Montreal Guide

Montreal is North America's closest cousin to the grand old cities of Europe. Its heart skips to a youthful beat with the emphasis on fashion, parties and sophistication.

For a taste of how the brave new world looked a generation ago, check out the Olympic Stadium, or “Big O”, and Expo 67. Such architectural fantasies are complemented by Second Empire architecture, based on the wide boulevards and monumental buildings of Paris, in Old Montreal and the Old Port, and the Notre Dame Basilica.

Find designer boutiques and vintage clothing stores on St Denis Street and Mont Royal Avenue. In Old Montreal at Marché Bonsecours browse shops run by local artists and artisans. For local tomatoes and handmade cheeses, get along to the open-air Jean-Talon Market.

More than ten percent of the land in Montreal is park space. The hilltop Mont Royal Park is the best place for a city panorama. On summer Sundays join hundreds of people at drumming sessions called the Tam Tam Jam. Find a beach on the banks of the St Lawrence River.

More than 40 major music and theatre events each year, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival, have earned the nickname the City of Festivals. Just For Laughs exercises the laughter lines in late July and the four-day Bal En Blanc, or White Party, over Easter Weekend is one for lovers of urban culture.

A bilingual city where French and English are spoken comfortably, Montreal is increasingly multicultural and that is reflected in its range of cuisines. Fine French dining is given a Quebecois twist with seafood from the east of the province. For fun, dine out in the Village, or people-watch on a terrace or outdoor café in the Plateau area.

For years, the highest inclined tower in the world leaned unfinished at a giddy 45° angle over the Olympic Stadium. Finally completed, the Montreal Tower Observatory is one of the more unusual vantage points to gaze over the city.