THINGS TO DO & SEE IN MONTREAL
Notre Dame Basilica
110, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Hours: Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday: 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Please be sure to walk to the front and look back at the organ. Also, be sure to go behind the High Altar and see the chapel. It burned down in the early 1980s and was rebuilt.
You also have an option of attending a light show inside the basilica. Hugh and I agree that it is interesting, but that the basilica is impressive on its own and you don’t need to go to the light show: www.aurabasiliquemontreal.com
Notre Dame Basilica
110, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Hours: Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday: 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Please be sure to walk to the front and look back at the organ. Also, be sure to go behind the High Altar and see the chapel. It burned down in the early 1980s and was rebuilt.
You also have an option of attending a light show inside the basilica. Hugh and I agree that it is interesting, but that the basilica is impressive on its own and you don’t need to go to the light show: www.aurabasiliquemontreal.com
WANT TO BE ACTIVE?
Bicycle rental & Bike tours
Montreal has amazing bicycle paths all over the city. In particular, in the Old Port and along the Lachine Canal, then by Cité du Havre to Ile-Notre-Dame, site of Expo 67. It may sound daunting, but it really isn’t. You will be amazed by how many people are cycling everywhere! Ca Roule is a great rental house in Old Montreal, along de la Commune, facing the Old Port.
Jet Boating on the Lachine Rapids
This is a load of fun and easy to get to in the Old Port in Old Montreal. You will have a blast – but bring a change of clothes because despite all the precautions, you will get wet. You have kids? They will LOVE it! David has done it at least 3 or 4 times!
Mount Royal
The large park in the middle of Montreal was designed by William Olmstead of Central Park fame. No building is allowed to be taller than Mount Royal, the only except being St Joseph’s Oratory. You can hike to the top by turning left out of the hotel and then turning left on Peel Street. Follow Peel Street to the very top and you can then hike up thousands of stairs or use the wide path that switches back and forth, past Beaver Lake until you reach the Look Out and the Chalet. If you want to see the famous cross, follow the arrows. You can also ascend on bike if you’d like to rent a bicycle.
4545 Av. Pierre de Coubertin (Viau Metro Station)
Built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, the view from the tower is fabulous if you ride the 2 story high funicular to the top.
Biodome
4777 Av Pierre-De Coubertin (Viau Metro Station)
At the foot of the Olympic Stadium tower, you can visit the Montreal Biodome (originally built as the velodrome for the 1976 Olympics) to five ecosystems from the Americas under one roof. It features ecosystems where you can observe animals and plants . It is one of the rare places in the world to so faithfully reproduce the complexity of the natural environment and the interactions existing between animal and plant species.
Botanical Gardens
4101 Sherbrooke Street East (Pie IX Metro Station)
Close to the Olympic Stadium are the Botanical Gardens. It has a collection of 20,000 taxa that include hybrid species and cultivars. Of the 20,000 taxa, 800 species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species. The ten exhibition greenhouses are currently being restored, but the outdoor gardens include three cultural gardens, the Frédéric-Back Tree House and more than fifteen thematic gardens spread over 75 hectares/185 acres.
Insectarium
4101 Sherbrooke Street East (Pie IX Metro Station)
The Montreal Insectarium offers a true immersion in the world of insects. Through various universes focused on the senses, emotion and wonder, they explore from every angle these often-little-known species which play a crucial role in the ecological balance of the planet.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
1380 Sherbrooke Street West
The MMFA is spread across five pavilions and occupies over 140,000 square feet of floor space. Founded in 1860 as the Art Association of Montreal, it is the most visited art museum in Canada. Check out the Canadian Art in the old Erskine and American United Church pavilion. This museum is a short walk from the hotel.
350 Place Royale
www.pacmusee.qc.ca
Pointe-à-Callière is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal’s 350th birthday. The museum has collections of artifacts from the First Nations of the Montreal region that illustrate how various cultures coexisted and interacted, and how the French and British empires influenced the history of this territory over the years. It is a fun museum as you can climb up a tower with a great view of Old Montreal, then you get to go underground and see the original rivers and sewers.
