Rimouski is a regional centre on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec's Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The city stretches along the river from the Le Bic district to Pointe-au-Père, combining an urban centre with rural landscapes, coastal areas, and forested hills. Its location gives Rimouski a strong maritime character, while nearby parks and waterways provide access to a varied natural environment. The city also serves as an important cultural and educational centre for eastern Quebec, with museums, theatres, festivals, and public spaces concentrated around its waterfront and central districts.

Rimouski's history is closely connected to forestry, river transport, fishing, agriculture, and navigation on the St. Lawrence. The Pointe-au-Père sector became an important station for pilots guiding ships along the river, and its lighthouse remains a major heritage landmark. The city also has a strong connection to the history of the Empress of Ireland, whose wreck is interpreted at the Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site. In the Le Bic district, traditional coastal settlement patterns remain visible alongside heritage buildings and landscapes that reflect the long relationship between local communities and the river.

Several notable attractions highlight Rimouski's coastal and natural setting. The Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site includes the 33-metre lighthouse, the Onondaga submarine, and exhibitions about navigation and the Empress of Ireland. Parc national du Bic, within the city's Le Bic district, protects rocky headlands, islands, coves, forests, and coastal habitats along the St. Lawrence. Île Saint-Barnabé lies offshore near the city, while the Canyon des Portes de l'Enfer offers hiking trails and a high suspended footbridge in a forested river valley. These sites give Rimouski a wide range of landscapes within a relatively compact area.

Rimouski's food culture reflects its location between the river and the agricultural interior of Bas-Saint-Laurent. Regional products include crab, sea urchins, seaweed, fish, shellfish, berries, dairy products, and locally grown produce, with seafood playing a particularly visible role in restaurants and markets. The city also has a strong connection to the St. Lawrence as a source of food and transportation, and the waterfront provides views of fishing and recreational boats. A distinctive feature of Rimouski is the combination of a working regional city with immediate access to protected coastal landscapes, historic maritime sites, and the distinctive rock formations of Le Bic.