Chic with strong French influences, rich with historical sights, generous with culture, unique with its underground shopping, and famous for the Olympics, Montreal is a charming city in Canada's French-speaking Quebec province that continues to attract tourists from all over the world. This increasingly popular Canadian city is located in beautiful settings on an island in Saint Lawrence River.
Modern meets historical. Another contradiction with Montreal is that the city image of the city is formed of modern skyscrapers as well as from fascinating historical buildings, which form the historical core of the city, the Old Town of Montreal. This popular sight is the location of many interesting museums in Montreal, as well as of spectacular churches.
Arts and culture. Montreal offers lots of interesting facilities also for art lovers. It hosts world wide famous Montreal jazz festivals as well as many other entertaining events such as film and fireworks festivals.Nightlife in Montreal is lively, and also worth mentioning, Montreal is known as gay and lesbian friendly city, with largest gay district in North America. Concerts in Montreal offer great entertainment in the city as well.
For shopping and entertainment, Montreal has a unique underground world, consisting of a labyrinth of approximately 30 kilometers of underground corridors, which are filled with shops, restaurants and entertaining facilities. This underground world forms an interesting network of services for shopping in Montreal.
Sports and nature. Montreal is also a sports city, which hosted Olympic Games in 1976, and has excellent facilities available for many sports, such as kayaking, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. Even river surfing in Montreal is available, not to mention the many indoor sports and spectator sports such as ice hockey. In addition to sports, Montreal is rich with nature wonders also. The most important natural sight of the city, and a special part of Montreal's heritage is Mount Royal Park, which is an easily accessible green haven and a popular refreshment site inside the urban area of Montreal. Talking of refreshment, also golf in Montreal is well available, not to mention modern spas in Montreal.
From the underground world to Mount Royal Park: Attractions of Montreal
Montreal is one of the few cities of the world where two languages are spoken side by side. The presence of a strong French speaking minority in Canada, which in Montreal's case is no minority at all, gives a rich addition to the culture and history of this East Canadian city.Modern meets historical. Another contradiction with Montreal is that the city image of the city is formed of modern skyscrapers as well as from fascinating historical buildings, which form the historical core of the city, the Old Town of Montreal. This popular sight is the location of many interesting museums in Montreal, as well as of spectacular churches.
Arts and culture. Montreal offers lots of interesting facilities also for art lovers. It hosts world wide famous Montreal jazz festivals as well as many other entertaining events such as film and fireworks festivals.Nightlife in Montreal is lively, and also worth mentioning, Montreal is known as gay and lesbian friendly city, with largest gay district in North America. Concerts in Montreal offer great entertainment in the city as well.
For shopping and entertainment, Montreal has a unique underground world, consisting of a labyrinth of approximately 30 kilometers of underground corridors, which are filled with shops, restaurants and entertaining facilities. This underground world forms an interesting network of services for shopping in Montreal.
Sports and nature. Montreal is also a sports city, which hosted Olympic Games in 1976, and has excellent facilities available for many sports, such as kayaking, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. Even river surfing in Montreal is available, not to mention the many indoor sports and spectator sports such as ice hockey. In addition to sports, Montreal is rich with nature wonders also. The most important natural sight of the city, and a special part of Montreal's heritage is Mount Royal Park, which is an easily accessible green haven and a popular refreshment site inside the urban area of Montreal. Talking of refreshment, also golf in Montreal is well available, not to mention modern spas in Montreal.
Practical information for your stay in Montreal
Weather in Montreal is characterized by cold winters and warm summers.
Photo: Lucas.gomes, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)
Summertime (June-September) average monthly high temperatures range from 20 to 25 degrees of Celsius, and winter months (December-March) frequently meet temperatures below zero. The peak season for tourism in Montreal is during the summer, but the city can be visited anytime. There are for example many people coming to visit Montreal in February or March for winter sports.
Traveling to Montreal is easy with frequent flights to Montreal offered from many major airports of the world, and with good road and rail connections available from both the USA and Canada. Public transportation in Montreal is offered by a metro system, buses and commuter trains, but you can also easily explore the central parts of the city by foot. Taxis are also available.
Visitor services. There is a wide variety of hotels in Montreal around, as well as interesting row of restaurants in Montreal, which represent not only Canadian and French food culture, but also that of many ethnic minorities living in the multicultural city. Rental cars in Montreal are also widely available, although driving in the city can be challenging.
Safety. Although a French-speaking city, English is also spoken everywhere in Montreal. Staying in Montreal is quite safe, although as a big city, it has its share of social problems. Theft and pickpocketing is not very common, but do happen also in Montreal, so be sure to take care of your belongings.
hint See also these nearby destinations: Vermont
