Montreal - Where the Old and New Worlds Meet
Getting to Montreal is about as easy as any city in Canada. They have their own international airport that you can fly into directly. For us, we took the VIA Rail from Quebec City and arrived at the Gare Centrale station located near the old town. Our Airbnb rental was only about a 15 minute walk from the train station, so we set out on foot. The apartment we rented was wonderful, and I would highly recommend it. Not only does it come with a washer and a dryer, it's in a secured building, and is within a block of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral of Montreal.
Everyone should start off their visit of any city with a walking tour. Most tourist cities have free walking tours online that you can download or print off yourself. If you are not really a do it yourself kind of traveler, well I feel like this site may not be of much help to you then, but you can also find "free" walking tours led by locals of most major cities. I emphasize the free because they are free in the sense that they do not charge an upfront cost, and rely on your gratuities when the tour is over. Wendy and I once did a whole day in the Scottish Highlands like this, including the travel to different locations, and loved every second of it. However, in some cities you may want to be able to wander down a side alley, or hang around in a cathedral a little longer than the tour guide. If you choose to use one of these free tours, understand what you are getting. They are usually a little bit larger of a group, and usually are between 2-3 hours, so not an entire day trip. They are awesome though for getting your bearings about the city you're visiting, and for learning a thing or two that only a local would know. We started off our time in Montreal with a walking tour we found online. I am linking it here, and suggest it highly to anyone who wants to set out on their own. We started with the famed Notre Dame Basilica, a legendary house of God in the heart of Montreal. While there has been a church in Montreal on this location since 1672, the current Gothic building opened in 1829, and rivals almost any you can find around the world. The domed ceiling of the main building is haunting with a light show that seems to emanate from behind every wall. This cathedral, unlike most around the world, does charge visitors to come in, but the $8 fee includes an hour tour. The tour is really not that impressive. You sit in a pew and a guy tries to talk over all of the other visitors, but if you get a close enough seat you will learn about the history of the building. After that's over, spend some time walking around the Place D'Armes square in front of the cathedral. It is surrounded by Notre Dame, Saint-Sulpice Seminary, the New York Life Building (which at eight stories was the tallest building in Montreal when it opened in 1887), and the Aldred Building (which may look very familiar since it is a scaled down replica of the Empire State Building). Then walk across the street to the Old Montreal Stock Exchange Building. They have a small free museum in there on the history of banking in Canada, but the real purpose is to see the beautiful architecture of this building that opened in 1904. The building is also home to a local theater company called the Centaur Theatre.
After walking around the Place D'Armes, we wandered down to the Old Port. A once booming port for the warehouses of the city, it has now been remolded into a family friendly tourist attraction complete with apartments, food trucks, a Ferris wheel, zip lines, and many other attractions. When we visited in July, the Old Port was hosting a Cirque du Soleil troop. The unexpected main attraction for our night walk was the firework show that comes from the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River. Every summer Montreal hosts the world's largest firework festival. On a random Wednesday night we were joined by thousands of other locals and tourists as we stood on the water's edge and watched an hour long fireworks show. They have it timed up to music, and you can listen to the music on your phone while you are watching. Once you are done with the fireworks, you can take your kids to the numerous rides around. If you're a zipline enthusiast, wait until the end of the night to ride. When we were leaving the port, they were about 30 minutes from closing for the night, and they were offering buy one get one free rides. The lines were not nearly as long as you would think for such a deal, and everyone seemed to be loving it. If you don't mind walking in a crowd, then take a walk through the very touristy Place Jacques-Cartier. This pedestrian only street is home to countless restaurants that are likely overpriced, clothing shops I can guarantee are overpriced, and plenty of free street entertainment. From there you can walk down St. Paul Street to find some of the finer restaurants in town, and even alley art exhibits. One of the local night tours is a ghost tour of the city, so don't be surprised if you look down a dark alley and there's a three story tall ghost looking back at you as he's projected from below. Another unique old town site is the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. Opened in 1894, it, and not Notre Dame, is actually the seat of the Catholic archdiocese in Montreal. If it feels familiar when you walk in that's because it was built as a nearly exact replica of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. You will also find the tombs of every Canadian bishop since the cathedral opened in the late 19th Century.
My last suggestion comes with a warning, don't do it unless you like climbing steps. The name Montreal actually means Mont Royal, the name given to the high hills located in the heart of the city. If you feel like a hike, take some time to walk up to the peak of Mont Royal. Passing through McGill University, you'll be going uphill slowly the entire walk from the old town, you'll eventually come to the Grand Escalier du Mont Royal, a series of steps that will wind you through the hills of Parc Mont-Royal until you reach the summit, the Mont Royal Observatory. This hike is strenuous, even for people that are in shape, but completely doable if you give yourself time. The hike will take you up about 800 feet in elevation rather quickly. If hiking is not your thing, but you still want to visit the observatory to get a view of the city, you can take the walking paths that snake back and forth, but the walk is about three miles from the base of the park to the top, so it takes considerably longer than the stairs. Spend some time at the top and get some great photographs. While you are in the park, walk over to the Saint Joseph's Oratory, the largest church in Canada, and supposedly one of the largest domed roofs in the world. When you are done, walk back down and head over to the enormous Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This museum is so large it actually is located in three buildings on adjacent sides of an intersection. They have tunnels under the streets for people who don't walk to cross the street above, and the tunnels themselves are now used for gallery space. Inside they had an impressive collection with artists like Monet, Renoir, El Greco, and others. One of the portraits, which I have included below was by Godfried Schalcken. Painted around 1700, it had the most dazzling flame I've ever seen in painting. It felt like it would burn if you touched it. They had an entire exhibit set up to everyone's favorite French general Napoleon, no one is talking about you de Gaulle. Inside they had artwork from the 19th Century showcasing his rise and fall. They had portraits of a young Napoleon fresh off of the shores of Corsica, and later portraits from when his best days were behind him. They had many of his actual items like his riding boots, and a toiletry kit. One of the unique exhibits was on Canadian masters. There were some especially talented artists in Canada whom were often overshadowed by their European and American neighbors, but they deserve a long look when you're in Montreal. If you are a member of another museum, check to see if you have reciprocal memberships. Wendy and I spend over four hours in there and never paid for a thing since we were already members of the Atlanta art museum.
Like any major city, I'm obviously leaving some things out. If you go in the summer or fall, and want to see something unique, take in a Montreal Alouettes game, or any CFL team. The game has 12 players on each side of the ball, they only have three downs to get a first down, and players can be running at the snap, so it's wild for an American football fan to watch. You can also take the train out to the Montreal Botanical Garden. Our last day in town we decided to make it up as we went. We rode the train out to the Jean Talon Market, the famous Montreal food market, and spend an hour there. We then walked back towards the heart of town and passed through Little Italy where we made time to eat some Italian food and have some gelato. No matter what you do there is something fun for everyone in Montreal. If you go expecting it to be a visit to London, Paris, or Rome, you'll be disappointed, but if you go expecting it to be a historically rich modern city with different communities, and tons of attractions you'll have a great time.
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