Montreal - what to see in the city
Serious shopping in the Underground City or a walk in the park on Mount Royal?
Montreal, like any other old city has a wealth of places worthy of sightseeing - old and modern. It splits conveniently into five areas; Downtown, Old Montreal, The Underground City, Mount Royal and The Islands.
Downtown
Downtown Montreal is located at the base of Mount Royal and runs to the St Lawrence river.
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Tour de la Bourse - Stock Exchange Tower
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Saint Catherine Street - the busiest commercial and business street in Canada - see also Crescent, de Maisonneuve, de la Montagne, Sherbrooke and Peel.
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is southeast of Downtown and, as its name might suggest is full of old buildings and cobbled streets. It can be accessed by public transport - both above and below ground.
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Montreal City Hall
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Old Port - the once main trading port but now a historical site
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Place Jacques-Cartier
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Marché Bonsecours
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Place d'Armes
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Pointe-à-Callière Museum
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Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica
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Take a horse-drawn 'calèche' and see Old Montreal or walk or cycle along the riverside (now a park).
The Underground City
Beneath the Place Ville-Marie, there is an underground shopping complex consisting of over 1500 shops, businesses, museums, libraries, restaurants and even universities, metro, bus and train stations that extend all over Downtown. This underground world is the largest of its kind anywhere and sees nearly half a million people use it every day - especially in the colder months.
Click pictures to enlarge
Mount Royal
Montreal's name is derived from the French version of the hill's name - Monte Royale. Mount Royal serves not just as a wooded park, it also provides the yardstick for determining the maximum height of any new building since no skyscraper may rise above it.
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The park was designed by Olmsted in 1876 - the same landscape designer who laid out the Central Park in New York. It is mainly woodland but it also contains a large cemetery (dating back to before the park's inauguration) which holds the remains of over 160,000 people. The veterans' section is worth a visit.
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There are two belvederes on Mount Royal - the bigger (Kondiaronk) consisting of a half-moon plaza and chalet that looks out over Downtown Montreal. These gazebos are the ideal place to take in a view of the city and its environs. On a clear day it is even possible to see as far as the Adirondack Mountains of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont.
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On top of Mount Royal is a 31m high illuminated iron cross - a replacement of the original cross erected by Paul Chomeday, the founder of the city, made to keep his promise to the Virgin Mary following a flood which was avoided. The 'modern' cross is now over 80 years old and is lit by fiber-optic cables.
The Islands
The two Montreal islands are the Île Sainte Hélène and the Île Notre-Dame. The Île Sainte Hélène contains Montreal's main amusement park and is also the venue for the annual Fireworks Festival; held in the Summer. The Île Notre-Dame is the location of the Jacques-Villeneuve Grand Prix circuit and is the home of Montreal's NASCAR racing.
Religious Establishments
There are four Basilicas - Saint Joseph's Oratory (the largest church in the whole of Canada and possessor of the second largest dome in the world), Saint Patrick's, the Notre-Dame and the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral.
Also worth noting are the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours (the Sailors' Church) and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral. The latter has the distinction of literally being lifted out of the ground when the Underground City was built. There are also mosques, synagogues and churches of other denominations and faiths in Montreal.
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