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makriyiannis.com > places > montréal

BIENVENUE À MONTRÉAL!

I lived in Montréal from the summer of 2001 to that of 2003, whilst pursuing my Aviation MBA at Concordia University. Of course two years are not enough to fully let the city get under your skin, but I tried my best, within the constraints of a full-time MBA. What follows is a very condensed and, in many ways, simplistic account of my view of the city. I tried to cram in as much as possible in this section so feel free to either read through the pages below, or skip to the part that most interests you using the following quick navigation links. Also, throughout this section, click on the filmstrips to see pictures from that subsection and click on to come back here.

Enjoy Montréal!

Introduction

Les Quartiers

Student Life

Outside Montréal

Addendum: Québec vs. Canada

Links

INTRODUCTION

Geographically equidistant from the shores of Europe to the East and Vancouver on the other side of Canada to the West, and being the largest francophone metropolis this side of the Atlantic, Montréal is often dubbed the Paris of North America, in my opinion an unfair characterisation for a city that is as unique as any on the planet. In fact, more than any other city I know, Montréal straddles the two continents with perfect ease, seamlessly combining a North American-style downtown business core with European-style, café-lined boulevards and glitzy departments stores and shopping centres with cobblestone streets full of charming old buildings.

Les Montréalais themselves are also a curious mix of two-parts French descendants and one-part British, Irish, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese, Jews, West Indians and more recently Lebanese, North Africans, South Americans and Chinese (phew!), which makes for a very cosmopolitan place. This is reflected not only in the global nature of the city's bars, cafés and restaurants, but also in the great variety of multicultural events that take place throughout the year. In fact, Montréal must be one of the most festival-crazy cities in the world. I don't know exactly how many different festivals there are during the year but suffice it to say that during the summer, one has barely enough time to breathe jumping from the Mondial SAQ fireworks competition to the Just for Laughs festival to the Festival Nuits d'Afrique and of course the Grandes Dames of Montréal festivals, the Jazz Festival and the World Film Festival.

LES QUARTIERS

Mont Royal

The island of Montréal's most immediately recognisable landmark, and a reference point throughout the city's history as well as today is Mont Royal, known to everybody here as simply "the mountain (la montagne)", even though it is but a large hill. Situated slap bang in the middle of the island's most central districts, the mountain provides a large playground and is a huge source of energy in both winter and summer alike and is much loved, enjoyed and treasured by Montrealers. A short (but at times steep) walk up the many paths that lead to the summit of the mountain and its various viewpoints will immediately transport you to a forested countryside, blocking out the city noises below, leading you past the busy year-round Lac aux Castors and rewarding you for your effort with magnificent views of the city underneath your feet.

Oratoire Saint-Joseph / Westmount

Exiting Mont Royal park to the west, we find ourselves in the awesome shadow of the Oratoire Saint-Joseph, situated on a smaller hill high above the borough of Westmount. Founded by Frère André Bessette in 1904 (although the basilica was only completed in 1967, 30 years after Frère André himself died), it remains today one of Montréal's most impressive landmarks. The immense granite building is topped by a 45m-high copper dome, second only to that of St Peter's basilica in Rome.

Leaving the Oratoire from the back leads you to one of the most historically significant and affluent residential areas of Montréal. The borough of Westmount, which - until the merger of all the island's municipalities into the new Ville de Montréal in late 2001 - was a fiercely proud English-speaking enclave, began its life as the summer retreat of rich Anglo-Saxon residents of the city in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The area's location, perched atop a hill overlooking both the city and the St Lawrence river, afforded it in those days the relative peace and quiet the wealthy businessmen sought for their summer residences, whilst still being relatively close to their downtown homes. The stock market crash of 1929 however left most of these people unable to afford two homes and they soon retreated to their small enclave of Westmount, turning their summer houses into their permanent residences.

Today, even thought Westmount is surrounded by other Montréal districts and an integral part of the new mega-city, it nevertheless retains its wealthy (some say snobbish) mostly-white, Anglo-Saxon or Jewish and definitive English character. There is no metro station in Westmount and the area's labyrinthine streets are lined with beautiful grand mansions and various lookouts over the river and city that make it a district like no other in Montréal.

