Montréal – truly diverse

A Francophone metropolis with an American skyline, colorful, multicultural, multilingual, full of energy and esprit: Montréal gets under your skin.

It's Friday evening in the largest city in the French-speaking Canadian province of Québec. Having just arrived from quiet Ottawa, the contrast could not be more tangible. People from a wide variety of backgrounds are out and about on Rue Sainte-Catherine, which forms something of an artery in downtown Montréal. The locals switch seamlessly back and forth between English and French, at least. The diversity of languages and subcultures in a small space is astounding and seems to surpass even sophisticated Toronto. Montréal is a mosaic that seems to be constantly changing.

Seen from above on a Saturday morning, the mosaic is rather quiet though. The local mountain, Mont-Royal, is populated by squirrels, joggers and other nervous creatures, but still offers a beautiful view of the skyline. Montréal was already known in history as the city of 100 towers, although this probably meant churches rather than office and hotel towers. However, the differences are fluid, as Montréal has found a meaningful use for many former churches, be it as living space, a club or a theater.

 

Towers, but not churches: Montréal from above.

From up here, you can also see the islands in the St. Lawrence River, which are used in just as many ways as the church naves. One of the highlights is the “Biosphère”, a spherical museum that deals with water and environmental issues in a very inspiring way. Incidentally, the race track where the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix is held is right next door. Just our kind of humor.

Montréal is perhaps the North American metropolis that is best explored on foot. It takes just over an hour to walk from Mont-Royal to the river. On the way you can see the green university district, the 24-hour busy Rue Sainte-Catherine with its stores, shopping centers and pubs, Chinatown, le Vieux-Montréal (the oldest part of the city) and finally the waterfront with its tourist attractions including the Ferris wheel.

 

There's always something going on while it is easy to explore on foot: Montréal.

But sightseeing is possible pretty much everywhere - so what is it that makes Montréal such an experience? The answer works in many languages: Verve. It's the verve, that power, the absence of indifference in this city. And, of course, the very present Francophonie - and we definitely have a soft spot for that.

More impressions of French-speaking Canada coming soon!

Squirrels, an integral part of the Montréal cityscape.

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Good to know

Like Toronto, Montréal is an international and intercontinental transportation hub. There are numerous flight connections to Europe; in Switzerland, Swiss operates flights to and from Zurich and Geneva. Montréal can also be reached seasonally with Air Transat from Basel. Within Canada, there are flight connections to all major cities, but the major cities in eastern Canada are also well connected by train.

We made two stops in Montréal during our Canadian adventure and tried out two very different accommodations - and both were fantastic in their own way. If you like to stay in the middle of the salad bowl and value a family atmosphere, the Bed and Breakfast du Village is a very friendly temporary home. This includes, for example, the freshly prepared breakfast at the large kitchen table. If you are looking for a design hotel, you should take a closer look at the Honeyrose, a recently opened Art Deco-style hotel. It has a similar central location to the aforementioned B&B, but feels a little more subdued and oasis-like.

 

Restaurants in Montréal are, to put it mildly, plentiful. One that sticks in our minds is a vegetarian restaurant called Lola Rosa right on the Place-des-Arts. There is also something for absolutely every taste in the food court of the Centre Eaton on Rue Sainte-Catherine - the neat, chic Time Out Market offers everything from poutine to pizza, pasta and Portuguese cuisine.