Montreal, Canada - where to go, stay, what to see
Summer or winter there's always something to do in Montreal
Montreal is the second city of Canada and the principal city in the Quebec province. Its name comes from the tri-cornered hill called Mount Royal (Monte Royale in French) at its center although it was originally called Ville-Marie but this changed to the modern Montreal (Montréal in French) just before the start of the 18th century.
Like most of Canada, French is a major influence and Montreal is the largest French-speaking city outside of France although many of its citizens are, of necessity, bilingual speaking both French and English.
Click pictures to enlarge
Montreal is one of the top twenty largest metropolitan areas in North America and in the top one hundred worldwide. Its population in 2006 was 1.6 million for the actual city and 3.6 million for the Montreal metropolitan area.
Montreal was founded in 1642 although the native Iroquois Indians had probably been living there for over 2,000 years before this date. Montreal soon grew and in 1832 it was officially incorporated as a city. Despite its size, it was ranked tenth cleanest city in the world in 2007.
The city occupies an area of 365 km² and the whole metropolitan region extends over a massive 4,250 km² which straddles the St Lawrence River.
Sundry Facts about Montreal
The time zone is Eastern Standard Time.
The current mayor is Gérald Tremblay.
The nickname is 'City of Mary' or Ville-Marie' in French
The motto is Concordia Salus (in unity, prosperity)
French tutoring and tuition
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