Explore the real places in Berlin that appear in The Passenger by Patrick Senécal. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Cégep de Drummondville, Downtown Drummondville (Rue Heriot), Parc Frederick-George-Heriot, Autoroute 20 at Drummondville, The Hitchhiker's Roadside Spot and 2 more.
Rue Saint-Georges — Étienne's new workplace
Étienne Séguin, not yet thirty, accepts a job teaching literature at the cégep in his hometown of Drummondville. This job is the reason he starts commuting every day. The commute leads him to the hitchhiker who upends his understanding of his own past.
The Cégep de Drummondville opened in the late 1960s as part of Quebec's network of public junior colleges. It serves students from across the Centre-du-Québec region.
The college remains an active institution and is not open for casual visits. It is a working campus with students and staff.
Main commercial street — Étienne's hometown
Drummondville is where Étienne grew up and where he has now returned to work. Because he has amnesia and no memory of his childhood, the town is both familiar and unknown to him. It anchors the mystery of who he was before.
Drummondville was founded in 1815 and grew into an industrial centre, particularly in textiles, along the Saint-François River. Rue Heriot has long been its main commercial artery.
Rue Heriot is lined with restaurants, bars, shops and cafés. It is the lively heart of the city.
Visit: Rue Heriot (landmark)
Saint-François River — green space of Étienne's hometown
This riverside park is a stand-in for the Drummondville landscape of Étienne's childhood, which he cannot remember. It represents the town's everyday places that hold memories he has lost. The book does not specify a scene here.
The park is named after Frederick George Heriot, the British officer who founded Drummondville in 1815. It sits along the Saint-François River near the city centre.
It is a public park with walking paths, river views and event space. It is a popular spot for locals in summer.
Visit: Parc Frederick-George-Heriot (park)
Eastern end of the commute — likely hitchhiker territory
Étienne drives Autoroute 20 between Montreal and Drummondville, a trip of about an hour. He listens to the radio to forget his recent separation. Soon he notices a hitchhiker always standing at the same spot as he passes.
Autoroute 20 is the main Quebec highway running along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence, linking Montreal, Drummondville and Quebec City. It was built in stages from the 1960s.
The highway is still a heavily used corridor between Montreal and Quebec City. Drivers pass through Drummondville exits on a daily basis.
Autoroute 20 shoulder — where Étienne picks up the passenger
Étienne decides to stop for the stranger to break the monotony of the drive. On their first meeting he understands that the man knew him in childhood. Because of his amnesia, Étienne cannot recall him, and the daily rides raise questions about their shared past. The exact roadside location is approximate here.
Hitchhiking was once common in Quebec, though far less so by the 21st century. The long stretches of Autoroute 20 between Montreal and Drummondville are mostly rural farmland.
The corridor remains rural, with farmland and highway services. No monument marks the spot.
Midpoint of the drive between Montreal and Drummondville
The middle of Étienne's hour-long trip passes through the flat farmland of the Montérégie. The long drive gives him time alone with the radio, and later with his passenger and his own unanswered questions.
Saint-Hyacinthe is a major agricultural city known as Quebec's food technology capital. Autoroute 20 passes just south of its centre.
The area is a hub of agri-food industry and farmland. Drivers see fields and exits on the way to Montreal.
Entry to Montreal from the south shore
Coming from Drummondville, Étienne would reach the island of Montreal by the A-20 and the Montreal-area bridges and tunnels. This approach marks his daily transition between his hometown and his life in the city.
The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel opened in 1967, linking Longueuil and Montreal under the Saint Lawrence River. It is part of Autoroute 25.
It is one of the busiest crossings in the Montreal region. Rush hour traffic is heavy.
More by Patrick Senécal: All Patrick Senécal books
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