Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial: Canada’s immigrant story
Immigration has shaped every aspect of Canada’s modern history. At Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, some of the earliest and most important Canadian immigration stories are preserved. This small island in Quebec’s St. Lawrence River is both a 19th-century immigration quarantine station and a memorial to the Irish migrants lost as they fled the Great Famine.
This somber, emotional, and deeply important and interesting place makes a fantastic day trip from Quebec City. It also makes a natural stopover point for those on a road trip between Ontario or Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Here, you’ll learn more about what you’ll explore at Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site and how to plan your own visit.
Our visit to Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site was hosted by the government agency that oversees the site, Parks Canada. Have questions about planning your visit? Join our Facebook community!
Make Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site part of a Quebec weekend road trip loop through Charlevoix, Bas-Saint-Laurent, and Chaudière-Appalaches >
Making the journey to Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site
The ferry ride from the town of Berthier-sur-Mer to Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site takes approximately 45 minutes. Along the way, you’ll enjoy a scenic cruise through the surrounding islands. There were only a handful of English speakers on board during our crossing, so the crew invited us to the bridge to receive a guided tour directly from the captain!
We learned that Grosse-Île is one of 21 islands that make up the Isle-aux-Grues archipelago. Some nearby islands are owned by the founders of successful Quebec businesses such as Bombardier and Gildan. The water around Grosse Île is brackish, meaning it’s mostly fresh water mixed with a very small amount of salty sea water. Here, the St. Lawrence River is 17 kilometres wide and tides vary up to 21 feet. The river becomes much wider as it flows eastward toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Arriving on Grosse-Île: Prepare for quarantine!
Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site is a living history museum. As soon as you step off the ferry and onto the island, you enter an immersive experience!
You’ll be greeted at the boat dock by Parks Canada interpreters, some dressed in the agency’s signature green and others in full costume. The latter act as the doctors, nurses, and immigrants under quarantine you’ll interact with as you make your way around the island. Many times, you’ll feel as though you’re experiencing the quarantine station exactly as it operated here between 1832 and 1937.
Most visitors choose to experience the site through a guided tour. We highly recommend this, especially for your first visit as it will deepen your understanding of the exhibits as you explore. When you arrive, you’ll be sorted into a group and given a schedule that rotates through the island’s various sectors. This keeps any one space from becoming overcrowded. Tours are offered in English and French.
Our first stop was the disinfection building. We walked the same path as immigrants would have when arriving to Canada in the late 19th century. Our tour explored the cramped disinfecting showers and the massive steam chambers where belongings were disinfected, and then we stood in line for our own medical inspection. Fortunately, no one showed signs of typhus, a disease many immigrants arrived to Canada with in the 1840s.
We also explored the first-class, second-class, and third-class hotels where healthy immigrants waited out their quarantine. Those in first class enjoyed fine dining and relatively luxurious accommodations. For the rest, rooms were sparsely furnished, but they at least enjoyed fresh bread rations from the island’s bakery.
Exploring Grosse-Île’s village
After a break to eat our packed lunches, we boarded a shuttle to the central and eastern sectors of the island.
The central section of Grosse-Île is the village where the station’s workers and their families lived. We learned about how immigrants who arrived ill were carefully transported through the village to the hospital while ensuring villagers weren’t exposed to disease. Two churches, a school, and residences for the chief physician, bacteriologist, nurses, and other staff give a glimpse into this isolated life.
At the eastern sector of the island, you’ll find a series of hospital buildings. These were hastily constructed in 1847 when the island was filled to capacity with a massive influx of immigrants. Nearly 100,000 people set sail for Canada that year, many of them Irish citizens fleeing the Great Famine. Conditions were appalling on the ships that crossed the Atlantic, and thousands arrived infected with typhus and other diseases.
Displays inside the hospital buildings explain the horrific conditions and treatment immigrants endured during this period as they crossed the Atlantic. More than 5,000 Irish immigrants didn’t survive the journey and are laid to rest here on Grosse-Île.
The Celtic Cross, a memorial to Irish migrants
Before boarding the return ferry, we took the short hike to the western tip of the island to see the Celtic Cross. It was erected in 1909 and has inscriptions in English, French, and Irish Gaelic honouring the thousands of Irish immigrants laid to rest here on Grosse-Île.
A little further along the same trail, an open field houses a cemetery with mounds in unidentified rows. Nearby, the names of the Irish immigrants who died on Grosse-Île or in boats docked on its shores are inscribed on a large memorial. Some visitors come to Grosse-Île solely to locate the names of their ancestors on this memorial. Parks Canada maintains an online list of the names inscribed on the Irish memorial.
End your visit with a return cruise to the mainland
Once we boarded the ferry and began our return to Berthier-sur-Mer, the interpreters and characters who guided us through the day all waved goodbye from the dock. We left reflecting on the many challenges millions of immigrants endured to establish themselves here in Canada, and how fortunate we are for the lives they’ve built for us.
Since Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site is part of the Parks Canada Xplorers program, young visitors can engage with the exhibits here by completing an activity booklet. Once they do, they’ll receive a collectible medallion to take home.
Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site: What to know before you go
Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site is on an island in Quebec’s Chaudière-Appalaches region, in the Isle-aux-Grues archipelago in the St. Lawrence River. Visitors to this Parks Canada national historic site must arrive via a cruise with Croisières AML. This cruise departs from the marina in the village of Berthier-sur-Mer, located roughly an hour’s drive east of Quebec City.
In 2025, Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site opens on May 9 and closes on October 11. Early and late in the season, service is on select days and there is a single daily departure from Berthier-sur-Mer marina at 9:30 AM. Visitors on this cruise return to the mainland at approximately 4:00 PM. On most days in July and August, a second daily departure is added at 12:00 PM, which returns at approximately 5:30 PM.
Tickets for the cruise and visit are available on the website. For 2025, pricing starts at $89.99 per adult, $87.99 for seniors, and $49.99 for kids aged 5 to 12. Children up to age 4 are free. This price includes both directions of the crossing, parking for the day, and admission to the national historic site managed by Parks Canada.
A visit to the island lasts for five hours on average, and there is no way to return to the mainland in the meantime. There is no restaurant or canteen available on the island. You’ll therefore need to bring your supplies for the day with you, including a substantial lunch and additional snacks. If you prefer not to pack your own lunch, Croisières AML offers a boxed lunch as an add-on for its cruise packages.
You’ll also need sunscreen, a hat, and layered clothing that’s appropriate for the weather on the day of your visit. Drinking water is available on the island, so be sure to bring a water bottle with you. Wear comfortable and sturdy shoes as you’ll do plenty of walking, optionally on some hills and rough terrain. Expect to have spotty mobile phone service or none at all, depending on your carrier.
A visit to Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site takes you through a beautiful, educational, and thought-provoking experience. It’s well worth the journey for a day trip while you’re visiting Quebec City or when you’re passing through to or from Atlantic Canada.
Explore more Quebec road trips >
