Montreal Destination Guide

  Places to See in Montreal

  Events & Nightlife in Montreal

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Hotels in: Montreal Downtown, Anjou, Dorval, Laval,
Longueuil-Brossard, Montreal Airport Area
 

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Visit Montreal - Canada's great French speaking metropolis entertains her visitors with some of the continent's most vibrant nightlife, stylish shopping and historic buildings. Add to this mix Canada's best museums and galleries and the largest programme of festivals in the country and you will understand why Montreal is an essential stop on any trip to North America's East Coast.

Founded in 1642, and lying on an island in the middle of the St Lawrence River, the city boasts some of the best-preserved buildings from the French colonial period, including the outstanding neo-Gothic basilica of Notre-Dame. From 1760 onwards Montreal fell into the hands of the British, and their influence can be seen in buildings such as the beautifully domed Marché Bonsecours, once a temporary home to Canada's parliament.

Historically, the British and French colonists lived in separate communities in the town, the French to the east and the English speakers to the west. Boulevard St Laurent, known to locals as "the Main", marked the division. The Main itself became a focal point for other European immigrants who settled on the dividing line of the two communities, adding to the ethnic mix of the city. Today this street remains Montreal's liveliest and most cosmopolitan area.

Montreal has traditionally been Canada's capital of hedonism. During the austere years of US Prohibition, when neighbour and great rival Toronto was known as Toronto the Good, Montreal was know as Sin City, thriving on the export of bootleg liquor to thirsty Americans to the south. Certainly, today Montrealers go about their business with an enviable joie de vivre. Montrealers dress sense would not look out of place in Milan, they have restaurants and a cuisine to rival Paris, a programme of arts to match Vienna, and a downtown cityscape that is constantly being used in Hollywood movies as a stand in for New York or Chicago. However, a pale imitation it is not. The city has a strong sense of its own identity and the product is very definitely Montreal.

To get a taste of the real flavour of Montreal, visit a neighbourhood such as the famous Plateau-de Mont-Royal, Here you may stroll past brightly painted Victorian buildings with their characteristic external staircases. Spend time shopping on Mont-Royal Avenue or Rue St-Denis in the small clothing boutiques; take a coffee and bagel at a bakery. Later, while away an evening in a cocktail lounge before dining on world-class cuisine at one of the many original, fine restaurants.

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