Montreal
Montreal or Montréal1 (pronounced 
[[Media:Montreal-english-pronunciation.ogg|/ˌmʌntɹiˈɒːl/]] in Canadian English, [[Media:Montreal2.ogg |/mɔ̃ʀeal/]] in International French, and /mɒ̃ɾeal/ in Quebec French accent) is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. At the 2001 Canadian Census, there were 1,583,590 people living on the current territory of the city of Montreal proper (new 2006 demerged territory). The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal Area) is estimated at 3,635,700 in 2005 (Statistics Canada), making it the second largest French-speaking metropolitan area in the world. Montreal is ranked as the 15th largest metropolitan area in the Americas and 77th in the world. The city is the largest part of the Quebec region of Montréal. It is the second most densely populated city in Canada. Montreal is seriously considering a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, which would mark the 40th anniversary since the Summer Olympics of 1976.
As in most parts of Quebec, French is the most common spoken language in the city. Nevertheless, Montreal has a substantial anglophone population and many of the residents are bilingual. Montreal is a "Gamma" global city, hosting a multitude of international festivals and events including the XXI Summer Olympiad, Juste pour Rire (Just for Laughs) comedy festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, the Montreal World Film Festival, and many others. During the period of prohibition in the United States, Montreal became well-known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife, a reputation it still holds today. In 2005, only 35 homicides were committed in the city, one of the lowest numbers in its history. Montreal has the highest concentration of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America. The city is a centre of health and aerospace science. In 2005, it won the distinction of being chosen UNESCO's "World Book Capital City 2005–2006" due to its vibrant literary scene.
Montreal is situated in the south western corner of Quebec approximately 270 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometres (118 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital, and 539 kilometres (335 mi) northeast of Toronto. The city is located on the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes up into the Atlantic Ocean.
History
Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois have inhabited the Montreal area for some eight thousand years. The first European to reach the area was Jacques Cartier, when, on October 2, 1535, he entered the village of Hochelega, on the Island of Montreal.
Seventy years later, Samuel de Champlain arrived on the island, but the village of Hochelaga no longer existed. In 1611, he established La Place Royale, a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, but the local Iroquois successfully defended their land. The first permanent European settlement on the Island of Montreal was created in 1639 by a French tax collector named Jérôme Le Royer. Missionaries Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and a few French colonists set up a mission named Ville Marie on May 17, 1642.
Ville Marie became a centre for the fur trade and the Catholic religion, as well as a base for further exploration into New France. The Iroquois continued their attacks on the settlement until a peace treaty was signed in 1701. The town remained French until 1760, when Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal surrendered it to the British army under Jeffrey Amherst. Fire destroyed one quarter of the town on May 18, 1765.
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and ceded New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain. American Revolutionists briefly held the city in 1775 but soon left. By this time, name of Montreal, and it started to grow from British immigration. The golden era of fur trading began in the city with the advent of the locally owned North West Company, the main rival to the primarily British Hudson's Bay Company.
Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. The city's growth was spurred by the opening of the Lachine Canal, which permitted ships to pass by the unnavigable Lachine Rapids south of the island. Montreal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, bringing more English-speakers to the city, making the two linguistic groups roughly equal in size. The resulting increased Anglophone community built one of Canada's first universities, McGill, and the wealthy merchant classes began building large mansions at the foot of Mont Royal.
In 1852 Montreal had 58,000 inhabitants; by 1860 it was the largest city in British North America and the undisputed economic and cultural centre of Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway made its headquarters there in 1880, and the Canadian National Railway in 1919. Saint Jacques Street in what is now Old Montreal, then better known as Saint James Street, became the centre of the Canadian financial industry in the late 19th century; the name "Saint James Street" was used as a metonym for Canadian high finance as much as "Wall Street" is used in the United States, or "Bay Street" is used in Toronto today. With the annexation of neighbouring towns between 1883 and 1918, Montreal became a mostly Francophone city again. The tradition to alternate between a Francophone and an Anglophone mayor thus began and lasted until 1914.
After World War I, the Prohibition movement in the United States turned Montreal into a haven for Americans looking for alcohol. Despite the increase in tourism, unemployment remained high in the city, and was exacerbated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. However, Canada began to recover from the Great Depression in the mid-1930s, and skyscrapers such as the Sun Life Building began to appear.
During World War II, Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to ignore the federal government's registry of all men and women. Ottawa was furious over Houde's insubordination and put him in a prison camp until 1944, when the government was forced to institute conscription (see Conscription Crisis of 1944).
After Montreal's population surpassed one million in the early 1950s, Mayor Jean Drapeau laid down plans for the future development of the city. These plans included a new metro system and an underground city, the expansion of Montreal's harbour, and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. New buildings were built on top of old ones in this time period, including Montreal's two tallest skyscrapers up to then: the 43-storey Place Ville-Marie and the 47-storey Tour de la Bourse. Two new museums were also built, and finally in 1966, the metro opened, along with several new expressways.
The city's international status was cemented by Expo '67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976. A major league baseball team, the Montreal Expos, was named after the Expo and started playing in Montreal in 1969. However, the team moved to Washington, DC in 2005, where it was named Washington Nationals.
