Montreal
Overview
Dollar |
45.516136, -73.656830 |
English,French |
It may be Canada that stamps your passport when you arrive in Montreal, but at your first glimpse of the city's cobblestone streets, sunny sidewalk cafes and wrought-iron balcony railings, you'll feel as though you've been whisked off to Europe. From the French street signs and the high fashion of its upscale boutiques to the joyful elan of its people, Montreal feels more like Paris than a major North American metropolis. But of course it's the latter too -- it's Canada's second-largest city, home not only to its French-speaking majority but also to native English speakers and immigrants from all over the world.
Places to Go
Basilique Notre-Dame
The most significant landmark of Vieux-Montreal is this mammoth Gothic Revival undertaking designed by Irish architect James O’Donnell and built between 1824 and 1829. This thriving Catholic church has a stunning medieval-style interior that features walnut-wood carvings, exquisite stained-glass windows, 24-carat gold stars in a vaulted blue ceiling, as well as one of the largest Casavant organs in North America. Don’t miss the fine art paintings in the nave and the impressive Chapelle du Sacre-Coeur hidden behind the altar.
Mont Royal
Mont-Royal rises 233 meters above the city and is the green lung near the city center. A stroll through this lovely park enables the visitor to see monuments to Jacques Cartier and King George VI, to spend some time by Lac-aux-Castors, and to have a look at the cemeteries on the western slope where the city's different ethnic groups have rested in peace together for centuries. From the summit, or rather from a platform below the cross, there unfolds a magnificent panorama of the whole of the 51-kilometer length of the Île de Montréal and the St. Lawrence. On clear days, the view extends to the Adirondack Mountains in the United States of America
Square Saint-Louis
Near the Sherbrooke Metro Station, Square Saint-Louis rates as one of Montréal's prettiest old squares and is set in a turn-of-the-century French-Canadian residential quarter. In the little streets around the tree-shaded square, there are still a few attractive Victorian houses. Some now house pleasant restaurants. 12 Editor's Pick Lachine
Must Try Food