Downtown

Continuing in an anti-clockwise direction from Westmount, to the south-east of Mont Royal, we arrive in Montréal's downtown area, arguably the most North American part of the city. Tall glass and concrete buildings line the streets and the area - the city's commercial and business centre - is jamming with people all day long and well into the night. Even if not the most characterful of Montréal's neighbourhoods, downtown is not without its charms. Several old churches intersperse the modern office towers and shopping centres, some of the city's finest museums as well as the Place des Arts complex are situated here and three of the city's four main universities (Concordia, McGill and UQAM) give the area a youthful look and feel.

Downtown's two main thoroughfares, rue Sherbrooke and rue Sainte-Catherine, both running roughly east-west (although orientation in Montréal is difficult, since the city's grid is not based on a north-south axis), give the area much of its character. Sainte-Catherine is the city's main shopping street, whilst Sherbrooke has some more exclusive shops, as well as many museums (the two main ones being the Musée des beaux-arts and the Musée d'art contemporain), hotels and the entrance to McGill's impressive campus. Most large office towers are located on and around rue University and avenue McGill College, in a rough north-south direction that stretches all the way to the Gare Centrale and Vieux Montréal towards the river to the southeast.

Old Montréal and the Old Port

To the east and slightly south of downtown, lies one of Montréal's most explored districts: Vieux-Montréal. Only a few streets away from downtown but the contrast could not have been greater. As much as downtown signifies the boldest of North American business and commercialisation, Vieux-Montréal is a testimony to the city's French past. Strolling along rue Saint-Paul or rue Notre Dame is one of the most pleasant things you can do in Montréal and certain to transport you - even if just mentally - to the other side of the Atlantic and the vieux pays. The narrow, cobblestone streets, the seventeenth-century buildings, the atmospheric squares, even the recently-opened chic bistros and cafés will surely cast a spell on you. The only spoil-factor are the many souvenir shops and tourist-trap restaurants and the hordes of (American) tourists who flood the area during the summer (inside secret: go in the winter! It may be bitterly cold but choose one of the many days with clear blue skies, wrap up well and take a stroll along rue Saint-Paul in the bright sunshine, taking shelter frequently in the chic boutiques, relaxing cafés, gourmet food stores and cosyrestaurants and enjoy Vieux-Montréal like a local).

"Discovered" in 1535 by Jacques Cartier on his second trip to North America (parts of the area were inhabited by Iroquois Indians since at least 1000BC), Montréal is a fairly old place, especially for North American standards. The city's age and history is nowhere more evident than at Vieux-Montréal and Place d'Armes especially, the site of many a battle between French and Indians and later, between the French and British. The square's most famous landmark today is Notre Dame Basilica, a magnificent 19th century structure and the city's main Catholic cathedral, curiously designed by a Protestant Irish-American and completed in 1829. The church's style is a mixture of its namesake in Paris but also Westminster Abbey in London but the interior is truly unique. A vast space that initially takes you by surprise, it is covered in lots of dark wood with paintings and stained glass predominantly in blue and gold. Visiting during one of the sound and light shows is truly worth it, as these are very well done and explain some of the history of the city and the basilica itself.

Vieux-Montréal's other big square and one that is instantly more appealing, is Place Jacques Cartier. Cramped with tourists, and street performers in the summer, the atmosphere slightly resembles London's Covent Garden with all the positive and negative connotations this carries with it. Nevertheless, lifting up your eyes from the touristy cafés and restaurants lining the square, will reward you with such architectural gems as the Hôtel de Ville (town hall), Old Courthouse, and Château Ramezay.

Turning back towards rue Saint-Paul, you will come across Marché Bonsecours, a fine building originally housing an indoor market to complement the outdoor one at the Place Jacques Cartier itself, now turned into a collection of fashionable but overpriced boutiques. Passing the market and walking further towards the Old Port, you come across the Pointe-à-Callière museum of archaeology and history, as well as the Centre d'Histoire de Montréal on Place d'Youville.

Once on the waterfront, you have arrived at Montréal's Old Port, once Canada's most important harbour, but now turned into a summer and winter playground, complete with biking, cross-country skiing, rollerblading and ice-skating paths. The only remnant of the Old Port's former life is the Quai de l'Horloge, whilst the area also houses the Centre iSci and other indoor activities on Quai King-Edward.