After the ascent to power of the Parti Québécois in the mid-1970s, Montreal's linguistic and ethnic composition underwent a period of transition greater than the norm for urban centres, as many anglophones relocated to Ontario. The passing of Bill 101 in 1977 would also ensure linguistic change, as new immigrants to the province learned French and became known as allophones (also see Bilingualism in Canada). The election of a separatist provincial government also had a negative effect on Montreal's economy, as a number of organizations, most prominently Sun-Life Insurance Co., relocated out of the province, moving mostly to Toronto. Toronto eclipsed Montreal around this time as Canada's largest city and chief financial hub. Throughout the 1980s and well into the 1990s, Montreal experienced a relatively slow rate of job growth as compared to other major Canadian cities.
Montreal celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1992, prompting the construction of two of Montreal's tallest skyscrapers: 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. Currently, Montreal's favourable economic conditions allow further improvements in infrastructure, with the expansion of the metro system and the development of a ring road around the island. Neighbourhood gentrification is also occurring. Montreal now constitutes its own region of Quebec.File:1545montreal-07.jpg
In late 2005, Montreal hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the first meeting joint meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Climate
Montreal lies at the confluence of several climactic regions and thus the climate in Montreal varies greatly, both by season and by day to day, and is considered a part of the culture of the city by Montrealers.
Precipitation is abundant with an average snowfall of 2.14 metres (7.0 ft) per year in the winter and regular rainfall throughout the year. Each year the city government spends more than C$50 million on snow removal. Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.
The coldest month of the year is January, which has a daily average temperature of −10.4 °C (13 °F) — averaging a daily low of −14.9 °C (5.2 °F). Due to wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July which has a daily average temperature of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) — averaging a daily high of 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 1 August 1975[1]. Moderate to high humidity is common in the summer. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between 55 and 94 mm (2.2 and 3.7 in) a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as "Indian summers" are a regular feature of the climate[2].
Despite its widely varying climate, the Montreal region supports a diverse array of plants and wildlife. The maple is one of the most common trees and the sugar maple in particular is an enduring symbol of Montreal and Quebec, thanks to the production of maple syrup.
Demographics
See also: List of famous Montrealers
The Census Metropolitan Area of Montreal (also known as Greater Montreal Area) has a population of 3,635,700 in 2005 according to Statistics Canada ([3]). This total includes the neighbouring cities of Laval and Longueuil, as well as other smaller cities. Montreal proper, in its new city borders following the January 1, 2006 demerger, has a population of 1,583,590 (according to 2001 census figures). A resident of Montreal is known as a Montrealer in English and a Montréalais(e) in French. Residents sometimes refer to the city by the shorthand of MTL, or occasionally by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport designation of YUL. The large population of Montreal justifies it having its own postal district, H span, together with Laval.
About 67.8% of the population of Montreal area is composed of francophones, 18.4% have neither French nor English as their first language and are called allophones, and 13.8% are anglophones. On the island of Montreal itself, these numbers change and francophones constitute only 53% of the population, allophones 29%, and anglophones 18%. However, the majority of residents have at least a working knowledge[4] of both languages, and a majority of allophones speak either English or French as a second language. This trend has increased after the French language legislation of the 1970s. Armenian, Italian, Romanian, Arabic, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Hindi are also very popular languages.
The Caucasian population is vastly descended from people of French, Irish, Scottish and Italian origin[5]. According to Statistics Canada 2001, the top four ethnic groups in the city are Canadian at 55.7% (1,885,085), French at 26.6% (900,485), Italian at 6.6% (224,460), and Irish at 4.7% (161,235). Statistics Canada concludes that those who identified themselves as Canadian are most likely of British, French or Irish origin whose families have been in Canada for many generations.
Montreal is a multi-ethnic city. Caucasians are the majority in the city but there are substantial groups of minorities.[6]
- White: 2,886,400 or 86.8%
- Blacks: 129,705 or 3.9%
- Arab: 67,830 or 2.0%
- South Asian: 56,655 or 1.7%
- Chinese: 50,115 or 1.5%
- mixed race: 46,900 or 1.4%,
Religion
For a major North American city of its size, the Catholic population is visibly high as hundreds of churches dot the streets of Montreal. Over 84% of the population identify with the Christian heritage, the vast majority of them being of Roman Catholic heritage mostly due to the heavy numbers of French, Italian, Irish, and Portuguese inhabitants in the city. The Protestant and Orthodox presence which is much smaller are chiefly those of English, Greek, and Lebanese peoples. However, since Quebec's Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, very few francophone Quebecers practice their religion. The proportion of practicing Christians (especially Catholics) in Quebec is now significantly lower than the proportion of practicing Christians in the rest of Canada, or even North America.
Non-Christian religions are very large as well. The largest non-Christian group is now Muslim and is mostly composed of fairly recent arrivals. Montreal's Jewish community, while in decline, has had a huge impact on the cultural, artistic, economic and gastronomic life of the city, dating back to the mid-18th century. There are also small Buddhist, Sikh, Bahá'í and Hindu communities.
Economy
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Once the largest city in Canada, Montreal remains a vibrant major centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and world affairs. Montreal is a major port city along the Saint Lawrence Seaway, a deep-draft inland waterway which links it to the industrial centres of the Great Lakes. It's the largest inland port in the world and is one of the most important. As one of the most important ports in Canada, it is a trans-shipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery, and consumer goods. For this reason, it is part of the railway backbone of Canada and has always been an extremely important rail city; it is the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and home to the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway.
Montreal industries include pharmaceuticals, high technology, textile and clothing manufacturing (the schamata industry), higher education, electronic goods, software engineering, building and city engineering, transportation devices, printed goods, fabric, and tobacco.
