21 September 2022
After having spent the whole summer almost exclusively under sunny, cloudless skys, the rain finally caught up with us in Montreal and our short stay there was characterized by quick dashes between the showers and the attractions that we had marked out for a visit. We did, however, also take advantage of the easy-to-use metro system, part of a 20 mile long underground city, allowing its residents to get around even in the depths of their freezing winters.
Montreal is really unique, half New York and and half Paris. The city center is typically North American with its skyscrapers and street grid-system while Old Montreal and the Old Port look distinctly European with their cobbled streets and old warehouses converted to funky shops and cafes.
Founded by the French in 1642 as Ville-Marie,it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city was built, on an island of the same name. The settlement became the trading hub of “New France”, before coming under British control after the Seven Years’ War in the mid 18th century, and the two identities have tussled and overlapped ever since.
French was made the city's official language in 1976, causing swathes of Anglo-orientated residents to leave it, and 60% of the population speak it today as their first language. Since then, many immigrant populations have come to inhabit it and shape its character. 20 per cent of Montrealers speak neither French nor English and the city is home to a thriving Chinatown, as well as significant Portuguese, Arab, Haitian and Jewish communities.
Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal was surpassed in population and in economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s but remains an important centre of technology, design, education, art, culture, tourism and fashion.
Our walkabout started in Old Montreal, an historic area southeast of downtown containing many attractions such as the Old Port of Montreal, Place Jacques-Cartier, Montreal City Hall, the Bonsecours Market, Place d'Armes, the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, Pointe-à-Callière Museum and the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica. The architecture and cobbled streets around them there have been zealously maintained or restored.
The Old Port is the riverside area adjacent to Old Montreal. Previously the site of the Port of Montreal, its shipping operations were moved to a larger site downstream, leaving the former location as a recreational and historical area. We walked along it to the Place Royale and indulged in cakes at Maison Christian Faure; Faure has been rated the “world’s best pastry chef.
The other local specialty we indulged in was poutine - a messy pile of fries smothered in gravy and dolloped with chewy cheese curds. The iconic Quebecois dish is ubiquitous and can be bought as fast-food or at trendy specialist vendors.
A distinctly prolonged shower then sent us to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where we could improve our appreciation of Canadian artists, with a particular liking for works by Jean McEwen, Rita Letendre, Helen McNicholl, Marc Aurele Fortin and Louis Muhlstock.
To the north-east of downtown is the densely populated Plateau Mont-Royal district, characterised by its colourful residences, criss-crossed with outdoor iron staircases, and punctuated by splashes of street art. The area is overlooked to the west by the imposing cross of Mont Royal, which marks the spot where Paul de Chomedey, the city’s French founder, first placed a crucifix in 1643. Nearby is the world-renowned McGill University, dating from 1821.
Despite being Canada’s second biggest city, Montreal has a distinctly villagey feel and although it can still be considered to be a relatively petite metropolis, it certainly punches above its weight in terms of its historical, culinary, cultural and artistic offerings.
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