Montreal

I Flew to Burlington VT and drove up I-89 to the border. It was cheaper than flying international and gave me an opportunity to see the northern end of Lake Champlain.

There was only a 5 minute wait to cross the border, much easy than an airport. The road on the Canadian side was not a limited access highway and went through a couple of small towns. Closer to Montreal I entered a set of highways that flowed into the isle of Montreal and then onto to an underground highway that took me to the end of the Old Montreal for my first hotel. The drive took 2 hours.

This was a small old European style hotel with great charm but the walls were porous, giving me the opportunity to hear through the walls the girls next door talking about their hot night out when they returned at 3 AM and the snoring from the man who took their place. And at time of the day and night, I could hear people sounding like they were stomping on the floors. Quaint doesn’t mean quiet. When I returned from a day in Quebec I stayed at the Ritz Carleton - much nicer.

But the location was ideal. Old Montreal is centered around three main landmarks; Place Jacques-Cartier, Notre Dame Basilque, and the St Lawrence Seaway

Place Jacques-Cartier square with it’s outdoor restaurants, sketch artists, street musicians, and general fun atmosphere.

Listen to some Street Music

At night they threw light sticks out of a 3rd story window for the crowd to gather. But unlike New Orleans the crowd didn’t have to "work" to earn the prize. I’m surprised I don’t think Mardi Gras in February in Quebec would have a big tradition for undressing outdoors. The street singer you hear in the background is doing his classic rendition of purple rain. It’s impossible to describe the full version and fortunately I don’t have audio of it but feel free to listen to part of Nights in White Satin if you dare.

The square is also a popular place for post formal parties, wedding receptions and just dancing.

The square is also surrounded by a great selection of restaurants in old stone buildings along cobble stone streets. A very scenic area.

The other major landmark is the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal. A beautiful gothic church completed in 1829 that is in operation both as a church and tourist center. You can tour the church during the week and they have a video show on the history of the church at night but they still have an open Mass on Sundays where you can hear the Mass in French and listen to the organ and choir.

Listen to the Church Bells

Behind the main church is a more modern chapel but still striking in its own way.

Candles

Listen to the organ and choir during Sunday Mass.
Mass Audio 1
Mass Audio 2
Mass Audio 3

During Mass protestors outside were carrying signs deploring sexual abuse. Everytime the church door open during Mass they would play some French song through a bull horn. I don’t know what the song was about but they were very angry. This was the week before the Los Angles case settlement came out. It looks the Montreal has a longer way to go.

Listen to their Protest Song

There is another Notre Dame in town, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel on the other side of Place Jacques Cartier .

The third highlight of Old Montreal is the St Lawrence Seaway. The river walk is lined with several piers, parks, and museums. This is where they held the July 1st Canada Day celebration and fireworks. During the day there were festivals in the street. At night what do Canadians do? They go watch the fireworks over the St Lawrence.


North East of Old Montreal is the Latin Quarter the gay and hip centers of town. Further east about 3 KM is the old Olympic Stadium that still looks like a spaceship that has landed and held up by cables from the towers while it is being retrofitted for another voyage. The truth is that retractable roof never worked well so it’s not flying anywhere. But it does look cool.

Also on the site is the Biodome where you can see wildlife from Northern forests, St Lawrence, Polar climates, and tropical forest.

Hyacinth Macaws

Canadian Crab

Bat Cave

Across the Rue Sherbrooke is a large park containing the Jardin Botanique gardens created in the 1830s. Besides the usual flower gardens there are a Chinese garden, a Japanese Tea Garden, and the Insectarium. Two unique area are the Alpine garden showing mountain flora and a Prime nation forest showing the plants used by the aboriginals and a unique open building showing the story of the forest and its inhabitants. The Insectarium is a collection live and dead insects from around the world from scorpion, tarantulas, and beautiful butterflys.

In the Insectarium a train of ants carries their colorful cargo across the room

A block away are the iconic apartments setup for the Olympic participants.

Montreal has a wide range of architecture from the old stone building of Old Montreal, the gothic Gare Montreal train station, the spiraling outdoor staircases of the Latin Quarter. There are several unique neighbors of town homes and apartment buildings with their own style. Interspersed among all this history are many modern buildings such as the stadium, Biodome, Biosphere on the site of Expo 67, and more buildings throughout the town.

The center for the architecture is the CCA (not shown) one of the top 3 architecture libraries and research centers in the world. This is a modern building built around one of the few remaining stone homes on the old Golden Square Mile. The golden square mile was once the home of the wealthiest Canadians but many homes were cleared for modernization. The museum has weekly talks each Thursday and a strange sculpture garden with abstract architecture shapes and a pair of chairs hanging overt the highway.

A connection to North Carolina is the 23 story Aldred building an art deco skyscraper built in the same manner as the Suntrust nee CCB tower in Durham and the Empire State Building in New York.

During the short time I was there I found festivals all over town. Streets were closed off for vendors and music. There was a long one along St Dennis showcase exciting and high quality art work. Another was near Pointe-a-Calliere, the museum about the birthplace of Montreal, showcased different cultures. Others were focused on a particular beer or other drink

The big festival was the annual jazz festival is centered around Place de Arts which contains the Contemporary Art Museum, the large concert hall Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and the smaller Theatre Maisonneuve. Both are excellent halls for performances. The jazz festival was also spread over several local clubs and halls as well as at a half dozen temporary stages ranging a from small tent for acoustic guitar shows to the large stage where a 100,000 people would gather for the big festival shows. This year featured Brazilian and African nights.

The crowd gathers while an Italian band plays.

Montreal streets are often crowded but the city always felt safe to walk. They also have a very good Metro system. They say you can travel using the metro and underground walkways throughout the underground city and find all the shopping you need without dealing with the weather.

Montreal has several large parks but the most distinctive is Mount Royal which literally stand above the town. Many people walk the trails and enjoy the view of the city from the top.

Next stop Quebec

Or return to Canada