Found within the former Généreux public bath hall on Rue Amherst, across from the Marché Saint-Jacques, the Écomusée du Vier Monde shines a light on the working-class community of Montreal's Centre-Sud. We visited the museum, and then took a walk around the neighborhood to which it's dedicated.
Constructed in 1705 as a private residence for the Governor of Montreal, the Château de Ramezay has withstood the previous three centuries in an excellent state of preservation. Today, it's the oldest private museum in Quebec, offering visitors a glimpse into Montreal's earliest days.
One of the buildings which makes up Montreal's "Space for Life" is the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. It opened in 2013, and features two full-dome theaters which allow visitors to tour the universe.
Founded in 1964, the Musée d'Art Contemporain was the first museum in Canada dedicated entirely to works of contemporary art. In 1991, the MAC moved into its new location on the Place des Arts, where it hosts exhibitions from the world's most famous contemporary artists.
A mansion constructed in the early twentieth-century for two brothers, the Château Dufresne is found on the border of Montreal's Olympic Park. Although it looks like one massive residence from the outside, the chateau is actually comprised of two separate houses, one for each of the siblings, Oscar and Marius.
Included in the ticket to the Insectarium is a free entrance to the neighboring Botanic Garden. With two dozen thematic zones like the Chinese Garden, Rose Garden and Courtyard of the Senses, the Botanic Garden is huge... but we wouldn't be seeing much of it. It was freezing in Montreal, and snow was still covering the ground. So we decided to delay a thorough exploration of the garden, and instead scurried straight into the greenhouse.
Imagine an enclosed area just swarming with tiny, freakish beasts. Millions of them crawling around, randomly piercing the air with hideous ear-piercing screeches. This is Montreal's Insectarium on a Saturday afternoon... and the beasts of which I'm speaking are, of course, children. The insects? They're cool.
A huge complex located within the Old Port, the Montreal Science Centre introduces children to the worlds of science and technology with hands-on workshops, experiments and games. The focus of this center is almost entirely on kids, but we were drawn by a temporary exhibit called "Animal Inside Out."
If your thirst for history isn't quenched after visiting the Archaeology and History Complex Pointe-à-Callière, then walk a few dozen meters down the Place d'Youville and into the Montreal History Center. I'm not sure we've visited another city which has two history museums in such close proximity to each other, let alone two as impressive as these.
Before doing anything else, newcomers to Montreal might want to check out the Archaeology and History Complex Pointe-à-Callière. Located at the site where Montreal was born, this museum takes visitors on a journey through the life of the city, from its earliest occupation into the present day.