Montreal is one of the world's top aerospace industry centres. It is often said that Montreal is the only city in the world where an entire airplane can be built, from the start of engine crafting to the last paint drop. The leading wagon of the industry is unquestionably Bombardier, a manufacturer best known for medium-sized aircraft.
The headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency are located in Longueuil, southeast of Montreal. Montreal also hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a United Nations body); the World Anti-Doping Agency (an Olympic body); and the International Air Transport Association (IATA); as well as some 60 other international organizations in various fields. The city is also a vibrant centre of Canadian film and television production. The operational headquarters and five studios of the Academy Award-winning documentary producer the National Film Board of Canada can be found here, as well as the head offices of Telefilm Canada, the national fiction film and television funding agency.
Montreal is also a popular filming location for big Hollywood blockbusters, because the city can give both an European or American feel to a movie. This industry has been declining in recent years, as Vancouver in Western Canada has started to take much of Montreal's filming deals. Major titles filmed partly or entirely in Montreal include The Art of War, The Aviator, The Bone Collector, Catch Me If You Can, Cellular, The Day after Tomorrow, Driven, Gothika, Heist, The Jackal, John Q., The Notebook, Rollerball, Taking Lives, Secret Window, The Sum of All Fears, The Terminal and both The Score and The Whole Nine Yards featured the city in script.
Places in Montreal
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal lies at the foot of Mount Royal, which is designated as a major urban park. The Downtown area contains dozens of notable skyscrapers — which, by law, cannot be higher than Mount Royal — including the aforementioned 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. The Tour de la Bourse is also a significant building in Montreal, as it is where all stock and derivative trades take place, and is also home to a successful program to encourage nesting peregrine falcons.
Place Ville-Marie, a Ieoh Ming Pei-designed cruciform office tower built in 1962, sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's underground city, one of the world's largest, with indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as metro stations, train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown is Saint Catherine Street.
Other streets like Peel, de la Montagne, de Maisonneuve and Crescent are very popular as well. Downtown Montreal is located between the mountain Mount Royal and the St Lawrence River. Two islands are located in front of the Montreal Skyline panorama, Île Ste. Hélène, and Ile Notre-Dame. The Notre Dame island hosts the Canadian Grand Prix and Formula One car races, as well as the Champ Car tournament. La Ronde (now owned by American company Six Flags) is the biggest amusement park in Montreal and is located on Île Ste. Hélène. The International Fireworks Festival is held there every summer.
The basic Skyline view may be seen from one of two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belevedere takes in downtown, the river, and the Montérégien Hills, and on clear days the Green Mountains of Vermont are visible. The view of eastern lookout on Remembrance Rd. sweeps out toward the Olympic Stadium, and beyond. Many tourists visit these lookouts. Montreal is known for the contrast between old and new. The Maison des Cooperants (a 146 m / 479 ft tall building) is right in front of an old church. Much of Old Montreal has been kept the way it was back in the day Montreal was first established. Old Montreal was a worldwide port, but shipping has been moved further east to the Port de Montreal site, leaving the Old Port/Vieux-Port as an historical area. The Montreal Skyline is ranked eighth in the Emporis in skyline views, a focal point in Montreal's recognition. The reason the Olympic Stadium was built 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from downtown is that the owners thought that Montreal's downtown would expand to where the Olympic Stadium now stands.
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
At the center of Montréal's vibrant cultural and commercial district sits the city's grandest and most gracious hotel Fairmont Queen Elizabeth recently recognized by Travel + Leisure as one of the 500 greatest hotels in the world. Located above the train station (Via Rail & AMTRAK) and connected to the extensive underground city of thousands of boutiques, restaurants and cafés, and within walking distance of sports and cultural attractions, the hotel reflects the distinct elegance and charm of Montréal. Host to over 30 festivals annually, the city offers entertainment for the whole family in summer or winter.
Old Montreal
Southeast of downtown is Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal), an historic area with such attractions as the Old Port, Place Jacques-Cartier, City Hall, the Marché Bonsecours, Place d'Armes, Pointe-à-Callière Museum, and the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Old Montreal was a worldwide port, but shipping has been moved further east to the Port de Montreal site, leaving the riverside area of Old Port/Vieux-Port as a recreational and historical area now maintained by Parks Canada. The most recent trip to the North Pole departed from this port. Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the Quartier international de Montréal development and is also served by ferries to the South Shore, the Square-Victoria metro station and a network of bicycle paths.
Griffintown
Griffintown is the old name for a section of the city that spans from the borough of Point St. Charles to the Old Port, and north to Notre-Dame street. It was first settled by mostly Irish immigrants during the mid-late 1800's. The population consisted mostly of labourers who worked in the industries and construction in the area. It was marked by poverty and cramped living conditions. Currently, it holds the stables for the horses that provide tours in carriages (calèche) around the Old Port. Many technological companies built office space in the area, and École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) built its residence there. Much of the original architecture remains, however, and the locals who grew up in the area keep old ghost stories alive.
Olympic Park
Montreal was host to one of the most successful World's Fairs in history, Expo '67. Partially based upon the success of the World's Fair, Montreal was awarded the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic site was built 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from downtown in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district. Montreal's Olympic Stadium has the world's tallest inclined tower at 175 meters high and leaning at 45 degree. Until the end of the 2004 season, the stadium was the home of the Montreal Expos baseball team. The Olympic complex also includes the Montreal Biodome, Montreal Insectarium, and the Montreal Botanical Garden, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, second only to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England. Two pyramidal towers, known as the Olympic Village, were built to house athletes. They now serve as apartments and offices.
