Its population centres include La Baleine in the northeast, (Saint-Louis-de-)l'Isle-aux-Coudres in the south, and Saint-Bernard-sur-Mer in the northwest facing Baie-Saint-Paul.

[5][6] It was the setting for the classic 1963 National Film Board of Canada documentary Pour la suite du monde.

On September 6, 1535, during his second voyage to North America, the navigator Jacques Cartier named the island "couldres", after a hazel tree (Corylus cornuta), a shrub abundant in the area.

Anne-de-Beaupré was granted title as the first Seigneur of l'Isle-aux-Coudres by Governor Buade de Frontenac on March 4, 1677.

Due to a failure to develop the property to increase its value he was forced to sell the seigneurie on October 19, 1687 to the Séminaire de Québec who began to establish a monastery on the site.

[7] On October 29, 1687, Governor Denonville and Intendant Champigny granted the island as a seignory to the Seminary of Quebec, an act that was ratified on March 1, 1688.

Today tourism is the main industry, and the place is known for its historical sites, tourist accommodations, and craftspeople.