Chenal des Grands Voiliers

The Chenal des Grands Voiliers (French pronunciation: [ʃənal de ɡʁɑ̃ vwalje], channel of tall sailships) is a channel of the St. Lawrence River, between Île d'Orléans and the south shore of Quebec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. On the southeast shore of Île d'Orléans, this channel successively wets the municipalities of Sainte-Pétronille, Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans and Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans in L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale. On the south shore of Quebec, the channel anchors the town of Lévis, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse and Berthier-sur-Mer in Bellechasse Regional County Municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.

Oceanic vessels use this passage to go up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. During the history, this channel was the scene of many shipwrecks. It was a must in order to enter the heart of America, via the St. Lawrence River.

The channel is formed by Île d'Orléans (length: 33.1 kilometres (20.6 mi); width: 8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi)) which is bounded to the southeast by the St. Lawrence River and by the south shore of Quebec, between Lévis and Berthier-sur-Mer.

In winter, the channel is cleared of ice by federal icebreakers.