Today, the CFL's Montreal Alouettes play their last game of their season and playoff games in the Olympic Stadium. It is nicknamed the "Big O" because of its oval shaped roof. It has a capacity of up to 56 040 fans for a football game (45 000 for baseball) and it may hold more in the future when temporary overflow stands are added to the dugout pits and centre field for football. Locals also sometimes refer to the stadium as the "Big Owe" — a reference to its exorbitant total cost, which was only recently completely paid off.
Museums and cultural centres
Montreal is the centre of Quebec culture and a major centre of Canadian culture in general. It has many specialized museums such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), the Musée d'art contemporain (MAC), the Redpath Museum, the McCord Museum of Canadian History, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. The Place des Arts cultural complex houses the MAC and several theatres, and is the seat of the Montreal Opera and for the moment the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, which is slated to receive a new concert hall adjacent to Place des Arts.
Religious sanctuaries
Nicknamed "the city of saints," or "la ville aux cent clochers" (the city of a hundred belltowers), Montreal is renowned for its churches. As described by Mark Twain, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." The city has four Roman Catholic basilicas: Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, the aforementioned Notre-Dame Basilica, St. Patrick's Basilica, and Saint Joseph's Oratory. The Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Other well-known churches include the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours, which is sometimes called the Sailors' Church, and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, which was completely excavated and suspended in mid-air during the construction of part of the Underground City. All of the above are major tourist destinations, particularly Notre-Dame and the Oratory.
An impressive number of other churches can be found, as such that a five-minute walk is usually enough to find another one. A common expression of Montrealers is that we stumble into them walking.
Chinatown
Montreal has a small but active Chinatown (Quartier chinois) just south of downtown, featuring many Chinese shops and restaurants, as well as a number of Vietnamese establishments. Several of these restaurants offer dim sum from as early as 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can be quite crowded, especially on Sundays. The principal axes of Chinatown are Saint Lawrence Boulevard and La Gauchetière Street.
The Gay Village
Montreal is known as a Queer or Gay-friendly city. Its pride festival, Divers/Cité, is claimed to be the largest in North America; organizers estimate that it drew 1.4 million people in 2002. It benefits from financial support from all three levels of government. Montreal is home to one of the largest gay villages in North America, centred around the downtown Beaudry metro station (known in French as le Village gai). Montreal is a centre of Queer life and culture in Canada and hosts several circuit parties every year. The 2006 World Outgames are to be held in Montreal.see moreGay Village, Montreal
The Plateau
Montreal's trendy and colourful Plateau neighbourhood is located on the twin North-South axes of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Saint Denis Street, and East-West axis of Mount Royal Avenue. The cobbled, pedestrian-only Prince Arthur Street is also located in this neighbourhood. In the summer, night life often seems as active as in the day in this area. It boasts the highest population density of all Montréal and the greatest number of creative people in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. The same source also states that it is the urban place where the most people travel mainly by foot, bicycle or public transport. The Plateau Mont-Royal has been dubbed the "coolest neighbourhood in North America" by Wallpaper Magazine. The exterior staircase is a distinctive feature of the city's architecture.
Mile End
The tiny "Mile End" district, officially part of the Plateau borough but generally considered distinct, is home to many Montreal artists and filmmakers. The city's two famous bagel emporia, the Fairmount[7] and St-Viateur[8] bakeries, are located on the streets of the same names. Fairmount Street is also home to Wilensky's, immortalized in Mordecai Richler's novel "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" and Saint-Viateur is the site of several hipster cafés of note. The area has become noticeably more cash-rich in recent years, due in part to the presence of the Ubisoft studios in the district, on Saint Lawrence Boulevard.
Outremont
The Outremont district is 3,84 km² with a population of 23 239. It used to be an independent town but is now part of the greater Montreal. Since the end of the first half of the 20th century, Outremont has been the host of the French upper middle-class and of a strong Jewish orthodox community.
Mount Royal
Mount Royal is Montreal's outstanding urban park, designed in 1876 by Frederick Law Olmsted, best known as the designer of New York's Central Park. Mount Royal's features include the Chalet and the Kondiaronk Belvedere overlooking downtown Montreal (the most famous view of the city), and man-made Beaver Lake with its recently renovated pavilion. Mount Royal is topped by an illuminated cross that has become a Montreal landmark.
Observant hikers on the park's many trails will find an abundance of small wildlife. In the winter, the park is the site of numerous cross-country ski trails and a new, refrigerated skating rink near beaver Lake.
Once, a funicular railroad brought sightseers to its peak. Unfortunately, that attraction has long since vanished. A tramway also went up the mountain on the north side, replaced in the late 1950's by the Camillien Houde Parkway, which now bisects the mountain (the parkway is named for long-time but controversial former mayor, jailed during World War II for his opposition to conscription in Canada). The "11-Montagne" bus line perpetuates the route of the tram.
Every Sunday in the summer, hundreds of people gather at the statue of Confederation co-founder George-Étienne Cartier at the foot of Mount Royal for several hours of drumming, dancing, and juggling (among many other activities), in an event that has come to be known as the Tam-Tams. It is unclear how this event started; but, as it has no formal organization and has carried on both in a lively and peaceful way since at least the late 1980s, it remains a popular event. The statue is currently undergoing extensive and long-needed renovations but the partying continues all around the construction area.
