Here are my pics from Montreal. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know by now I was in Montreal for a few days. For starters, Montreal is the cradle of Canadian history. It was ruled by the French and its representatives, namely the priests until they surrendered to the British.
Quebec and its city, Montreal is very proud of its French heritage. So much so, everyone speaks French, the cuisine is very rich and the place has retained if not preserved it’s French identity. I was pretty chuffed with being called, “Madame” everywhere. If you know French, at least some of it, it will go a long way in Montreal!
From Montreal, With Love
So I’ll jump in with my pictures. I never do these posts as travel guides, but for some reason, every time I do them, people always write back with questions. How do you travel, what’s the fare and you know stuff like that. So I’m going to add that in advance.
I had my visa processed in New York in two days. Yes. 😃 It was that quick and super efficient. You could travel to Montreal by train from Penn station but I chose to fly. Squeeee, since I love airports and watching airplanes.
Travel in Montreal
Montreal is very well connected by public transport. If you stay at any of the hotels close to the airport, they have a free shuttle every half hour to the airport. The airport itself has a 747 bus that takes you to downtown Montreal or Lionel station from where you can roam throughout the city. The 24 hour pass which allows you to travel unlimited on every bus and every train costs 10 CAD. Weekend unlimited passes, are about 13 CAD and so the passes are very cheap. Instructions are easy to follow and the train lines are not complicated.
I will have to say this though, don’t ask the locals anything. They often misguide or misdirect you. Use a map, take your GPS or take screenshots of Google directions but follow your own map. I spent nearly two hours correcting course after several people gave me the wrong directions. People are afraid to say “I don’t know.”
Notre Dame Basilica
My first stop early in the morning was at the Basilica in Old Montreal. My pictures are so sunny that the light keeps squinting through. The Notre Dame street and the Basilica is definitely worth a visit. It’s where Justin Trudeau’s father’s memorial held. It’s the church where Celion Dion got married. In fact the day I visited, someone famous in Canada was getting married and the church was closed by noon. The Church can seat 3500 people at capacity and is built like a theater so the person on the last row can see what’s happening in the front.
The church’s main altar was built to focus on the Last Supper, at the bottom. I’m not sure you can see it in my pictures. Then the four sacrifices, Isaac, Abraham, Moses, and Melchizedek are depicted. You can read more about it here.
This is also a Marian church. At the top, you see the coronation of Mary by Jesus. The stained glass windows each have their own story, depicting Canadian saints and the bearers of the Church at the time. Then there’s the chapel of the Sacred Heart which was burned was rebuilt. The main altar of the Chapel shows the fall of humanity in an extreme bronze work that alone could an hour or more to study.
Montreal Streets
Walking here is challenging because everything is on a slope. The two main roads, Notre Dame and Saint Paul are the most famous. Yet, you have to ascend a gentle slope. There’s sometimes no demarcation between the sidewalk and the road, so you need to be careful. Everything is cobble stoned here. All the way down, is the river and on the other side are the rapids. Montreal is an island, by the way. So you’re surrounded by water.
Food in Montreal
Smoked meat, maple syrup, and poutine. Well, you can’t go wrong with the French bakeries here. Anything you get is decadently buttery and delicious. Given my recent allergies, smoked meat was out of the question, but I definitely wanted to see what the fuss was about poutine. Poutine is french fries served with gravy and goat cheese curds. It’s pretty unusual, given that I don’t like the texture of goat cheese curds in my mouth. It’s the same reason I don’t like jellies either. 🤢Anyway, tried it along with sweet potatoes and other bakery food. The croissants are crisp, fresh baked and heavenly. Maple syrup is a spring sauce, where people from Montreal drizzle it over everything, eggs, meat and french fries. Okay!!!!
Architecture in Montreal
It’s very mixed here. Given that the influences of the French, British and Italian architects are displayed. There’s neo-Gothic, renaissance style. The new laws though prevent people from changing the architecture. So new owners can redesign the interiors but have to keep the external facade intact. Any new buildings are all gray limestone or brick that’s been painted gray to provide a more cohesive look to the city. Like the Stella McCartney building. In fact, if it weren’t for the ubiquitous maple trees the city is very gray.