Parc Jean-Drapeau (Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre Dame)

Just across from the Old Port, in the middle of the St Lawrence river, lie another two of Montréal's treasures. The two small islands, recently collectively renamed Parc Jean Drapeau in honour of the former Montréal mayor behind the idea to host the 1967 world expo here, are a popular urban escape for Montréalers especially in the summer.

Île Sainte-Hélène, the biggest of the two islands, has three main attractions apart from the parkland. The first is the Biosphère, built to host the United States pavilion in the 1967 Expo, today hosts a museum dedicated to the St Lawrence river and the Great Lakes. If nothing else, the structure is quite impressive and provides a clever photographic background (or at least it did to Christine when we visited!). The second attraction is La Ronde, Montréal's own amusement park. The third and most historic is Montréal's only fort, the Fort de l'Île Sainte-Hélène, built between 1820 and 1824 as a defence against the threat of American invasion. Today, it houses the Musée Stewart, dedicated to the history of the discovery, exploration and development of Canada.

The smaller of the two islands, Île Notre Dame, is famous for two things nowadays. It is the permanent seat of the Casino de Montréal and the location for the annual Montréal Formula 1 Grand Prix, around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which is a rollerblading, cycling and cross-country skiing track during the rest of the year. Another attraction of the islands, is of course the great views they afford of downtown Montréal across the river.

Another attraction of the area, which, though not directly on one of the two islands is still part of the area, is Habitat 67. A residential complex of 150 houses designed by Moshe Safdie as part of the celebrations for the Expo 1967, it has since gained worldwide acclaim and is now (understandably) one of the most sought-after addresses in Montréal. The innovative complex is built on the concept of cubism in architecture, with each room of each house situated in a different cube.

Parc Olympique and Jardin Botanique

About 6km to the east of the downtown area, but on a clear day visible from many parts of Montréal, the Tour de Montréal marks the spot where the city chose to build its Olympic Stadium and many of the other facilities associated with the hosting here of the 1976 Olympic Games. The whole area (complete with a Sports Centre and the Olympic Village nearby) is known as Parc Olympique and nowadays also encompasses the Biodôme de Montréal, which served as the Vélodrome during the Games.

The entire complex was - and still is, since, incredibly, Montréalers are still paying for it! - one of the city's biggest follies. Not only did the city incur a massive debt to host the games, but also the (admittedly innovative) architecture of the Olympic Stadium never really worked. The original idea of the tower holding the steel cables that would raise the stadium's retractable roof was only fully implemented in 1987 and even that did not work out, and the stadium finally got a permanent roof in 1998! Today, one can catch a funicular up the Tour (the world's tallest reclining tower) for a spectacular (or so they claim) view of the city all the way to the Laurentian Mountains.

Whilst the Olympic Village today houses government offices, the Vélodrome has been reconfigured as the Biodôme de Montréal. Separated into four distinct zones, each one of them representing a different ecosystem, the Biodôme is itself a very interesting museum for the environment.

Next door to the Olympic Park, is one of Montréal's largest parks, the Jardin Botanique, the world's second largest botanical gardens (the largest one being Kew Gardens in London). The gardens contain around thirty thematic gardens and ten greenhouses, as well as the Insectarium and from mid-February to late-April each year host the Papillons en liberté exhibition where thousands of butterflies are allowed to roam "free" in the gardens' Main Exhibition Greenhouse.

Plateau Mont-Royal

Finishing my little tour of Montréal at the Plateau Mont-Royal is definitely a case of saving the best for last. As a friend says, the Plateau is not just an area, it's a way of life in Montréal and he is not mistaken. There is no other area that defines Montréal so well, yet the Plateau has a character all its own. Whether you find yourself strolling along one of the main boulevards of St-Laurent, St-Denis or Mont-Royal, or simply wandering through some of the smaller streets (such as rue Gilford, rue Fabre or Avenue Christophe-Colomb), you will find yourself in an area that is unmistakeably Montréal, yet at the same time different from the Montréal of downtown, Westmount and even Vieux-Montréal.

Like many other such beautiful and popular quarters in cities worldwide (e.g. Soho in both London and New York), the Plateau did not always use to be what it is today. The area traces its routes to immigrants making their way north from the port, stopping - as the say - when they heard people speak their own language. Although the masses of Eastern Europeans, Jews, Greeks, Portuguese and Italians have all moved away today, their heritage still remains in the form of small, old, family owned stores selling things from the "old countries" and is just one of the many things that give the Plateau its charm. After the immigrants moved out, the area was "discovered" by artists and students in the 1970s and 1980s, which gave it a bohemian character, hence adding another layer to the Plateau's appeal. Finally, throughout the 1990s and today, Montréal's yuppies have been buying the area's characteristic townhouses in droves, attracted by the Plateau's close proximity to downtown and the area's many good cafés, restaurants and boutique shops.