The intersection of Park and Pine Avenues (in French : Avenue du Parc, Avenue des Pins), just to the south, formerly a winding urban interchange (inspired by the New York parkways of Robert Moses), is also undergoing a major transformation to become more pedestrian-friendly.
Night life
Saint Denis Street is also the heart of the Latin Quarter of Montreal (Quartier latin), just south of the Plateau, and filled with clubs, bars, and street festivals. The principal east-west axes of this district are Saint Catherine Street and Boulevard de Maisonneuve, with Saint Denis Street as its north-south axis. The mood is bohemian.
Crescent Street is "party central" for Montreal's Anglophone population, lying at the edge of the Concordia University campus. Throughout the summer, it features street fairs and festivals. The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix unofficially starts off Montreal's non-stop festival season in the summer. Crescent Street also features many clubs and bars. The clientele of Crescent nightclubs and bars are mostly students, tourists and in general a younger crowd looking for exhilaration and excitement. Most venues will play Top 40, rap and hip hop music. The nearest subway stops are Peel and Guy-Concordia.
Boulevard Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence Boulevard, known locally as "The Main") is one of the best places to find nightlife, with many bars and nightclubs and a wide range of restaurants. Saint-Laurent street night spots are often less mainstream than those on Crescent street, with a great variety; from Top 40 and urban music to electronica and techno, from underground and alternative rock to live bands. South of Prince Arthur Street, towards Sherbrooke Street, one is likely to encounter a "posher" clientele. From Prince Arthur Street north (to Mount Royal avenue & beyond), one should expect to rub shoulders with an "edgier" crowd. The nearest subway stop is Saint-Laurent.
Another notable night life spot is Ste-Catherine Street between St-Hubert and Papineau, where many gay night clubs are concentrated.
Montreal's bustling nightlife is enabled in part by its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), and the many restaurants and fast food joints that are open late into the night. Some bars and nightclubs charge a cover charge varying from 5 to 15$ CAD. You are expected to tip 1$ per drink. Popular late-night fare includes 99-cent pizza slices, Lebanese-style falafel sandwiches, shish taouk, and the local favourite, poutine.
Montreal nightlife is also rated fourth in the world at www.askmen.com for its after-hours (3 to 11 a.m.). Stereo, Aria and Circus are amongst the most notable after-hours; Stereo boasts one of the best sound systems in the world. One can often see world-famous deejays such as Tiësto, Deep Dish and Armin van Buuren featured in Montreal's clubs and after-hours.
Montreal is known in some circles as the strip club capital of Canada. The city has over 30 male and female strip clubs in the downtown area alone. Strip clubs in Montreal are unique in that the majority offer full-contact lap dances. Full-contact lap dances have been legal in the province of Quebec as of 2001. Strip clubs in Montreal are either categorized as full-contact or non-contact.
Strip clubs in Montreal operate differently from U.S. strip clubs. In Montreal exotic dancers are mostly independent workers, not house dancers. Dancers are thus free to work at a variety of strip clubs, and often do. Unlike U.S. exotic dancers, those working in Montreal retain all of the revenues from their performances; gratuity is not expected.
See also: Nightlife Magazine
Sports
Montreal is famous for its hockey-hungry fans. The Montreal Canadiens is one of the 'Original Six' NHL teams, and boasts the greatest number of Stanley Cup championships.
Montreal is also the site of two high-profile racing events each year: the aforementioned Canadian Grand Prix, and the Molson Indy Montreal of the Champcars Series. Both races take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame. On July 13, 1982, Montreal hosted the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game outside the United States. The most important sporting event in Montreal's history, however, was when Montreal played host to the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Once the favoured sport mainly of Montreal anglophones, football fever has spread across Quebec, with the pro football Montreal Alouettes of the CFL drawing packed crowds at the small but picturesque Molson Stadium, part of McGill University and nestled against the slopes of Mt-Royal. As noted above, the Alouettes play their last regular season game and post season games at the much-larger and enclosed Olympic Stadium, which has also been home to a number of Grey Cups, the CFL's championship game.
With football's new-found popularity "en français", the Université de Montréal's "Carabins" draw enthusiastic crowds at its mountainside Outremont stadium rivalling that of English universities Concordia and McGill. McGill itself was rocked by a hazing scandal in 2005 and shut down its program for the remainder of the season.
Montreal has an all-sports radio station, CKGM (The Team 990).
In July 2005 Montreal hosted the 11th FINA World Aquatics Championships.
In 2006 Montreal will attract some 16,000 LGBT athletes, who will participate in the first-ever World Outgames. The Outgames are being hailed as the largest international event in the city of Montreal since the 1976 Olympics.
