Canada is a beautiful country. The province of Quebec is the place to feel like in Europe while staying within the continent of North America. Three times the size of France, with French as the official language, I have more than once thought I was in Europe while visiting Montreal and especially in Quebec City. Adding in the artistic murals, the narrow alleys, the cobblestone streets, the little prince and the TinTin characters on display, Quebec feels more European than France.
Montreal is a welcoming city with clean air and an easy metro/bus transportation system. This is the city that you can visit without much advanced planning. It is a family friendly city without the hustle and bustle of New York city. There are also pubs, coffee places and gathering places for those who are interested in hanging out with others. In the three days we were there, we visited the idyllic Mount Royal Park, Notre Dame Basilica area, Old Port, Old Montreal, the Botanical Garden and even spared an early afternoon to enjoy a high tea at Cardinal Teahouse in the Mile End area.
Montreal Old Port is a nice place to visit any time of the day. We arrived in the early evening. The Ferris Wheel ride was a delightful ride to enjoy the old port in the most relaxing manner. The nearby Voiles en Voiles adventure park was already closed but the Urban Zipline was still in operation. My daughter took up the zipline challenge. With some imagination, the zipline was a “mission impossible” experience as she zipped from a building, in the twilight, over the waterfront, amidst the exclamations of the tourists and locals on the ground. The old port and the surrounding area came alive at night, with many restaurants to choose from.
The Olympic Park and the Botanical Garden are next to each other. At 165 meters high with a 45-degree angle, the Montréal Tower is the tallest inclined tower in the world. It towers over the Olympic stadium and its presence can be felt across from the Botanical Garden. We set out to visit the Botanical Garden to discover the amazing living plant sculptures, only to discover that the sculptures were no longer in exhibit. We were not too disappointed as the garden has such a beautiful landscape subdivided into mesmerizing oasis of China Garden, Japan Garden, Rose Garden. There were the night shows of the Garden of Light in the Botanical Garden with decorated lanterns in different shapes of lotus flowers, bees, butterflies. The night show was included in the day admission, and we highly recommended it.
We have heard about the bagel debate between Montreal and New York City. The St-Viateur bagel has been in the bagel business since 1957. We ordered a bagel with cream cheese, and a “lox” bagel one morning. These Montreal bagels were really good. The bagel was very soft, and there was a thick layer of cream cheese. It turned out the cream cheese was less heavy than the American version. There is nothing to lose from trying food that is hot in a debate.
Chinatown, more like an alley of Chinese restaurants within a short distance from the Notre Dame Basilica, was a pleasant surprise. On a Friday evening, the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown were pretty full. Many diners were not Chinese. They seemed to enjoy the food, didn’t mind the noise level, and made a lot of noise themselves. It had such a lively and modern vibe around the area. It made such a good model for other Chinatowns to be more inviting to people from all kinds of backgrounds. Good job to Chinatown, Montreal.
We visited the Notre Dame Basilica, the arguably most popular site to visit in Old Montreal, just before we left the city.
Montreal is the poutine capital of the world and don’t leave Montreal without trying it.
In the province of Quebec, Quebec City and Montreal are the most visited cities. How would the two cities compare? We would soon find out in the Quebec City Impressions.
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