Montreal is the largest city in Canada's Quebec province and is on an island in the Saint Lawrence River. The European history of Montreal begins in October, 1535, when Jacques Cartier first landed on the island and named the the area Mount Royal, for the mountain that rose in rear of the site. Montreal's neighborhoods range from cobble stoned, French colonial Old Montreal with the Gothic Notre Dame Basilica to the lively Underground City and everywhere in between.
City Hall
275 Notre-Dame St. East, Montreal, QC H2Y 1C6, Canada
It took six years to build this fabulous building known in French as Hotel de Ville. Construction of Montreal's City Hall began in 1872 and commenced in 1878. This City Hall is built in the French Napoleon III style. The Hall of Honor is particularly striking and offers portraits of every mayor who ever held this office in Montreal. Unfortunately, Montreal's City Hall was less than 50 years old when it suffered a terrible fire in 1922. The interior was completely gutted but the exterior was spared.
Nelson's Column in Place Jacques-Cartier
Rue de la Commune E, Montreal, QC, Canada
Nelson's Column is a monument erected in 1809 in Place Jacques-Cartier which is dedicated to the memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson's Pillar in Montreal now stands as the second-oldest "Nelson's Column" in the world, after the Nelson Monument in Glasgow. It is also the city's oldest monument and is the oldest war monument in Canada.
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal
110 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal, QC H2Y 1T2, Canada
The church is dedicated to Our Lady the Blessed Virgin, “Notre Dame”. The small original chapel was operated at first by the Jesuits then came the Roman Catholic who in 1657 undertook construction of a larger church. The present day Notre Dame Street served as the original site. The Baroque style church was completed between 1672 and 1683.
St. Joseph's Oratory
3800 Queen Mary Rd, Montreal, QC H3V 1H6, Canada
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on Westmount Summit. It is Canada's largest church and the twenty-seventh largest church building in the world. The basilica enshrines a statue of Saint Joseph, which was authorized a Canonical coronation by Pope Pius XII in July 1955. The shrine is also famous due to its association with Brother Andre Bessette who was believed to possess healing powers through his Josephian devotion with its notable oil ointment given freely to its believers. In 1904, Brother Andre Bessette began the construction of St. Joseph, a small chapel but soon the growing number of the congregation made it too small. In 1917 a larger church was completed that had a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica of Saint Joseph's Oratory was commenced; it was finally completed in 1967. The basilica is dedicated to Saint Joseph, to whom Brother Andre credited all his reported miracles. These were mostly related to some kind of healing power, and many pilgrims poured into his Basilica including non-Catholic believers. On display in the basilica is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were purportedly healed. Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André in 1982. In October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI canonized the saint.
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
1085 Rue de la Cathedrale, Montreal, QC H3B 2V3, Canada
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral is a minor basilica in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. Inspired by the Italian renaissance revival, Mary Queen of the World Cathedral was modeled after Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The Village
1676 Ontario St E, Montreal, QC H2L 1S7, Canada
Montreal embraces their LGBT communities with gusto. It is home to one of North America's most famous gay neighborhoods, simply known as the Gay Village or as the locals call it "The Village". While it's active year-round, summertime brings the Village to full life. During the neighborhood's Aires Libres art event from May to September, a 12-block stretch is transformed into a pedestrian-only zone. There are cafes, boutiques, antique shops and restaurants enveloped in a laid-back, open urban vibe where pretty much anything goes. The rainbow plastic balls that form a canopy over The Village, originally put up in 2011, will be permanently retired once the strings of 180,000 multi-colored balls come down in September 2019. It truly an experience so try to visit before they are retired.
Underground City
747 Rue du Square-Victoria, Montreal, QC H2Y 3Y9, Canada
Montreal's Underground City is a series of interconnected office towers, hotels, shopping centers, residential and commercial complexes, convention halls, universities and performing arts venues that form the heart of Downtown Montreal. It is a network completely integrated with the city's entirely subterranean rapid transit system, the Metro. The network is particularly useful during Montreal's long winters and it's climate controlled and well-lit. It is said that there are over half a million citizens estimated to use the Underground City every day.
Mount Royal
1196 Voie Camillien-Houde, Montreal, QC H3H 1A1, Canada
The most famous of Montreal’s city parks is Mount Royal, which is part of a volcano complex that was active 125 million years ago. In the 1860s, mass cutting of trees on the mountain for firewood outraged the populace and led to the area’s designation as a park in 1876. It was originally landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known for New York City’s Central Park. The lookout facing over downtown towards the river was first built in 1906 and is now officially known as the Belvedere Kondiaronk, named for the Huron chief who signed a major peace accord with the French regime in 1701. Mount Royal continues to use horse mounted police to patrol the park.
Quartier Latin
1621 St Denis St, Montreal, QC H2X 3K3, Canada
The Quartier Latin is an area between downtown and The Village. It is known for its theatres, artistic atmosphere, cafes, boutiques, and festivals. It owes its name, a reference to the Quartier Latin in Paris.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
1380 Rue Sherbrooke O, Montreal, QC H3G 1J5, Canada
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is Montreal's largest museum and is one of the most prominent in Canada. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile and has been building its collection of fine arts for more than a century.