Maple in Montreal
This goes without saying but these trees are everywhere. And the air is filled with the trees shedding their willowy seeds throughout like cotton balls flying through the air. Makes it look like fairy dust all over the city.
Montreal’s Riverside
The Riverside is still Old Montreal and busy with people and so much to do. I loved it here. The Circus du Soleil was here. I didn’t have the time to go to a show. A couple who drove to Montreal from Maine told me about the show but I still had to cover Mount Royal and the Oratory so couldn’t go there. I did ride the Ferris wheel and as always even though I’m apprehensive in the beginning, once it gets going I love it! That Ferris wheel ride was the best part of my trip! 🤭There’s an Imax here and plenty of activities for kids. You can even see the cruise liner that is docked here. Montreal is definitely a city for families.
The Sailors Chapel
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel or the Sailors Chapel has small ships suspended from the vaulted ceiling. They bear the inscription, “Pray for us fishermen in the hour of our death.”
Convention Center
So the Convention Center is a very important business area in Montreal. Here the remnants of the Old Berlin wall are on display. There’s a giant chandelier that gets lowered when parties like the Ferrari one is held here. It used to be a road, but the glass ceiling now covers the roof. Inside there are paintings, statues, and a lovely fountain inside.
Champ de Mars
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, his first speech in Montreal was at Champ de Mars. It’s a popular sites for protests behind City Hall and right behind the statue of Maisonneuve. He was the founder of Montreal. Montreal was founded as a missionary colony.
French Gardens and Flag
My knowledge of gardening is very limited. It’s something I’d love to do as did my grandmother. It’s probably why I love Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time so much, even though I’ve never grown a plant, let alone a garden. French gardens have a fixed structure to them. First vegetables, then fruits, the flowers, then trees, in these pretty box like structures. Montreal has many of them.
St. Joseph’s Oratory
I was supposed to visit Mount Royal but thanks to misdirections lost two hours trying to find the place. I could see the cross at the top of the mountain from the Ferris wheel. The legend says that Maisonneuve erected the first cross on Mount Royal in 1643, after making a vow to the Virgin Mary. There was constant flooding and he promised that if they were spared he would build a cross there. So I couldn’t make it to the cross but found the bus that goes to St. Joseph’s Oratory. Here blessed Andre who used St. Joseph’s prayers to heal people was instructed to build a church.
The church itself is a long like up. There are shuttles buses but they aren’t very frequent. It’s like making a pilgrimage and not for everyone. The original chapel is the small one depicted in the fifth and sixth picture above. There’s a side altar and statues of the evangelists. A beautiful separate sanctuary and the way of the cross. The way of the cross is created in a garden outside that depicts all the stations and resembles the hike to Calvary. After four stations I gave. So by the time Mary met His mother, I said Lord, I’m done! The place and the air beautiful but I was winded because I had to make the long trek back down and my calves were aching.
Romantic Montreal
There’s more to Montreal. Gas lights which are still preserved and used for shooting of movies. Like this street with the gaslights was used for filming Bejamin Button. Then there’s the Convent of the Sisters and the signs of the flood. I’m not a fan of red but this archway of red flowers and summer just sums up Montreal for me. So beautiful, appeals to the romantic in me! 😍
Looking East and West
Montreal is a city that is divided. Many businesses and banks have moved to the capital after centuries of being based here. These statues sum it all. The English man looking at the Cathedral turning his head away from the woman. The French woman on the right looking at the bank turning away from the man. The dogs in their arms looking at each other.
The flag of Montreal represents the French, English, Irish and their Scottish influences. It’s a beautiful city where the French have distinctly left their mark; from the food to the architecture. If you have a chance do go visit. There was much more to see, the underground city and other towns. I simply ran out of time.
My book Never Forget will be in print soon. Set in Canada, this romance is different due to its paranormal elements.
Have you been to Montreal? What’s your favorite thing to do there and why? Let me know.