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Sport Montreal is home to teams in all the major sports leagues and also hosts a number of international events. Probably the best known is the Montreal Grand Prix (website: www.grandprix.ca), held every June on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Ile Notre-Dame. Men’s and women’s international tennis championships (website: www.tenniscanada.com) take place in August, while the Tour de l’Ile de Montréal, the largest non-competitive event in the world, sees over 45,000 cyclists taking part every June. The Montreal Canadiens (tel: (514) 989 2841; website: www.canadiens.com), one of the top ice-hockey teams in the National Hockey League, plays in the winter at the Molson Centre, 1260 rue de la Gauchetière. The city’s major league baseball team, the Montreal Expos (tel: (514) 253 3434; website: www.montrealexpos.com) plays out at the Olympic Stadium, 4141 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin, although there has been talk of a new downtown stadium. The Montreal Impact (tel: (514) 328 3668; website: www.montrealimpact.com) is the local soccer team, although most Montrealers would be unaware of that fact. They play at the Centre sportif Claude-Robillard, 1000 avenue Émile-Journault (tel: (514) 872 6911). The Montreal Alouettes (tel: (514) 871 2255; website: www.alouettes.net) represent the city in the Canadian Football League. Home games are at McGill University’s Molson Stadium. Tickets for most sporting events can be purchased from Admission outlets (tel: (514) 790 1245 or (800) 361 4595; website: www.admission.com). Fitness centres: The newly renovated Downtown YMCA, 1440 rue Stanley (tel: (514) 849 8393; website: www.ymcamontreal.qc.ca), offers squash courts and a jogging track in addition to a swimming pool and exercise equipment. A day pass costs C$11.50, C$40 for five visits. The Guy-Favreau YMCA, 200 boulevard René-Lévesque West (tel: (514) 845 4277) offers similar facilities just south of Place des Arts. Nearby Vie en Forme, 372 rue Ste-Catherine West (tel: (514) 871 1111), is a women-only gym charging C$10 per day. Golf: Dating from 1873, the oldest course in North America is the members-only Royal Montreal Golf Club, 25 South Ridge Road, Ile Bizard (tel: (514) 626 3977). There are a couple of public courses on the island of Montreal, including Meadowbrook Golf Club, 8370 rue Côte-St-Luc West (tel: (514) 488 4875 or 6612; website www.clubdegolfmeadowbrook.com), which charges C$17-31 for the 18-hole par-72 course. However, these are more plentiful off the island – in the Laurentians to the north and the Montérégie region and Eastern Townships to the east. Le Royal Bromont is 45 minutes east of the city, at 400 chemin Compton in Bromont (tel: (450) 534 4653 or (888) 281 0017; website: www.royalbromont.com). Greens fees are C$37-57. Swimming: The City of Montreal operates a variety of indoor and outdoor pools, including the beach next to the Casino on Ile Notre-Dame from late June to late August (tel: (514) 872 2237, ext 963 for information about the beach). Tennis: Players can cover the same ground as Monica Seles or Martina Hingis on one of 11 outdoor and eight indoor courts at Le Centre de Tennis, in Parc Jarry, 285 rue Faillon West, near métro De Castelnau. Reservations are required (tel: (514) 273 1234). The City of Montreal offers 134 payable courts and some 60 free courts throughout the city (tel: (514) 872 1111). Of these, there are a dozen courts each in Parc Jeanne-Mance, 4420 rue Esplanade (tel: (514) 872 5520), and Parc Lafontaine, 3500 avenue Émile-Duployé (tel: (514) 872 3626). Wintersports: There is an abundance of ski hills in the regions to the north and east of Montreal (see Excursions). Within the city, skating and cross-country skiing are available near Beaver Lake on Mount Royal and on Ile Ste-Hélène (tel: (514) 872 2237, ext 651). |
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