Back in 2018, Danielle Viau approached best-selling author Louise Penny to see if she would be on board with her idea to set up a tour where people could visit the different parts of the Eastern Townships that inspired Penny's fictional world of "Three Pines."

Penny is the author of the inspector Armand Gamache murder mystery series and she is also a Townshipper with a home here in the area. After getting a private tour from Viau to get a feel for it, Penny gave the green light and the "Three Pines Tours" were born.

After coordinating the tours over the last four years, Viau has decided to pass on the torch to Gilles Trudel and his wife Louise Cadieux. 

Trudel and Cadieux are the owners of the B&B Hillhouse in Bondville, a go-to place to stay for some of those participating in the tours. Having the opportunity to hear all about the "Three Pines Tours" from their guests, everything fell into place. 

"The 'Three Pines Tours' started in 2018, but actually, two years before that, I was contacted by a tour operator in Ontario who wanted to bring people to visit Louise Penny's world of 'Three Pines.' (...) That's when the whole idea was instigated," Viaux recounted. "Then I approached Louise Penny and Lise, her assistant, to see if they would be interested if I put together an itinerary. They said 'okay' let's do it's and that's how it all go started."

Viau told CIDI that she passed the "Three Lines Tours" onto Trudel and Cadieux because she is ready for something new. 

"I just turned 65 in January. I've been in tourism for over 40 years and I decided that it was time for new adventures, new personal adventures," she said. 

"I've known Danielle for about 20 years now, we knew each other in another life. (…) We've worked with Danielle because of the 'Three Pines' Tours.' People were actually renting or coming to see us at our B&B Hillhouse on Bondville Street," explained Trudel. "(...) People would come back all happy talking about the tours. We were like, what is the tour all about? So then we started taking to Danielle." 

After going on the actual tour, it peaked Trudel and Cadieux's interest. 

"We thought it would be a good fit with the B&B," said Cadieux. 

The "Three Pines Tours" is divided into five chapters. 

"The village of 'Three Pines' is like a movie set. It's been created by different inspirations that are located in all sorts of areas of the Eastern Townships. We don't want to go too much into detail about those because that's part of the appeal of the tour," noted Viau. "(...) It's always, throughout the day, a mix of fiction and reality. It's the reality that helped Louise create her fiction."

By going on the tour, people are simultaneously given the opportunity to discover to the Eastern Township's. Each tour has a storyteller that  accompanies people throughout the day, according to Trudel. 

"The beginning of the tour is exactly that. It's to set people up as to where we are exactly and give the people the history of the area," mentioned Trudel. 

"The tour last the whole day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it's about 200km of driving," added Cadieux. 

The "Three Pines Tours" attract people from as far as California. 

"The tour participants are 98% American. They come from all over the United States, not just New England. They come from California, Texas, Washington State, and they come here specifically for the tours," highlighted Viau. "They book air fare, they book hotels, they rent a car (...). They stay here, they sleep, they eat, they shop. So it's a really good economic impact for the entire Eastern Township's."

The "Three Lines Tours" give people the chance to contribute to the Eastern Township's in more ways than one. 

"That has been one of the profiles of the 'Three Pines Tours" since the beginning because that aspect of giving back is important to Louise as well. So once people come we ask if they wish to donate a book," explained Viau."This year they're going to Main dans la Main. They deal with kids that have difficulties in school and they have a special reading program where they can learn how to read and they read to an animal. Last year, we donated over 100 books to Main dans la Main.”

The "Three Pines Tours" kick off in May up until mid-October. The tour will keep the same itinerary this year, but Trudel and Cadieux hope to add their own personal touch in the future. 

"Since it was just about three weeks ago, (that they took over) we're just trying to wrap our heads around what's currently happening. But for sure we are looking to add other activities," noted Trudel. 

"There's room for growth," added Cadieux. 

For more information on the "Three Pines Tours," visit the website.

Listen to the full interview below: