Things to Do in Aylmer, Gatineau

Atmosphere

Aylmer is a small town that got folded into a city yet kept its porch-light friendliness—traffic lights are few, but waves are frequent and the bakery still remembers how you like your baguette.

Price Level

$$

Safety

excellent

Parc des Cèdres

Cedars form a living cathedral, sunlight dropping in thin spears while the river flashes silver beyond the branches. Kids squeal under the splash pad in July, and the faint scent of someone’s barbecue drifts over from the picnic tables.

Tip: Spread a blanket and linger past sunset; the west-facing benches give you front-row seats when Parliament Hill’s lights blink on across the water.

Aylmer Marina

Mast lines clink like loose change against a sky washed with watercolor pinks. Dock boards groan under your steps, gulls wheel overhead, and the air carries a mix of engine oil and fresh current.

Tip: Stroll the full breakwater around seven; locals haul in walleye here and will happily hand over tips if you ask.

Rue Principale

Rue Principale may be the only main street where a 150-year-old stone church shoulders a tattoo parlor and a Lebanese bakery. Sidewalks leave room for strollers and café tables both, and by six a.m. La Bonne Boulangerie is already fogging windows with warm bread.

Tip: Begin at rue Principale and chemin d’Aylmer on Saturday; the farmers’ market winds up at 1 p.m. and the maple syrup is always first to sell out.

Morrison's Quarry

The quarry pool glows an improbable turquoise, rimmed by limestone walls that bounce every cannonball shout back at the swimmers. Kids launch from the 20-foot ledge while parents perch on the rocky beach, the air thick with sunscreen and pine sap.

Tip: Leave the car in P2—ten minutes on foot saves the $15 fee, and the wooded trail keeps you cool even at noon.

Old Aylmer Heritage Walk

Bronze plaques recount, in both languages, how lumber barons raised these Victorian piles. The houses lean so close you can see gingerbread trim creak in the breeze and count every spindle on the wraparound porches.

Tip: Grab the walking-tour leaflet at the marina info booth; the loop takes 45 minutes and drops you at L’Autre Œil brewery, pint ready and waiting.

L'Autre Oeil

Microbrewery with elevated pub food

Specialty: Duck confit poutine ($16) and their rotating IPA selection

Aladdin Shawarma

Lebanese counter service

Specialty: Chicken shawarma plate with garlic potatoes ($12) - ask for extra toum

Café Moca

Third-wave coffee shop

Specialty: Maple latte ($5.50) using syrup from Rigaud just across the river

Le Comptoir du 7ième

Québécois bistro

Specialty: Tourtière with cranberry chutney ($18) on Thursdays only

La Bonne Boulangerie

French bakery

Specialty: Almond croissants ($3.50) that sell out by 9am on weekends

L'Autre Oeil

Ties come off over tasting flights, and the patio stays shoulder-to-shoulder until last call.

Local crowd, good conversation

Bar 4 Jeudis

Aylmer’s lone cocktail den: two visits and the bartender greets you by name while a record spins behind the bar.

Intimate, good whiskey selection

Le Bop

Blues bands trade sets with Québécois folk singers, and by ten the dance floor is a single moving mass.

Live music, mixed ages