Montreal sevärdheter

Stretching from the Rue Notre-Dame in the north to the Old Port in the south, Jacques Cartier Place (Place Jacques Cartier) is the famed cobbled square at the heart of Vieux Montréal. In this lively carnival, you can watch lively street performers, have your portrait painted, or watch the unfolding pageant of colorful people.

Under Nelson’s Column, a popular market sells arts, crafts, flowers, and souvenirs. You can see all the action from a table in one of the inviting street cafés that line the square. Sip a glass of beer or wine and soak up the atmosphere, relax and let the afternoon go by, enjoy people-watching at its best. Afterward, you can stroll down the slope toward the Old Port, while marveling at the opulent 19th century townhouses and mansions.

Known as the artistic and hipster hub of Montreal, the Mile End is a neighborhood situated in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough of Montreal. This is where most fashionable eateries, speakeasy bars, vintage shops, and underground music venues are located, along with plentiful Hassidic Jewish and Portuguese communities – which just goes to show just how diverse Mile End really is. In fact, the neighborhood’s ethnic composition has changed a great deal ever since its beginnings in the late 19th century when the transcontinental railway station was built, and retains a strong international yet very local flair, as most ethnic groups have been living alongside each other for decades.

Nestled in the heart of historic Old-Montreal, Place d’Armes is the second oldest public site in Montreal. The Sulpicians, who played a major role in the founding of the city and built the still-existing Saint-Sulpice Seminary on the southern side of the square, called it Place de la Fabrique as it was used as a hay and wood market. The name was, however, changed to Place d’Armes in 1721 when it became the stage of various military events.

Place d’Armes more or less kept it actual size and allure since the completion of Notre-Dame Basilica in 1830, with the notable exception that it is now flanked by the city’s first high rise buildings -representing major periods of Montreal's development- the New York Life Insurance Building as well as the Art deco gem and Empire State Building lookalike Aldred Building.

Located in the beautiful historic neighborhood of Old Montreal, Pointe-à-Callière is an archaeology and history museum dedicated to Montreal’s and Canada’s tortuous past. The museum was built on what is believed to be the birthplace of Montreal; archaeological studies have shown evidence of over 1,000 years of human activity in this very location. Pointe-à-Callière opened in 1992 for the city of Montreal’s 350th anniversary celebrations, and, after 10 years of extensive digs, became one of the largest archaeological collections in the country. Guided tours and information sessions are available every day at no extra charge. Visitors will a disability should not that the museum is entirely wheelchair accessible except for sections in the archaeological crypt below ground level.

Montreal’s Underground City (Montréal Souterrain) is the largest underground complex in the world. A labyrinthine maze of downtown tunnels connecting malls and hotels, offices, museums, banks, universities, and seven metro stations, the complex holds its own during the cold Canadian winter months, when over half a million use the space every day. There are 120 access points to Underground City, and with 80% of downtown Montreal’s office and commercial space connected via over 20 miles of tunnels spread over 4.6 square miles, as an urban planning achievement it’s impressive.

You can get maps of Underground City for free from all of the metro stations, and you might need one. This place is huge and practically a city in itself with some 5,000 stores, restaurants, boutiques, theaters, and connections to everything from a church to a hockey and ice skating museum.

Welcome to the tallest inclined tower in the world! At 165 meters high (575 feet) and at a 45-degree angle (Pisa Tower only has a five-degree angle, by comparison!), the iconic tower certainly knows how to catch the eye. It was built for the Montreal Summer Olympics back in 1976 and even though it is a notorious white elephant to Montrealers, it is also one of the city’s most popular attractions. Understandably so – no other place offer such sweeping views of Montreal, the Laurentians mountain range, the St. Lawrence River and plains as well as Mont-Royal Mountain. On clear days, visitors can see up to 50 miles! The outdoor, glass-encased funicular alone is worth the detour, since it is the only one in the world to operate on a curved structure, relying on a sophisticated hydraulic system to complete the ascent.

Dorchester Square is a leafy and large urban park in downtown Montreal surrounded by boutiques and skyscrapers; it is bordered by René-Lévesque Boulevard to the south, Peel Street to the west, Metcalfe Street to the east, and Dominion Street to the north. The elegantly manicured alleys are shadowed by mature trees and lead to four statues, each representing a segment of Canadian history (Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Boer War Memorial, which is the the only equestrian statue in Montreal, Lion of Belfort, and Robert Burns Statue). From spring to autumn, it almost bursts to the seams with smartly dressed office workers enjoying fresh air during their lunch break.

