Prior to our 7-Day Canada and New England Discovery cruise, we arrived in Montreal a day before our departure, staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Centre-Ville hotel. The location was perfect for allowing us to explore Montreal by walking around.
The colorful building above is the Palais des congrès de Montréal convention center located at the north end of Old Montreal in the borough of Ville-Marie.
As we visited the Place d’Armes square in Old Montreal, we were fasinated by this sculpture of a woman holding a poodle. It’s one of two tall bronze sculptures at each end of the National Bank building. The sculptures by Montreal artist Marc-André J Fortier are called The English Pug and the French Poodle. Both dogs are looking at each other and appears eager to meet, but not so with their owners.
Place d’Armes is better known for its monument in memory of Paul de Chomedey, founder of Montreal, and for its location near the Notre-Dame Basilica.
I paid the $5 Canadian dollar admission to go inside the Notre-Dame Basilica. It is breathtaking, and tour guides provide interesting background on the history and construction of the church. For example, I learned that James O’Donnell is the only person buried in the Basilica’s crypt. O’Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York, was commissioned to design the new church building in 1824. He is said to have converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed, so that he was allowed to be buried in the church he designed.
Our friend James who attended McGill University advised check out the nearby Saint-Louis Square in Montreal’s Plateau Mont Royal borough. Saint-Louis Square is located on the site of the city’s former reservoir, which was functional until 1852. Today the area is a lovely park surrounded by colorful Victorian row houses.
We saw many examples of Montreal’s outdoor, curved staircases. Why does a city with harsh winters have so many of these difficult-to-navigate staircases? There seems to be multiple influences on this design influence.
In the early 20th century, the City of Montreal enforced new building regulations limiting the distance between a building’s foundation and the sidewalk. The regulations were designed to ensure streets weren’t crowded, but they limited the amount of space available to an apartment unit. Builders responded by eliminating indoor staircases and putting them outside, thus providing more room without breaking any building regulations. The curved versions took less space, and landlords did not have to pay to heat indoor stairways.
As a bonus, the elimination of private, enclosed staircases were seen as a way to suppress potential sinful acts. With outdoor staircases, everyone could see you and whoever was coming and going.
In the same Plateau Mont Royal neighborhood, we found a number of French bistros. We chose to dine (and people-watch from our upstairs table) at Les Deux Gamin, a casual Parisian-style bistro with delicious French fare.
One of our favorite walks was by the Vieux-Port de Montréal or Old Port of Montreal along the St-Lawrence River in Old Montreal. A modern, walkable area today, the port dates to 1611, when French fur traders used it as a trading post.
Normally the cruise terminal is located in this area, but not during the 2016 cruise season as it was under construction. A shuttle bus transported cruisers to the temporary Cruise Terminal.
Check out these resources to learn more about Montreal:
Have you visited Montreal? What are your favorite sites to visit?
Interact with us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram.
Check out these other posts on Montreal and cruising in Canada and New England:
- 30 Fun Facts About Montreal, Canada
- A Look Inside the Residence Inn Montreal Airport Hotel
- In Search of the Best Lobster Roll During Our Canada and New England Cruise
- 17 Fun Facts About Bar Harbor, Maine
- 33 Fun Facts About Prince Edward Island, Canada
- 14 Fun Facts About Quebec City, Canada
- 15 Fun Facts About Halifax, Nova Scotia