Sights—Mont Royal Park for spectacular views of downtown and the St. Lawrence River; Vieux Montreal by horse-drawn carriage or on foot, with stops at Notre Dame Basilica and Place Jacques Cartier; the Montreal Botanical Garden; the Montreal Tower Observatory at Olympic Park; St. Joseph's Oratory; the architecture of the McGill University campus
Museums—Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal; Musee Pointe a Calliere; McCord Museum of Canadian History; Centre d'Histoire de Montreal; Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal.
Memorable Meals—Toque! for market cuisine and wine; L'Express for typical Parisian-style bistro cuisine; Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen for old-time smoked meat; Joe Beef for hearty gourmet fare.
Late Night—The bizarre underground club Les Foufounes Electriques; the all-night dance club Stereo; the pubs and clubs along Crescent between Rene Levesque and de Maisonneuve; numerous clubs and bars on St. Laurent, St. Denis, Ste. Catherine and Mont Royal.
Walks—Sherbrooke and the Golden Square Mile; Rue St. Denis (the Latin Quarter); Boulevard St. Laurent; Vieux Montreal and Vieux Port (Old Port); Mont Royal Park; Chinatown; Le Plateau Mont Royal and the Mile End district; the Lachine Canal.
Especially for Kids—The Biodome; the Insectarium; Montreal Science Centre; Montreal Planetarium; La Ronde amusement park rides; Parc Safari; the Granby Zoo; Laval Cosmodome.
The Ottawa River runs into the St. Lawrence River and creates a series of small rivers, lakes and islands, the largest of which is the Island of Montreal. The city of Montreal and the demerged municipalities share this island. The city maintains jurisdiction over a few additional satellite islands. Suburbs occupy other islands and the north and south shores of the river complex. These suburbs are linked to Montreal by 21 major and minor bridges, one highway tunnel and two metro lines.
The dominant feature of the Island of Montreal is 764-ft/233-m Mont Royal. When giving directions in the city, people use the St. Lawrence River and Boulevard St. Laurent as points of orientation. If you're told your destination is to "the south," that means going toward the river (which is actually to the southeast by compass). "East" or "west" refers to the side of Boulevard St. Laurent where your destination is located. The downtown core of the city is bordered by four streets: Sherbrooke and Rene Levesque, running roughly east-west, and Atwater and St. Denis, running roughly north-south. Within this area are many of the restaurants, museums and shops that are popular with visitors. Traveling south of downtown (between Boulevard Rene Levesque and the river), you'll encounter the small but vibrant Chinatown, Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) and finally the Vieux Port (Old Port) at the waterfront.
The Plateau Mont Royal encompasses an area east of Avenue du Parc and north of Sherbrooke. In this trendy neighborhood are ethnic restaurants and incredible fashions—in boutiques and on passers-by. Most of the city's English-speaking residents live on the west side of the city. Areas around Crescent Street, Boulevard St. Laurent and Rue St. Denis brim with pubs, restaurants and nightclubs.
The region around Montreal was inhabited by the Iroquois before the first French voyagers arrived. In fact, the Iroquois had established the beginnings of an empire, part of which was Hochelaga, a small village in what is now Montreal. French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535 became the first European to sail up the St. Lawrence River and climb the mountain—and claim the land for France. He christened the mountain Mont Royal.
It wasn't until 1642 that Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, established the tiny colony of Ville-Marie that grew into the city of Montreal. By the time France was battling England on two continents, New France was a hot property. The British managed to capture nearby Quebec City in 1759, and Montreal fell a year later. The entire colony surrendered. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris sealed France's defeat and ended the Seven Years' War—known in U.S. history as the French and Indian War.
Under English rule, Montreal grew into one of the most powerful cities in North America. But British domination of the economy combined with cultural and religious differences to create enduring resentments. For two centuries, most factory owners were English-speaking Protestants, and most workers were French-speaking Roman Catholics.
In the 1950s and '60s, the French majority began to assert its influence in what is known as La Revolution Tranquille (the Quiet Revolution). Today, Francophones rule Quebec politically and socially. Some groups continue to advocate separating Quebec from Canada, and the issue reappears periodically as a touchy topic. Two referenda to secede have failed—one in 1980 and the second in 1995—and then there was the loss of power by the separatist Parti Quebecois to the Liberal Party in 2003.
Independence has been shelved for the time being. The issue sharpened linguistic and cultural divisions and dampened the economy, but fortunately the exodus of high-earning, English-speaking professionals has stopped. Waves of professionals—attracted by aviation, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and high-technology sectors—now flock to the city.
In 2002, the provincial government created a megacity by merging the city of Montreal with 27 other municipalities on the Island of Montreal. The so-called fusion forcee (forced fusion) provoked a public furor, and Mayor Gerald Tremblay was swept to power on the wave of anger. Referenda were held across the region, and 15 former municipalities regained independence on 1 January 2006. They are still linked politically and financially to the city of Montreal through the ruling agglomeration council, led by the mayor of Montreal.
The one-dollar coin is referred to as a "loonie": An image of a loon is on one side. A two-dollar coin—identified by the polar bear on one side—is commonly known as a "toonie."
Though it's a bilingual city, Montreal is considered the third-largest French-speaking city in the world (Paris, of course, is No. 1, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, is second). There is a greater concentration of English-speaking residents on the western side of the city, and a greater concentration of French-speaking residents on the eastern side.
Montreal is the birthplace of William Shatner, also known as Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek fame. In 1993, the students of McGill University held a referendum on the issue of naming the student union building after Shatner. The Yes side won, but the university never officially recognized the name change. To this day, however, every McGill student knows the exact location of the William Shatner University Centre (or Shatner Building for short).
Mont Royal Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park.
An anglophone is a person whose mother tongue is English. A francophone's mother tongue is French. A Quebecker with a mother tongue other than English or French is called an allophone.
Mark Twain said upon visiting Montreal, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window."
Montreal English has absorbed many French words—for example, a depanneur is a corner store, an animator is a program director and an autoroute is a highway.
The most common family name in Quebec is Tremblay. Most Quebecois trace their heritage back to the Normandy region of France.
