Trois-Rivières, Quebec, is a city steeped in history and culture. Located in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, Trois-Rivières is a vibrant city that offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.
Trois-Rivières, which translates to 'Three Rivers', is named after the three mouths of the Saint-Maurice River at the Saint Lawrence River. The city was founded by French colonists on July 4, 1634, making it the second permanent settlement in New France, after Quebec City in 1608.
The city's inhabitants are known as Trifluviens (Trifluvians). Trois-Rivières is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Trois-Rivières. Its geographical code is 371.
For thousands of years, the area that would later become known as Trois-Rivières was frequented by Indigenous peoples. The historic Algonquin and Abenaki peoples used it as a summer stopping place. They would fish and hunt here, as well as gather roots and nuts. The area was rich in resources.
The French explorer Jacques Cartier described the site while on his second journey to the New World in 1535. The name "Trois-Rivières", however, was not given until 1599, by Captain Dupont-Gravé, and first appeared on maps of the area dated 1601.
Trois-Rivières is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour. It is part of the densely populated Quebec City–Windsor Corridor and is approximately halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.
Saint-Quentin Island lies at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River and St. Lawrence River, where the city of Trois-Rivières developed. With the islands Saint-Christophe and De La Poterie, it creates three channels at the mouth of the Saint-Maurice River, where it flows into St. Lawrence River.
The area has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Winters are long, cold, and snowy, while summers are warm. Spring and autumn are short and crisp.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, Trois-Rivières had a population of 139,163, an increase of 3.5% from its 2016 population of 134,413.
French was the sole mother tongue of 93.9% of residents of Trois-Rivières. The next most common first languages cited were English (1.2%), Spanish (1.1%), and Arabic (0.8%). Approximately 92.1% of residents were White, 1.9% were Indigenous and 6.0% were visible minorities.
Trois-Rivières hosts the FestiVoix de Trois-Rivières, a 10-day summer music festival which attracts in excess of 300,000 visitors annually. The city also hosts the Festival International de la Poésie – an international poetry festival – as well as the Festival International Danse Encore, and the MetalFest de Trois-Rivières every November.
The city's main thoroughfare is Boulevard des Forges, an area several blocks long in the heart of the Old Town composed of century-old buildings housing a great variety of cafés, restaurants, clubs, bars, and shops.
Local bus service is provided by the Société de transport de Trois-Rivières. The Laviolette Bridge links Trois-Rivières to Bécancour of the Centre-du-Québec administrative region on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, has two sister cities: Châteaudun, France, and Tours, France.
