Montreal

Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec and the second-largest francophone metropolis on the planet, spread across an island in the mouth of the St Lawrence. Here the Gallic elegance of old Europe has grown together with the business rhythm of North America: signs in French, coffee houses with croissants and jazz festivals sit alongside skyscrapers, hockey and street art.

History and character of the city

The settlement was founded in 1642 by French missionaries under the name Ville-Marie, at the foot of the mountain that the explorer Jacques Cartier had christened Mont Royal — "the royal mountain" — back in 1535. For a long time this was a centre of the fur trade, then an industrial and financial hub of British North America. Bilingualism and waves of immigration — Italian, Jewish, Portuguese, Haitian, Lebanese — have made Montreal varied and emphatically informal. Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics turned the city into a showcase of modernist architecture.

Main sights

• Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal) — the heart of the city, with cobbled lanes, buildings of the 17th to 19th centuries and the busy Place d'Armes. The dominant feature of the quarter is the neo-Gothic Notre-Dame Basilica with its ultramarine vault scattered with stars; in the evenings the AURA multimedia show is staged here. Nearby are the City Hall, the Pointe-a-Calliere archaeology museum and the old port with its observation wheel.
• Mont Royal — the green hill right in the centre, whose park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the author of Central Park in New York. The Kondiaronk Belvedere gives a panorama over the centre and the river, and an illuminated cross stands at the summit. In winter a skating rink is flooded on Beaver Lake; in summer, drummers gather at weekends by the Cartier monument.
• The Olympic Park — the legacy of the 1976 Games: a giant stadium and a mast tower leaning at 45°, the tallest inclined tower in the world. At its foot is the Biodome with its recreated ecosystems, and the Botanical Garden and Insectarium adjoin it.
• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal — a bohemian residential district famous for its brightly painted facades, external spiral staircases, independent cafes and murals. Neighbouring Mile End is considered the cradle of the local indie music scene.
• The Underground City (RESO) — a network of pedestrian tunnels more than 30 km long, linking metro stations, shopping galleries, railway stations and office towers; a lifesaver in the freezing winters.
• Jean-Talon Market — one of the largest farmers' markets on the continent, selling Quebec cheeses, maple syrup, fresh vegetables and street food.

Food

Montreal's gastronomy is a matter of local pride. The calling card of Quebec is poutine: chips with cheese curds and meat gravy. No less iconic is the Montreal smoked meat sandwich, served for decades at the legendary Schwartz's Deli on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. A tradition of its own is the dense, faintly sweet Montreal bagel, baked in wood-fired ovens around the clock (Fairmount and St-Viateur). The city is also known for fine dining, wine bars and the "apportez votre vin" restaurants, where guests bring their own wine.

Festivals and culture

Montreal is not called the festival capital for nothing. In summer the centre is closed off for the International Jazz Festival, one of the biggest in the world, for the Just for Laughs comedy festival and for the Osheaga music festival. The art scene is rich too: the Museum of Fine Arts, the contemporary MAC and the Quartier des Spectacles. The city's sporting symbol is the Montreal Canadiens hockey club, one of the oldest in the NHL.

A three-day route

• Day 1. Old Montreal: the Notre-Dame Basilica, the squares and the old port waterfront, the Pointe-a-Calliere museum.
• Day 2. The climb up Mont Royal for the panorama, then a walk through the Plateau and Mile End with a tasting of bagels and smoked meat.
• Day 3. The Olympic Park, the Botanical Garden and the Biodome, and in the afternoon the Jean-Talon market and the streets of Little Italy.

Practicalities

The metro has four lines and runs on rubber tyres; a journey costs about 3.75 CAD, and day and multi-day passes are available. In summer the BIXI bike-hire network is convenient. The round-the-clock 747 express bus runs into the centre from Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The best time to travel is late spring, summer and the golden autumn, when the maples colour the slopes of the mountain; the winters are snowy and cold, but that is exactly when the city lives by its skating rinks, its underground passages and the comfort of its cafes. There is enough English in the tourist areas, though a greeting of "bonjour" is always received more warmly here.