The Plateau's westernmost border is generally assumed to be the Boulevard Saint-Laurent, one of Montréal's hippest streets, although one of my personal Plateau favourites, Café Santropol (serving seriously good sandwiches!), is located just two blocks further west on rue St-Urbain, on the corner of avenue Duluth. St-Laurent itself is a much talked-about street. It officially divides Montréal's streets into East and West and for many years (and to a large extent still today), has divided the city's francophone (East) and anglophone (West) areas. St-Laurent is what comes to the mind of many Montréalers when they talk about going out, be it to shop during the day at the fashionable stores, to dine at one of the streets many restaurants or to see and be seen at St-Laurent's hip bars and clubs. Of the latter, my favourite is a small-ish place called Laïka, on the corner of St-Laurent and Duluth, which actually serves very good brunches and coffee during the day but is a great little bar at night, with a view of St-Laurent through the large front window. Another one of St-Laurent and Montréal's landmarks is Schwartz's, a small, immensely popular Hebrew delicatessen serving those famous Montréal smoked meat sandwiches, perfect after a night's drinking!

Moving on from St-Laurent, it's worth walking east along red-brick-paved avenue Duluth towards Parc Lafontaine. This cute little street is famous for its apportez votre vin restaurants, where (as the name suggests, and as is also the case in many other restaurants in Montréal), you can bring your own wine and hence bring down the cost of your meal. Speaking of restaurants, one of my favourite in all of Montréal, both for the atmosphere but also the truly excellent cooking is La Colombe, at 554 avenue Duluth (corner St-Hubert). This small place is almost always full so you really have to reserve in advance. It is more expensive than other restaurants on Duluth but is worth every penny for the beautiful setting, the first-rate service and the absolutely superb food.

About half-way between St-Laurent and Parc Lafontaine, you hit another one of the Plateau's main arteries, rue Saint-Denis. True to its location further east, St-Denis is distinctly more French than St-Laurent and considered by most the heart of the Plateau. Whereas St-Denis has its fair share of good restaurants, it is better known as the place to go shopping in a specialised store (interior design, rare perfumes and cosmetics, books etc), linger over coffee in one of the many cafés or sit on a terrasse in the summer with a glass of cold beer or wine and watch the world go by! Some of the best coffee in Montréal is to be found here and it is no surprise that one of Québec's café chains (such that is it), the aptly named Brûlerie St-Denis, has its original outlet here. As well as enjoy great coffee here, the Brûlerie and other places (for example, another of my favourites, the Café Aux Deux Marie) also sell freshly ground coffee they import directly for home consumption.

Continuing north on St-Denis you reach the third major Plateau thoroughfare, the avenue du Mont-Royal. Of all three main Plateau arteries, the avenue du Mont-Royal retains the most evidence of its former bohemian student/arty background, in the form of many second-hand book and music stores. Whether you're looking for that rare vinyl album or simply don't want to pay high-street prices for a CD you're not so sure you want, avenue du Mont-Royal is the place to come. However, just like the other main Plateau streets, avenue du Mont-Royal is not without its fair share of good restaurants, cafés and boutique stores. The avenue du Mont-Royal is also a good place to go for a stroll with a view of the Olympic Stadium's Tour de Montréal, where the avenue leads to the East. Also, if you take the avenue westbound, you're in for a pleasant surprise as it leads you right through the Parc du Mont-Royal, high up the mountain and affords you spectacular views of the city in all directions.

Further north from Mont-Royal, where the Plateau meets the districts of Mile End and Outremont, avenue Laurier is another pretty street with cafés, restaurants and stylish shops. On the corner of rue Fabre, you can find the Byblos, le petit café, another of my favourite places in town, where you can enjoy authentic Iranian dishes and beautiful, home-made sweets.

