Montréal is a city that is endless, nonstop, and unlimited. An endless variety of things to do, and places to go. Nonstop music and art choices. Unlimited stores for shopping. Limitless ways to enjoy the outdoors. A never-ending supply of restaurants. Countless museums to explore. Numerous transportation and accommodations options. Abundant historical, religious, and cultural activities. A place for pedestrians only. Whew! The list goes on. Basically, innumerable opportunities for the visitor all year round. And all in a good way!
Here is just a sampling…
Museums and related Activities: Like museums? You could spend days, maybe even weeks, just looking at all the art, architecture, science, books, history, and culture contained in Montréal’s museums! With a few choices of “carte musées,” museums passes, that allow access into 38 museums (not to mention those museums not covered by the passes), you can experience anything from fine arts to contemporary arts to art galleries. You can learn about Canadian architecture, or Montréal and Canadian history. You can check out the National Library (no pun intended), or dig some archaeological history, or explore the Science Center. How about a visit to the Avataq Cultural Institute, historical chateaus, the Environment Museum, or the Holocaust Memorial Centre. And don’t forget to look up in the Planetarium. The list of museum options keeps going…and going…and going…
I will be doing a future blog on the Jardin Botanique, the Insectaruim, and the Biodȏme, all covered by the museums pass. There is even a museums pass good for three consecutive days, which includes the use of public transit. What a deal!
Shopping: Montréal is a clothing shopper’s paradise. The place to go for Montréal designers; and Canadian, American, and European fashion. Rue Sainte-Catherine is nine miles, yes nine miles (15km) of 1200, yes 1200, stores! From Tommy Hilfiger to Guess. From Old Navy to Esprit. Lucky Brand Jeans to Aveda. H&M, Mango, BCBG Maxazria, and more. And those stores are only within the half a mile that I walked! A fashion heaven, Montréal was actually voted the “City of Design” in 2006 by UNESCO.
In case you need a shopping break (or get hungry, or want to go dancing, or want to see a movie), there are also plenty of restaurants, night clubs, and movie theaters on Rue Sainte-Catherine. Many stores on this street stay open till 9:00pm, and the other places even later. In fact, I was out at around 10:00pm, and there were still plenty of people out…locals, tourists, friends, families, and lovers.
If you haven’t dropped from all your shopping on Rue Saint-Catherine, and you still want more, there is also a 20 mile, yes 20 mile (33 km), section of downtown Montréal known as the Underground City (yes, that’s right, most of it is underground), which has 1700 (yes, 1700) boutiques! Not to mention its 200 restaurants, and 40 movie theaters and exhibition halls. (Did I already say that there were never-ending reasons to go to Montréal?) You could spend days, maybe even weeks, just shopping!
Food: Like I said, there is a never-ending supply of restaurants in Montréal. (200 alone in the Underground City, and lots and lots more.) I though I would tell you about some local specialties that should be tried when you visit Montréal.
Smoked meat. A kosher-style deli meat made by salting and curing beef brisket with spices, smoked meat is a seven-day process, where people spend eight hours a day slicing the meat by hand. Schwartz’s, since 1928, is the original, where people wait in line to get some smoked meat. There are also many other places to get smoked meat, including Dunn’s Famous, and Reuben’s Deli, where I tasted mine. When ordering, you need to specify the amount of fat you want in the meat. As a first-time taster, I was told to ask for the “medium” level, as opposed to “lean” or “fat” levels. Served as a sandwich with rye bread and slathered with mustard, smoked meat is a Montréal favorite.
Bagels. A very tasty local specialty is their bagels! I had the sesame bagel, which is the most popular at Fairmount Bagel. At St-Viateur Bagel, they make their bagels by adding honey to their water. Mmmmm.
Poutine. I learned about this dish in Montréal, but didn’t end up trying it until I was in Québec City. (I ate it at Chez AshTon, the “fast food” place for poutine, pictured above.) Poutine is French fries and cheese curds, smothered with hot gravy. A tasty alternative to ketchup on your fries. If you really want to go for it, try the poutine topped with smoked meat.
Cultural Areas: Montréal is a very diverse city. For example, Saint-Laurent Boulevard, just this one street, is known as the “street of all cultures.” Seventy-five different ethnic groups are represented on this one street. With lots of cultural heritage, it is a place where many immigrants settled. Fifty years of businesses are located here. Food and spices from around the world. From Irish pubs to European delis. Thai, Portuguese, and Japanese restaurants. African and Asian cuisine. A Spanish library. A Latino park. And more.
There are also cultural districts within the city of Montréal representing one ethnic group each. For example, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Latin Quarter, and a Jewish community. The photo is from the Parc du Portugal of the Portuguese district. Notice the beautiful mosaics.
Religious: Montréal was founded for Catholic religious purposes. It is nicknamed “la ville aux cent clochers,” the city of a hundred steeples. One can enter into many of the churches to see the beautiful art, stained glass, and architecture; and to feel the spirituality. This was one of my favorite activities, and reminded me much of Europe. Especially when I kept hearing the church bells ringing throughout the day, telling me what time it was.
One church, the Notre-Dame Basilica, not to be confused with the one in Paris, offers guided tours, is even open at night, and has a light show. Where Celine Dion got married, it also has a majestic pipe organ. But really, any church you go into (and I went into several) is a good place for reflection.
I like the juxtaposition (and the reflection) of the photo above…the older church against the modern glass building of downtown Montreal. The photo below is of St. Michael the Archangel Church, with its Byzantine look.
But wait! There’s more…In fact there’s so much more, please stay tuned for the part two of “endless Montréal” (in a good way), including festivals, outdoor activities, a pedestrian only area, transportation, and accommodations.
For now, you can find out even more information on Montréal from their tourism website.
This trip was provided to me courtesy of Montréal Tourism, Québec City Tourism, and VIA Rail Canada (links to all below).
Related blogs: A relaxing, adventurous, fun, and scenic train ride on VIA Rail Canada.
Sweet (and endless) Travels!
VIA Rail Canada
Québec City and Area
Tourisme Québec
Bonjour Québec
Tourisme-Montréal
Photo credits:
Panorama of Downtown Montréal and part of its metropolitan area
H&M store on Rue Saint-Catherine