Major sports venues
| Venue | Capacity | Team/Tournament/Attraction |
| Gilles Villeneuve Circuit | 100,000 | |
| Olympic Stadium | 56 040 |
|
| Hippodrome de Montreal | 25,000 | Horse Racing |
| Bell Centre | 21,273 | Montreal Canadiens |
| Molson Stadium | 20,200 | |
| Île Sainte-Hélène Aquatic Complex | 13,000 | XI Fina World Championships |
| Stade Uniprix | 12,000 | |
| Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard | 9,500 |
Current professional/amateur franchises
| Logo | Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens Logo | Montreal Canadiens | NHL Hockey | Bell Centre | 1909 | 24 |
| Montreal Alouettes logo | Montreal Alouettes | CFL Football | Molson stadium | 1996 |
6 |
| Montreal Impact Logo | Montreal Impact | USL Soccer | Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard | 1993 | 2 |
| Montreal Matrix Logo | Montreal Matrix | ABA Basketball | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | 2005 | 0 |
| Montreal Mission Logo | Montreal Mission | NRL Ringette | Various | 2004 | 0 |
Former professional franchises
Transportation
Montreal is a transportation hub for eastern Canada, with well-developed air, road, rail, and maritime links to the rest of Canada, as well as the United States and Europe.
Public transit
The Montreal Metro was inaugurated in 1966 in time for the Expo 67 World's Fair held in the city the following year. Montreal is also served by a commuter rail system, which is managed and operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport.The Montréal metro is made up of 65 stations spread out along four lines.
Construction of the metro was initiated by Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau who also brought the Olympics to Montreal in 1976. Each station of the Montreal Metro was designed by different architects with individual themes, and the trains themselves run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most.
The metro system is currently being extended into Laval, north of Montreal. The 3 new stations are scheduled to be opened in 2007, several months late and several hundred million dollars over the initial, drastically lowballed, budget.
The current metro and buses within Montreal are operated by Société de transport de Montréal. In Laval, the buses are operated by Société de transport de Laval. The STM bus network consists of 169 daytime and 20 night-time service routes.
Airports
Montreal has two big international airports, although only one is currently open for passenger flights. Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval Airport, the name still used by locals) in the City of Dorval serves all commercial passenger traffic. To the north of the city is Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, which was envisioned as Montreal's primary airport but which now serves only cargo flights. It was built to handle over 50 million passengers a year, and by 2010 it was expected to handle over 120 million making it among the busiest airports in the world. However, Trudeau is the only airport currently in operation in Montreal. In 2005, Montreal-Trudeau handled 10.9 million passengers and will handle 11.2 million in 2006. Trudeau airport serves 114 destinations worldwide making it one of the most connected airports in North America.
Roads
Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from off-island suburbs such as Laval on Île Jésus, and Longueuil on the southeastern shore. The width of the Saint Lawrence River has made the construction of fixed links to the southeastern shore expensive and difficult. Accordingly, there are only four road bridges (plus one road tunnel, two railway bridges, and a metro line), whereas the far narrower Rivière des Prairies is spanned by eight road bridges (six to Laval and two to the north shore).
The island of Montreal is a hub for the Quebec Autoroute system, and is served by Quebec Autoroutes A-10 (aka the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal), A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian Autoroute to the north of it), A-13 (aka Mirabel Autoroute), A-20, A-25, A-40 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section), A-520, and A-720 (aka the Ville-Marie Autoroute). Many of these Autoroutes are frequently congested at rush-hour.
Since Montreal is on an island, the directions used in the city plan do not precisely correspond with compass directions, as they are oriented to the geography of the island. North and south are defined on an axis roughly perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies: North is towards the Rivière des Prairies, and south is towards the St. Lawrence. East and west directions are defined as roughly parallel to the St. Lawrence River (which flows southwest to northeast) and the Rivière des Prairies. East is downstream, and west is upstream.
Saint Lawrence Boulevard divides Montreal into east and west sectors. Streets that lie on both sides of Saint Lawrence Boulevard are divided into two parts, which have Est (East) or Ouest (West) appended to their names. Streets that lie on only one side of The Main (Saint Lawrence Boulevard) do not generally contain a direction in their names. Address numbering begins at one at Saint Lawrence Boulevard. East of it, numbers increase to the east, while west of it, numbers increase to the west. On north-south streets, house numbers begin at the Saint Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal and increase to the north. Odd numbers are on the east or north sides of the street, with even numbers on the west or south sides. Numbered streets generally run north and south, and the street numbers increase to the east.
Moreover, the addresses are on a grid-axis system, as in many North American cities. Streets generally retain their grid position throughout their course, even if they are slightly diagonal. For example:
- Sherbrooke Street, which runs "east-west" is 3400 (north of the Saint Lawrence), so a house on the north-east corner of Sherbrooke St. would theoretically be numbered 3401, and on the north-west 3400.
- Saint Hubert Street, which runs "north-south" is 800 East, so a house on the north-east corner of St-Hubert St, would be 801 (or 801 East if the street crosses Saint Lawrence Boulevard), and a house on the south-east corner would be 800 East.
- Peel Street, which runs "north-south" is 1100 West, so a house on the north-west corner of Peel St, would be 1101 (or 1101 West if the street crosses Saint Lawrence Boulevard), and a house on the south-west corner would be 1100 West.
An anomaly is that zero is the Saint Lawrence River AND the Lachine Canal, so address numbers south of the Canal begin at zero at the river, then increase toward the canal, and the canal resets the address grid back to zero. There are only two streets (Atwater and Charlevoix) that cross the canal without changing names, so that addresses south of the canal add a 0 (zero) before the number to act as a "negative" (though they still increase northward and respect the grid of the streets parallel to them). Therefore, 0400 Charlevoix St. is south of the canal, and 400 north of it.
Other grid axes:
- North-south streets, east side: St-Denis 400, Amherst/Christophe-Colomb 1100, Papineau 1800, De Lorimier 2100, Pie-IX Blvd 4100, Honoré-Beaugrand 8000, St-Jean-Baptiste Blvd 12000, Rousselière 14000.
