The Côte-de-Beaupré was one of the first areas to have been settled by the Europeans in the St. Lawrence Valley, as early as the beginning of the 17th century. From the birth of the colony until 1763, the young seigneury welcomed about 170 families of French origin.

The region has many heritage sites including the 1653 seigneurial mill  and the first home of Samuel de Champlain built outside the walls of Québec. Another historic vestige is the first convent for the education of girls in the rural areas of New France that was built in 1694 at the instigation of the first bishop of the colony, François de Laval.

Aux Trois Couvents – The Three Convents – is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1984. At the time, it was located in the attic of the Petit-Pré mill (1695). Since 2002, it has been offering its cultural and educational programming in the twice renovated old convent of Château-Richer (1907) . The site has been listed as an archaeological heritage site since 2015. Long known as the Interpretation Centre of the Côte-de-Beaupré, the institution changed its name in 2016 and became Aux Trois Couvents.