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Key Attractions Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal) Located near the St Lawrence River, Old Montreal (website: www.old.montreal.qc.ca) is the site of the original fortified city. The buildings and streets date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and have been carefully restored. The area is filled with tourists throughout the summer, who come to stroll along the cobblestone streets, visit the boutiques, restaurants and jazz clubs or simply soak up the joie de vivre among the street entertainers and pavement cafés in the former marketplace of place Jacques-Cartier. A tour on a horse-drawn calèche is an even more romantic way to see the sights. The Gothic-Revival Basilique Notre-Dame was built in the 1820s. Its twin towers are a landmark of Old Montreal. To the east, the silver-domed neo-classical Marché Bonsecours reprises its former role as a marketplace, with galleries, boutiques and exhibitions. Next door, the Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is the city’s oldest church, which contains original Édouard Meloche frescoes and has a small museum devoted to the life of Marguerite Bourgeoys (Canada’s first saint). The tower affords excellent views of the port and surrounding streets. In the western end of Old Montreal, Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History tells the story of Montreal from its earliest days – with high-tech displays in the stunningly modern Éperon Building, archaeological remains in the portions of the museum below place Royale (including the city’s original sewers) and the renovated Old Customs House. Basilique Notre-Dame 110 rue Notre-Dame West, off place d’Armes Tel: (514) 842 2925. Transport: Métro Place-d’Armes. Opening hours: Daily 0800-1800 (early Sep-late Jun); daily 0800-2000 (late Jun-early Sep). Admission: C$2. Marché Bonsecours 350 rue St-Paul East Tel: (514) 872 7730. Website: www.marchebonsecours.qc.ca ransport: Métro Champ-de-Mars. Opening hours: Sat-Wed 1000-1800, Thurs and Fri 1000-2100. Admission: Free. Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours 400 rue St-Paul East Tel: (514) 282 8670. Transport: Métro Champ-de-Mars. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1530 (Nov-mid-Jan and mid-Mar-May); Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (Jun-Oct). Admission: Free (chapel); C$5 (museum). Pointe-à-Callière 350 place Royale Tel: (514) 872 9150. Fax: (514) 872 9151. E-mail: info@musee-Pointe-a-Calliere.qc.ca Website: www.musee-pointe-a-calliere.qc.ca Transport: Métro Place-d’Armes. Opening hours: Tues-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1100-1700 (Sep-Jun); Mon-Fri 1000-1800, Sat and Sun 1100-1800 (Jul and Aug). Admission: C$9.50; concessions available. Vieux-Port (Old Port) The Old Port (tel: (514) 496 7678; website: www.oldportofmontreal.com) was once one of the most important trading ports in North America. With most shipping activity now taking place downriver, this area has been transformed into an excellent recreation and exhibition area, filled with walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers on the riverside promenades between the Clock Tower and the locks at Parc des Écluses.The iSci Centre, on King Edward Pier, is a science and entertainment centre with the Immersion Cinema (interactive video game on a giant screen) and IMAX cinema. iSci Centre 2 rue de la Commune Tel: (514) 496 4724 or (877) 496 4724. Website: www.isci.ca Transport: Métro Place-d’Armes. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (early Sep-mid-Jun); Sun-Wed 1000-1800, Thurs-Sat 1000-2100 (mid-Jun-early Sep). Admission: C$9.95 (exhibition or IMAX); C$5.50 (Immersion Cinema); C$21.95 (all three); concessions available. Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) The permanent collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is split between the original Beauz-Arts building, which houses Canadian, Inuit and First Nations art, and the postmodern structure opposite – designed by Moshe Safdie – where European masters, prints and drawings and decorative arts are exhibited. In the tunnel connecting the pavilions are galleries showcasing contemporary Canadian artists. The museum also has a reputation for hosting outstanding temporary exhibitions, with recent shows as varied as an Alfred Hitchcock retrospective and works by Renoir and Picasso. 