- North-south streets, west side: Park Avenue 300, Peel 1100, Atwater 3000, Décarie 5300, Cavendish 6500.
- East-west streets: Notre-Dame 500, René-Lévesque Blvd 1150, Sainte-Catherine 1400, Ontario 2000, Sherbrooke 3400, Mont-Royal Avenue 4500, St-Joseph Blvd 5000, Beaubien 6500, Jean-Talon 7200, Jarry 8100, Henri-Bourassa 10700, De Salaberry 12000. Gouin Blvd, which follows the shore of Rivière des Prairies, is too crooked to have a constant grid reference.
The grid-axis system was introduced by the City of Montreal in the mid-1920s, but was not generally adopted by neighbouring towns. Most on-island suburbs or boroughs merged recently on the west side of the island still have separate numbering systems, though most streets that start in the 9 original boroughs continue the Montreal numbering beyond its old borders. The highest address in Montreal is 23000 Gouin Boulevard West in the borough of Pierrefonds.
Most streets in Montreal do not change name throughout their course, respecting their grid axis. Streets such as Saint Lawrence Boulevard, Papineau Ave., De Lorimier Ave. and Pie-IX Blvd. have a foot in both rivers, and some streets re-commence despite gaps or interruptions. There are a few notable exceptions which continue for historical reasons. A few north-south streets which begin in Old Montreal change name at Saint-Antoine Street, site of the former city wall (Saint-Pierre → Bleury, Bonsecours → Saint-Denis). Only one street changes name many times: McGill Street → Square-Victoria Street → Beaver Hall Hill → Frère-André Place → Phillips Place → Phillips Square → Aylmer St.
According to the rules of the Commission de toponymie du Québec, the French-language form of street names is the only official one, and is to be used in all languages: e.g. chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges; rue Sainte-Catherine; côte du Beaver Hall. Most English speakers, however, use English generic equivalents such as "street" or "road", as do English-language media such as the Montreal Gazette. Officially bilingual boroughs have the right to use such names in official contexts, such as on street signs. In the past, a number of streets had both English and French names, such as "avenue du Parc" or "Park Avenue", "rue de la Montagne" or "Mountain Street", "rue Saint-Jacques" or "Saint James Street". Some of these names are still in common colloquial use in English, and perpetuated by the tourism industry. Many streets incorporate an English specific name into French, such as "chemin Queen Mary", "rue University", "avenue McGill College". There are also a few cases where two names are official, such as "chemin du Bord-du-Lac/Lakeshore Road".
Crescent Street
Running perpendicular to Sainte-Catherine Street in the heart of downtown, Crescent Street’s specialty and high-end boutiques attract Montrealers and visitors alike. North of de Maisonneuve Boulevard, the Street’s sumptuous Victorian architecture housing luxury boutiques, haute couture showrooms and art galleries has been carefully showcased, giving the Street a distinctive touch of elegance. To the south, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, outdoor cafés and pubs add frivolity and excitement. Montréal’s “joie de vivre” inevitably spills over onto south Crescent Street.
In English, the pre-Francization names are still commonly used, thus, although only the French is 'official', in English one often hears names such as Park Avenue, Mountain Street, Saint Lawrence Boulevard, Pine Avenue, Saint John's Boulevard etc. Canada Post accepts the French specific with English generic, as in "de la Montagne Street" or "du Parc Avenue", although many such forms are never used in speaking. Another anomaly that typifies this kind of mixed heritage and history is René Lévesque Boulevard. Once called "Dorchester Boulevard" in its entirety, this long east-west street was renamed for Quebec nationalist René Lévesque, except for sections that run through the very Anglophone town of Westmount. However, the entire street is still sometimes referred to as "Dorchester."
It is useful to note that, in Montreal as in other cities, the generic is usually omitted in either language, so one would simply talk of Park (or Du Parc), Mountain (or Montagne), Saint Lawrence (or Saint Laurent), University, McGill College, Doctor Penfield, or Fairmount. This is mainly because a specific is almost never given to two streets. If duplication exists, they are always in different boroughs or towns and are retained for historical reasons. For example, Montreal's present 19 boroughs have 6 streets named "Victoria" (2 streets, 2 avenues, one court, and one square), and 9 more in on- or off-island suburbs. In recent years Montréal and most of its suburbs have dispensed entirely with such generic and linguistically fraught terms on their street signage.
Culture
French Canadian
Montreal is the hotbed of culture for French speaking Quebec and Canada. As the largest city in the province of Quebec, the largest French speaking city in all of North America, and the third largest French city after Paris, France and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Montreal is a hub for television productions, radio, theatre, circuses, performing arts, film, multimedia and print publishing.
Unlike other North American cities which serve their suburbs and hinterlands, Montreal plays a national role in the development of Québécois culture. Therefore its contribution to culture is seen as a state-building endeavour rather than a civic duty. The best talents from French Canada and even the French speaking areas of the United States converge to Montreal and perceive the city as their cultural capital.
The degree to which Montrealers and Quebec residents support local output is impressive, considering the influence of nearby American and English Canadian culture. The cultural divide between Montreal's Francophone and Anglophone culture is strong and is referred to as the Two Solitudes. The Solitudes are strongly entrenched in Montreal, splitting the city geographically at St-Laurent Boulevard.
