massawippi in North Hatley. Hovey Manor is a stunning blend of historic elegance and modern luxury. We visited the resort as part of the tour and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch on the patio overlooking the spacious gardens and the lake.

A visit to the manor’s library was a highlight as Penny and her husband Micheal were married there. The library bookcase full of Penny’s books and a suite at the hotel named Bellechasse shows the inn’s embrace of their Louise Penny fame. In addition, Hillary and Bill Clinton stay at Hovey Manor when visiting their friend. We gawked at the simple beauty of the house the Clintons use as our guide Lynda drove past.

The afternoon of the tour was reserved for sites near Penny’s hometown of Knowlton. First up was the Lac-Brome Museum with historical exhibits housed across seven heritage buildings. The Three Pines tour highlight is a painting that figures prominently in Still Life, Penny’s first novel. There wasn’t much time to see the other exhibits, but the wealth of history preserved here warrants another visit.

Brome Lake Books is the protype for Myrna’s bookshop in Three Pines. The light-filled, airy bookstore is a bustling community gathering place. There is a corner of the shop devoted to Penny and all things Three Pines, right down to selling Gamache’s favorite candy, licorice pipes. The helpful owners offer information on places not to miss in the area. Book releases of Penny’s best-selling publications are held at her friends’ bookstore.

When the tour visits La Rumeur Affamée in Sutton, you understand why Penny used this deli/bakery as a doppelganger for Sarah’s Boulangerie in her books. Wooden cases are crowded with creamy cheese, maple infused ham, and delectable pastries. The smell of crunchy baguettes hangs in the air. Quebec’s icon sugar pies made from maple syrup cool on the counter.

A character in a Gamache novel claims, “More people go to Sarah’s Boulangerie than ever show up at church.” I wouldn’t be surprised if the same were true of La Rumeur Affamée.

A visit to a winery at the end of the tour was a wonderful chance to reflect on the busy day. Looking out over the vineyards and the Appalachian Mountains with a glass of wine and a plate of charcuterie was the perfect way to wrap up the tour.

By the end of the trip, like any good book group, we had formed friendships based on a common love of Three Pines and a delightful, shared experience. We exchanged contacts and suggestions for other books to read while waiting for the next Louise Penny novel.

The tour is able to satiate your appetite for a delectable morsel of Three Pines. However, like a tasting menu, the jam-packed tour of the Eastern Townships had me wanting to come back to indulge in melt-in-your mouth locations in this splendid part of Quebec. I’ll be back again for the full course meal.