1379-1380 rue Sherbrooke West Tel: (514) 285 2000 or (800) 899 6873. Fax: (514) 844 6042. Website: www.mmfa.qc.ca Transport: Métro Peel or Guy-Concordia; bus 24. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1800 (until 2100 Wed). dmission: Free (permanent exhibition); C$15 (temporary exhibitions); C$7.50 (temporary exhibitions Wed after 1730); concessions available. Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art) Adjoining the plaza at the Place des Arts, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Arts is Canada’s only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The museum’s permanent collection is on display in one wing, on a rotating basis – the collection of works by Québécois artists such as Jean-Paul Riopelle and Paul-Émile Borduas, whose expressive canvases typify the Automatistes of the mid-20th century, is particularly strong. The other wing features temporary exhibitions focusing on one or more artists. A small sculpture garden makes for a quiet retreat. 185 rue Ste-Catherine West Tel: (514) 847 6226. Fax: (514) 847 6291. Website: www.macm.org Transport: Métro Place-des-Arts. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1800 (until 2100 Wed). Admission: C$6 (free Wed after 1800); concessions available. Oratoire St-Joseph (St Joseph’s Oratory) St Joseph’s Oratory can be found on the northwest side of Mount Royal. This magnificent basilica was begun in 1924 by Brother André, a celebrated healer, and completed in 1967, after his death. The 97m-high (318ft) dome is the second largest in the world (after St Peter’s in Rome) and there is room for 10,000 worshippers beneath it. The votive chapel and crypt are worth investigating and there is a good view over the city from the terrace. 3800 chemin Queen-Mary Tel: (514) 733 8211. Fax: (514) 733 9735. Website: www.saint-joseph.org Transport: Métro Côte-des-Neiges. Opening hours: Daily 0730-2100. Admission: Free. Parc Olympique (Olympic Park) The Olympic Park was the site of the 1976 Olympic Games. The unique (and costly – over C$1 billion) Olympic Stadium is now the venue for concerts and Montreal Expos baseball games. Half-hour guided tours are available and visitors can also take a funicular (cable car) ride up the world’s tallest inclined tower (175m/575ft). Nearby, the former velodrome is now a major attraction – the Biodôme de Montréal is a recreation of four ecosystems under one roof. Visitors can move from a tropical rainforest to a polar world, with stops in a Laurentian forest and St Lawrence marine environment en route. A museum dedicated to the late hockey legend Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard is also part of the complex. Parc Olympique 4141 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin Tel: (514) 252 8687 or (877) 997 0919. Website: www.rio.gouv.qc.ca Transport: Métro Viau. Opening hours: Daily 1240 and 1540, for guided tours; daily 1000-2100 (mid-Jun-early Sep) and 1000-1700 (early Sep-mid-Jan and mid-Feb-mid-Jun), for funicular. Admission: C$5.50 (guided tour); C$10 (funicular); concessions available. Biodôme de Montréal 4777 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin Tel: (514) 868 3000. Website: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome Transport: Métro Viau. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (mid-Sep-mid-Jun); daily 0900-1900 (mid-Jun-mid-Sep). Admission: C$10 (concessions available). Jardin Botanique de Montréal (Montreal Botanical Garden) The Montreal Botanical Garden, opposite the Olympic Stadium, covers 73 hectares (180 acres) and includes a Chinese garden, Japanese garden and the Tree House, which displays information on Quebec’s forests. The installation of the First Nations Garden in 2001 marked the tercentenary of the Great Peace of Montreal. Also on the grounds is the Insectarium, full of crawling and flying creatures. 4101 rue Sherbrooke East Tel: (514) 872 1400. Website: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin or www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/insectarium Transport: Métro Pie-IX or Viau; bus 185. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (mid-Jun-mid-Sep); daily 0900-1700 (mid-Sep-mid-Jun). Admission: C$10 (May-Oct); C$7.25 (Nov-Apr). |
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