Few elements seem to cross this border. Cultural events that do spread over English and French Montrealers are sporting events like football and hockey games, the Grand Prix du Canada F1 race. Other crossover cultural artifacts are the Summer festivals such as the Jazz Festival, the Just For Laugh (Juste Pour Rire) comedy fest. Each has contents for both Francophone and Anglophone audiences.
This aspect of Montreal culture makes it an evolving environment where anything can happen. It also provide local artists with the Francophone and Anglophone media compete for the best new talents.
Jewish
Montreal's Jewish community is historically one of the oldest in Canada and one of the most populous in the country. Montreal's Jewish community is composed of European immigrants, French-speaking Middle Eastern Jews and the British Jews who arrived as far back as the 18th century.
Montreal's Jewish community is very active in business sectors such as fabrics, alcohol, real estate, finance, and the fine arts. Demographically smaller than other ethnic groups, Montreal's Jewish community has nevertheless been a leading contributor to Montreal's cultural landscape. Jewish culinary contributions have also been a source of pride for Montrealers; two world-renowned contributions are Montreal's smoked meat sandwiches and Montreal style bagels. There are several public and private Jewish schools in Montreal, partly funded by the Quebec government (like most denominational schools in Quebec).
English-language music
Spurred on by enthusiastic bloggers, the "Montreal Music Scene" has garnered much attention in popular media lately (The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, BBC, NPR...). Long thriving locally, the growing success of the "scene" owes much to a couple of bold local record labels (Alien8 Recordings & Constellation Records), as well as the edgy Pop Montreal Music Festival.
The following is an incomplete list of "indie" artists and bands that are riding that wave.
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- The Arcade Fire
- The Stills
- Stars (band)
- The Dears
- Wolf Parade
- Islands
- Lesbians On Ecstasy
- Les Georges Leningrad
- AIDS Wolf
- The Unicorns
- Bell Orchestre
- Rufus Wainwright
- Sam Roberts
- A Silver Mt. Zion
Indie
- L'Hémisphère Gauche is a popular indie venue. The bar's full slate of live independent and underground music makes it an increasingly popular hangout.
- Casa Del Popolo, La Sala Rossa and El Salon are three of the city's hottest stages, managed together to provide different sized venues. All play host to eclectic variety of local acts and touring buzz bands.
- Mile End Cultural Centre and The Green Room also work in tandem to get music to the people. The Mile End Cultural Centre stage is referred to as “Main” Hall, echoing the moniker of its home on St. Laurent Boulevard, Montreal's main drag and busiest artery. The Green Room is part hangout and part live music venue, while “Main” Hall is a performance space, not only for music, but for fashion, film, dance and theatre.
Source: "Indie nation", Canadian Geographic Online
Montreal Food
Education
Universities
As noted above, Montreal has a large population of post-secondary students. Its four urban universities are:
A fifth one, Université de Sherbrooke, has a large campus in Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal.
Neighbouring municipalities
| North: Laval, Lachenaie, Repentigny | ||
| West: Vaudreuil-Dorion, L'Île-Perrot | Montreal Demerged municipalities |
East: Longueuil, Saint Lambert |
| South: Kahnawake |
See also
- Template:Wikitravel
- List of famous Montrealers
- List of communities in Quebec
- List of Quebec regions
- List of Montreal boroughs
- List of Montreal media outlets
- List of Montreal metro stations
- List of bridges in Montreal
- List of Montreal mayors
- List of malls in Montreal
- List of Montreal's 10 tallest skyscrapers
Notes
- It is most common to omit the accent in English-language usage (Montreal), unless one is using a proper name where the context requires the use of the accent (e.g. Le Journal de Montréal, as compared to Montreal Gazette), and to keep the accent in French-language usage (Montréal). This is also the approach favoured by The Canadian Press Style Book (ISBN 0-920009-32-8, at p. 234) and the Globe and Mail Style Book (ISBN 0-7710-5685-0, at p. 249). According to The Canadian Style (ISBN 1-55002-276-8, at p. 263-4), the official style guide of the federal government, the name of the city is to be written with an accent in all government materials.
References
- Statistics Canada (2004). 2001 Census of Canada. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
- Natural Resources Canada (2005). Canadian Geographical Names: Island of Montreal. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
External links
- Template:Wikitravel
- Montreal Restaurant Guide: Greater Montreal City guide to restaurants, cafés and bars. View restaurant profile pages complete with menus, videos, picture galleries and more.
- Tourisme Montréal Website
- Official portal of Montreal
- moreMontreal.com: web site directory and services, including an apartment search site, for the greater Montreal area.
- Montreal Apartments: find all types of rental properties, including apartments, condos, office space within the Montreal region.
- IMTL Montreal: All building and skyscrapers in Montreal
- Life in Montreal (1840-1945), Images from the McCord Museum's collections
- Hospitality Club Montreal: stay with friendly Montrealers for free.
- Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (University of Texas):
- Montreal 1894 (476K)
- The Atlas of Canada: Montreal, circa 1915
- Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec (Quebec National Library): various very nice high-resolution maps, accessible via "Index des toponymes" / "M" / "Montréal (Québec).
- HellenicMontreal.com: News, calendar of events, polls and much more about Montreal's Greek community.
- Turkish community in Montreal: Info about Turkish community in Montreal.
- Metroblogging Montreal: A weblog written from the perspective of people who live, work, and play in Montreal every day!
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[c1] Cancelled due to World War I; [c2] Cancelled due to World War II; [c3] Postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