Finally, on the southern edge of the Plateau, near rue Sherbrooke, is one of Montréal's most beautiful squares, Square Saint-Louis. Surrounded by traditional Montréal townhouses, complete with tourelles (turrets) and a pretty fountain in the middle, the square is simply beautiful in any season. On the opposite end of rue St-Denis, the square leads onto rue Prince-Arthur, a pedestrian area with touristy restaurants, which however is pleasant enough to walk in the summer, when street performers and crowds make for a jolly atmosphere.

STUDENT LIFE

I arrived in Montréal on 28 August 2001 with just two weeks to spare before the MBA started. Despite what everyone said about flat-hunting in Montréal being easy, it unfortunately took me a bit more than that to find a place. Eventually I found something nice, halfway up the hill, near enough Concordia but also a stone's throw from the Mont-Royal park on a street with the very Montréal name of Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges ("Snow Coast Way").

My first day at the MBA turned out to be a day I do not think I will ever forget: 11 September 2001. I distinctly remember getting into the lift at around 9 o' clock that morning, to meet my classmates and teachers for the first time, being apprehensive enough as it is, when somebody stormed in and broke the news. What followed was a very confusing day, in many ways, naturally the induction programme for that day was cancelled as many thoughts were circling in all our heads.

Life went on, as it always does, and the following 13 months turned out to be pretty unforgettable, too. I met some new people and made some good friends, learnt a lot of new things and lived new experiences. Yes, doing an MBA was not easy and I can recall many a time when we were all frustrated, tired and needed a break - but did not have that luxury. But we also had fun and explored Montréal, not as much as we would have liked during the MBA, but enough to give us a taste.

Click here to visit the albums with a selection of photos from my year at Concordia.

OUTSIDE MONTRÉAL

Québec -let alone Canada - is an incredibly vast place and it would be a sin not to try and get out of Montréal at least occasionally. The country is absolutely beautiful, filled with lakes and forests which provide an endless playground throughout the year. Since coming to Montréal, I have tried to take advantage of opportunities to get to know small pieces of this gorgeous land and have never been disappointed by what it had to offer.

Les Laurentides

A short drive to the northwest of Montréal lies one of the oldest mountain ranges in North America, Les Laurentides (or Laurentians in English). Though the mountains are not nearly as impressive as - say - the Canadian Rockies in the west of the country, their proximity to Montréal, the beauty of the forests, valleys and lakes, the charm of the small towns along the range, the decent ski resorts all along the way to the famous Mont Tremblant and the abundance of both winter and summer activities make the Laurentians a worthwhile short trip from Montréal.

One of my favourite places is the small resort town of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, around 60km from Montréal. The town is pretty in any season, with cute houses, nice restaurants and cafés, a good day-trip (or even half-day trip) antidote to Montréal when life there gets a bit too hectic. It also has probably one of the best ski resorts in the Laurentians, bar (the expensive and touristy) Mont Tremblant.

Québec City

Every country needs a capital and since Québec acts like a sovereign country, it will settle with nothing less than a capitale nationale. Québec City (confusingly for non-francophones referred to as simply "Québec" by the locals) is a city of around 600,000 people, 95% of whom are francophone and feels decisively provincial compared with cosmopolitan Montréal. Some 250km to the northeast of Montréal, Québec's capital is the only walled city in North America and it's old town (Vieux-Québec) is a designated Unesco World Heritage site since 1985. The city feels very European - and French at that - with most buildings in Vieux-Québec's cobblestone streets dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a pleasure walking the small, winding streets alternating between the upper and lower parts of town (Haute- and Basse-Ville), in both winter and summer alike. However, the Terrasse Dufferin promenade above, stretching along and with wonderful views of the St-Lawrence river, really comes to life in the summer, when street performers abound to entertain the many tourists. The promenade is dominated by the Château Frontenac hotel (completed in 1920), situated atop the Cap Diamant overlooking the river.

Outside Vieux-Québec, the only major sights include the majestic building of the Assemblée Nationale, the Citadelle and the Plaines d'Abraham. The latter, is the battlefield where probably the most significant battle in Canada's history took place. In September 1759, after besieging the city for three months, the English General James Wolfe led his troops up the Cap Diamant from an unguarded track and surprised the ill-prepared French regiment, under Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm. It took only twenty minutes to change the course of Canada's history, with the English emerging victorious (although both Montcalm and Wolfe were mortally wounded in the battle) and make the name Wolfe send shivers down the spines of Québécois even today.