Like most cities, Montreal can be ugly and noisy, with its constant construction, heavy traffic, plain gray skyscrapers, chain restaurants, and cloudy days. But it can also be surprisingly beautiful... and nowhere is that more apparent than around Saint-Louis Square, in the neighborhood of the Plateau.
Jürgen and I are really clever guys. Check this out: while planning our hike on Mont Saint-Hilaire, we decided against going on a weekend, and instead chose a Monday. Because the mountain would be less busy. Now that's clever! But as it turns out, Quebec was celebrating Patriots' Day on this particular Monday. Turns out, we're not so clever after all.
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.
Usually, the first thing we do after arriving in a city is ascend to its highest point for a birds-eye view. But we waited a full month before heading up Mont Royal, the hill (sorry, "mountain") which provides Montreal its name. When the weather finally cleared up enough, we found that the view was worth the wait.
Built in 1976 for the Summer Games and attached to the Olympic Stadium, Montreal Tower's height of 165 meters (541 feet) makes it the tallest inclined tower in the world. We took the funicular up to the top, where there's an observatory that provides views of the Olympic Park, Mont Royal and downtown Montreal.
Cutting straight across the Island of Montreal, Boulevard Saint Laurent is considered to be the dividing line between the city's French-speaking half on the east, and the English half to the west. Known colloquially as "The Main," the neighborhoods which line themselves along the boulevard, from north to south, are home to various populations of immigrants.
Centered around the Rue de la Gauchetière, Montreal's isn't the biggest Chinatown you'll find in North America, but it's among the most historic. Chinese families began immigrating to this area in the 1860s, and today the neighborhood is a vibrant mix of Asian restaurants, shops and culture.
The day after we arrived in Montreal, a freak snowstorm hit the city, stranding us indoors. We would have rather been outside exploring, but the bad weather provided an excuse for us to sit down and read about our new home. Here are the facts and figures that jumped out at us.
For the sixteenth edition of our "For 91 Days" travel project, Jürgen and I chose Montreal: the second-largest city in Canada, and a multilingual hotbed of culture and the arts. We arrived at the beginning of April with no prior knowledge of the city and no expectations. So we were excited to see what Montreal had to offer us, and would be giving the city 91 days to impress us.