Cité-du-Havre
www.habitat67.com
The iconic apartment/condo complex, built for the 1967 Expo (World’s Fair) is an amazing mid-century modern complex. Tours are small and very limited, so you need to book early.
280 Notre-Dame Street East
www.chateauramezay.qc.ca
Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of Montreal, Claude de Ramezay. From 1775, it became the Canadian headquarters for the Continental Army when it seized Montreal. Bejamin Franklin stayed there overnight in 1776 while trying to raise troops to fight for the Americans in the American Revolution. He was unsuccessful! After the conquest in 1749 the house was again the governor’s residence, now by British governors.
1920, rue Baile
www.cca.qc
A museum of architecture and research, it was established in Lord Shaughnessy’s manage in the area today referred to as Shaughnessy Village. Phyllis Lambert, née Bronfman, was the founder and she provided the principal endowment.
350 Place Royale
www.pacmusee.qc.ca
Pointe-à-Callière is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal. The museum has collections of artifacts from the First Nations of the Montreal region that illustrate how various cultures coexisted and interacted It is a fun museum as you can climb up a tower with a great view of Old Montreal, then you get to go underground and see the original rivers and sewers.
Cité-du-Havre
www.habitat67.com
The iconic apartment/condo complex, built for the 1967 Expo (World’s Fair) is an amazing mid-century modern complex. Tours are small and very limited, so you need to book early.
280 Notre-Dame Street East
www.chateauramezay.qc.ca
Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of Montreal, Claude de Ramezay. From 1775, it became the Canadian headquarters for the Continental Army when it seized Montreal. Bejamin Franklin stayed there overnight in 1776 while trying to raise troops to fight for the Americans in the American Revolution. In 1749 the house was again the governor’s residence, now by British governors.
1920, rue Baile
www.cca.qc
A museum of architecture and research, it was established in Lord Shaughnessy’s manage in the area today referred to as Shaughnessy Village. Phyllis Lambert, née Bronfman, was the founder and she provided the principal endowment.
St. Joseph’s Oratory
3800, chemin Queen-Mary (Queen Mary Road)
St. Joseph’s Oratory is the largest church in Quebec and has the largest dome in Canada and one of the tallest in the World. It is the only building in Montreal which is allowed to exceed the height of Mount Royal. The interior of the Shrine is surprisingly modern and is a shock based on the exterior architecture. The Crypt Church and the Votive Chapel are also quite fascinating. Make sure you visit the original little church still standing behind.
St Patrick’s Basilica
460 René-Levesque Blvd West
A high-Victoria beauty in Downtown Montreal, you will note a little Canadian flag on the pew that was occupied by Thomas D’Arcy MGee, a Father of Confederation who was assassinated in 1868.
Christ Church Cathedral
635 Ste-Catherine Street West
Completed in 1959, the Anglican Cathedral was built in what was then a quasi-rural residential neighborhood. Modern-day Downtown Montreal grew up around it and it now has a major shopping mall underneath it, Les Promenades de la Cathédrale.
Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours
400 Rue Saint-Paul E
The current chapel was built in 1771-1773 and is beautifully located in Old Montreal, close to Marché Bonsecours. A jewel worth stepping into, it is referred to as the “Sailors’ Church” and the back of the church has statues facing the port. Check out the sailboat hanging from the ceiling inside the church!
Shopping
The principal shopping streets close to the hotel are:
Ogilvy Holt Renfrew – High-end clothing
Maison Simon – Trendy Canadian clothing store, started in Quebec City and moved to Montreal when Eatons’ closed.
Centre Eaton – Downtown Mall and access to the famous Underground City, basically a bunch of tunnels that join the various buildings and shopping areas underground.
La Baie – The Hudson’s Bay Company store. This is a major department store that is kind of on its last legs, as they all are.
Antique stores and trendy restaurants between Guy and Atwater.
Walk principally north of Sherbrooke Street on either of these streets for small, independent boutiques. You can walk for blocks and, when you get tired, you can settle into a café.
Located along the Lachine Canal, it opened in 1933. The interior market is home to many butchers and the Première Moisson bakery and restaurant. The outside market has many farmers’ stalls, which sell both local and imported produce, as well as two cheese stores, a wine store and a fish store.