Mont-Royal

Mont-Royal rises 233 meters above the city and is the green lung near the city center. A stroll through this lovely park enables the visitor to see monuments to Jacques Cartier and King George VI, to spend some time by Lac-aux-Castors, and to have a look at the cemeteries on the western slope where the city’s different ethnic groups have rested in peace together for centuries. From the summit, or rather from a platform below the cross, there unfolds a magnificent panorama of the whole of the 51-kilometer length of the Île de Montréal and the St. Lawrence. On clear days, the view extends to the Adirondack Mountains in the United States of America.

Vieux-Montreal (Old Montreal)

Old Montréal is a remarkable concentration of buildings dating from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The district has the delightful feel of a Parisian-style quarter, situated as it is between the waterfront and the business hub. Its many historic sites, streets, and landmarks are best explored on foot. Of the many things to do here, the highlights are visiting the Pointe-à-Callière museum of archaeology and history, the twin-towered Notre-Dame Basilica, the quays of the revitalized Old Port, and the open-air gathering space of Place Jacques-Cartier.

Jardin Botanique (Botanical Garden)

High above the city in the grounds that hosted the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, Parc Maisonneuve (Pie IX Metro) is the site of Montreal’s wonderfully imaginative botanical garden. The diverse plants are grown in 30 themed gardens and 10 exhibition greenhouses, so a wide range of climates are represented. Outdoor gardens include the beautiful Japanese and Chinese gardens, as well as those devoted to alpine, aquatic, medicinal, shade, useful, and even toxic plants. The rose displays are stunning, and especially interesting is a garden devoted to those plants grown or used by First Nations peoples. Soaring greenhouses contain a tropical rain forest, ferns, orchids, bonsai, bromeliads, and penjings (miniature Chinese trees). There is also an interesting Insectarium and huge arboretum on the grounds, as well as ponds supporting a variety of birds.

Notre-Dame Basilica

Founded in 1656, Montréal’s oldest church, Notre-Dame Basilica, stands in a far grander incarnation than the original. The twin towers of the neo-Gothic façade face Place d’Armes. The intricate and resplendent interior was designed by Victor Bourgeau. Highlights are the magnificent carved pulpit by sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert (1850-1917), the 7,000-pipe organ by the Casavant Frères firm, and the stained-glass windows portraying scenes from the founding of Montreal. The admission charge to the basilica includes a 20-minute tour, or you can take a one-hour tour that gives more historical information and access to private areas, including the second balcony and crypt.

Oratoire Saint-Joseph (St. Joseph’s Oratory)

The Oratoire Saint-Joseph, near the western exit from Mount Royal Park, is dedicated to Canada’s patron saint. It is a mecca for pilgrims, with its huge Renaissance-style domed basilica dating to 1924. Brother André of the Congrégation de Sainte-Croix had already built a small chapel here in 1904, where he performed miraculous acts of healing for which he was canonized in 1982. His tomb is in one part of the sanctuary in the original chapel. Votive gifts are displayed in a second chapel. A cloister behind the church leads up to Mont-Royal. There is a good northwest view from the observatory over Montréal and Lac Saint-Louis.

Parc Jean Drapeau

Île Sainte-Hélène (named after the wife of Samuel de Champlain) and the artificial island of Notre-Dame were the site of Expo ’67. They are now known as Parc Jean Drapeau and have many family-minded attractions. A remnant of the 1967 world fair, the Biosphere is now a museum dedicated to ecological issues. The building is designed in the shape of a sphere and is the largest such structure in the world. Other tourist attractions on the islands include the rides and games of La Ronde Amusement Park, the historic 1820 British arsenal at the Stewart Museum, Bassin Olympique (where the Olympic rowing events were held), and race course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Pointe-à-Callière

At one corner of Place Royale in Vieux-Montréal is the Pointe-à-Callière, now marked by a striking modern building housing a museum of archaeology and history. Place Royale was the center of life in Montréal’s early and colonial days, where the market and parade ground were located until later government buildings displaced them. But underneath today’s Montréal, remnants of these early streets and foundations still remain, and you can explore these on a visit to the museum. The route through the city’s history begins underground, where you can walk among the original stone-paved streets, drainage channels, and ground floors of 17th-century buildings. The story unfolds in layers of history told through artifacts, maps, and exhibits as you climb through the museum. Special exhibitions cover a wide range of history and archaeology worldwide.

St. Mary Queen of the World

The Catholic Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, east of Place du Canada, was built in 1894 as a smaller version of St. Peter’s in Rome. The massive statues represent the patron saints of the 13 parishes of Montreal in the 19th century and were all sculpted by Olindo Gratton between 1892 and 1898. The most important artwork in the interior is the crucifix by Philippe Hébert, atop the marble baptismal font. A series of nine paintings, seven of which are by Georges Delfosse, retell Montréal’s tumultuous history.

Square Saint-Louis and Rue Denis

Near the Sherbrooke Metro Station, Square Saint-Louis rates as one of Montréal’s prettiest old squares and is set in a turn-of-the-century French-Canadian residential quarter. In the little streets around the tree-shaded square, there are still a few attractive Victorian houses. Some now house pleasant restaurants. At the square’s eastern edge and running parallel to St. Laurent, Rue St. Denis is one of the hippest shopping, arts, and dining streets in Montréal. Historic buildings have been converted into boutiques, bistros, and cafés. At one end, St. Denis starts in the student-minded Quartier Latin neighborhood (it’s handy to Université du Québec à Montréal and the Grande Bibliothèque) and heads west into the trendy Plateau area with its independent designers and chef-run restaurants.

Lachine Canal National Historic Site

Lachine, on the southeast bank of Montréal Island (in Lac St.-Louis), got its name from the first pioneers who, in the 17th century, made their way up the St. Lawrence looking for a route to China (in French, “la Chine”). The 14.4-kilometer Lachine Canal, a way of getting around the Lachine Rapids, was dug in 1825. It is many years, however, since it was last used for shipping and nowadays, it forms part of a park and offers plenty of opportunities for charming trips along the canal banks. A bike path borders its entire length, through an open green space, and you can also cruise the canal by boat.

Chinatown

Montréal’s Chinatown is centered on Rue de la Gauchetière, with Chinese gates marking the heart of the quarter. This colorful neighborhood dates from the late 1860s, when many of the Chinese laborers, who originally came to work in the mines and build the railroad, moved into the cities in search of a better life. Today’s Chinatown is filled with Asian restaurants and shops, no longer exclusively Chinese, but a place where locals and tourists go to enjoy a good meal.