But what is currently known as Dominion Square used to be, in fact, two different squares: Dorchester Square and Place du Canada, which were both inaugurated in 1878. The recent reunification of the two created a new area just over 21,000 m2 (2.1 hectares), making it a focal point for pedestrian traffic in the district.

What would a visit to Montreal be without spending some time in gourmet Little Italy? Montreal is nothing if not about food and history, and few other places than Little Italy can boast having these two – in spades. With some cafés having been opened for 100 years (a rarity on this side of the pond) and the presence of the world-class Jean-Talon Market (North America’s largest open-air market and one of the top tourist attractions in the city), Montreal’s Little Italy is not to be missed.

Although only a handful of Italians families have been calling Montreal home since the 17th century, it wasn’t until the early 1900s that the population of Italian descent really started to form a community. Unbeknownst to them, this camaraderie would not only end up being beneficial to Montreal’s industrialization, but also act as the perfect family reunification pretext for 15,000 of devastated families struck by Italy’s infamous implication in World War II.

Often regarded as one of the fanciest and most expensive areas in Montreal, Outremont has only recently started to be on the tourist map. Understandably so – with its elegant avenues and stately manors, it’s no wonder more and more visitors are drawn to it. The name Outremont actually comes from a pun with the French wording for ‘over the mountain,’ seeing as most Montrealers resided south of the Mount Royal at the time. The three main thoroughfares are Bernard Avenue, Van Horne Avenue, and Laurier Avenue, which are filled with upscale shops, trendy cafés and chic French bistros that even locals consider a treat. The district also includes Mount-Royal cemetery (resting place of many major Canadian figures), which is popular with runners thanks to its giant leafy trees and soothing atmosphere.

A lasting structure and symbol of Expo 67, the Biosphere is a unique architectural treasure of Montreal and the masterpiece of architect Buckminster Fuller.

Since 1995, it has been home to exhibitions, permanent and temporary, that are geared toward educating people about major environmental issues. Its interactive exhibits help those of all ages better understand the profound effects of climate change and provides information on how to make a lighter footprint on this Earth.

Such exhibits as "+1 Degree Celsius: What Difference Does it Make?" uses an interactive digital Earth globe and short films to demonstrate the science behind climate change.

Another exhibit, "Finding Balance", looks at how our consumer habits shape the environment while a temporary exhibit, "Water Wonders!", takes a fun spin on all things H2O with games and experiments for guests to tackle.

Talk about a museum that takes the art of make believe to a whole new level! Mingle with the (wax versions) likes of Celine Dion, Queen Elizabeth II, Albert Einstein, Lady Gaga, Ghandi and more at the newly opened Grevin Wax Museum in downtown Montreal. The museum is spread over eight different rooms or “worlds,” starting with the Palace of the Seasons, which takes visitors on a magic journey inspired by the beauty of the four seasons.

The New France room focuses on 16th century explorers in the company of the French navigator Jacques Cartier, while the Paris-Québec room presents famous personalities who made their mark on both sides of the Atlantic. The Sports Temple might as well be called the Hockey Temple since it features a hockey rink and several wax statues of celebrated hockey players. The Hotel Grévin room takes visitors throughout a series of hotel rooms, each with a distinct ambiance and guests.

Running from Old Montreal to Lake St. Louis in western Montreal, Canal de Lachine is a 14.5 kilometer-long (9 miles) inland waterway that was mainly used for commercial shipping. It was built to allow ships to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids, which were not navigable. Work on the canal started in 1821, and it opened for navigation in 1825. The opening not only made Montreal one of the most important ports in North America and a significant trade center for wood, iron and steel, but it also helped develop the neighborhoods surrounding the canal like Petite-Bourgogne, Saint-Henri, Griffintown and Pointe St-Charles – in fact, Montreal’s population quadrupled over the 50 years following the canal’s construction.

Although the canal is now obsolete for commercial navigation, it is possible to visit its historic docks, the most popular ones being located in Old-Montreal.