The place gained some prominence in the 1770s when Doctor Philippe-Louis-François Badelard named a disease he was researching the "Baie-Saint-Paul maladie".

The bay was first called Baie de l'Ilet on a map by Pierre Desceliers circa 1550, then Baie du Gouffre by Samuel de Champlain in 1632, referring to a whirlpool at the mouth of the Gouffre River at the St. Lawrence.

[6] In 1845, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de la Baie-Saint-Paul was created, but dissolved two years later.

Its landscape is characterized by sandbanks, striated mountain slopes, waterfalls, streams, fertile meadows, and sandy terraces.

[1] In addition to the main namesake population centre, the city also contains the hamlets of Saint-Placide-de-Charlevoix (47°24′32″N 70°37′33″W / 47.40889°N 70.62583°W / 47.40889; -70.62583),[9] Saint-Placide-Nord (47°27′48″N 70°35′33″W / 47.46333°N 70.59250°W / 47.46333; -70.59250),[10] and La Mare (47°28′49″N 70°31′42″W / 47.48028°N 70.52833°W / 47.48028; -70.52833).