We left Quebec in bright sunshine, catching the Orléans Express bus down to Montreal. As we headed south, it clouded over, and as we arrived in Montreal, it was raining steadily. Montreal is very different to Quebec.
Montreal is a vast, dynamic, and cosmopolitan metropolis — Canada’s second largest city — that balances its own rich French heritage with a vibrant English-speaking community, large immigrant populations, and an intensely modern urban energy. Where Old Quebec looks inward to its history, Montreal looks outward to the world, offering a renowned food scene, a thriving arts and music culture, celebrated festivals like the Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs, and a nightlife that has long made it one of North America’s most exciting cities. Both places share the French language and a pride in Québécois identity.
The old town is very different to Old Quebec – big, imposing buildings – and on this day very busy, as the Montreal Formula One Grand Prix was running on an island in the middle of the St Lawrence river, just a few hundred metres away.
it is a city proud of its artistic heritage – there are many art galleries and art installations n the street (including this one!)
Probably the most impressive building – at least from the inside – is the Basilica of Notre Dame. It’s one of the most breathtaking religious buildings in North America, situated in the heart of Old Montreal on Place d’Armes. Completed in 1829 and designed by Irish-American architect James O’Donnell, who was so moved by his creation that he converted to Catholicism in order to be buried within its walls, the basilica is a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture whose twin towers rise dramatically above the surrounding neighbourhood.
The interior is nothing short of spectacular — a riot of deep blues, golds, and purples, with intricate hand-carved wood, thousands of 24-karat gold stars adorning the vaulted ceiling, and stunning stained glass windows depicting scenes from Montreal’s religious history rather than biblical stories.
The cathedral is good at getting funding for what must be expensive upkeep – $15 to get in, and $13 if you want to light a candle.
We decided to grab the metro to get to the Botanic Gardens, which we were told are spectacular. I’m trying my French out on anyone who will listen but they insist on answering in English! But we managed to get there and discovered this was also the site of Olympic Park where the 1976 games were held, in what looks like a giant flying saucer.
The Botanic Gardens, however, foxed us. We tried to buy tickets online, but the website (totally in French) insists on couriering you your tickets to your home address. And the queue was enormous and slow moving. But the tulips were nice!
So a very different city to anywhere else we’d visited so far. Early start tomorrow for a train ride to another big city, Toronto.
