Hello Montreal! – Quebec, Canada

Montreal – The End of Our Trent Severn Waterway, Rideau Canal Cruise –

Named after Mount Royal, the centrally located hill with three distinctive peaks, Montreal was originally called Ville-Marie, or “The City of Mary,” The city is in the southwest quadrant of Quebec on the Island of Montreal. Many of the buildings, in Old Montreal, dating back to the 17th century, and some, back to the late 16th century.

The final approach to the Montreal Yacht Club was a little dicey with a strong cross-current tossing us around like a little toy boat. I am thinking this resulted from the city being on an island at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River and Ottawa River. Jim and I were both happy the marina we chose is just a few blocks from Old Montreal. We spent great parts of almost every day walking up the hill to explore another section of the city. Our favorite is Old Montreal.

Upon arrival at the marina, we had a huge surprise

We were already quite impressed with the location of the marina, but when we checked into the marina office, they offered us a deal we could not refuse. Our original plan was to spend about three days in Montreal. However because we arrived after the height of the boating season (after September 2nd), we learned of a special deal. The harbormaster said, “Stay a whole week and you will get a great deal… $20.00 a night for a seven-day reservation.” No hesitation on our part! This amazing deal was a good omen. It gave us more time to explore the city in a more relaxed manner.

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Old Montreal greeted us just two blocks up from the marina.

  

   

We took a double-decker bus to get a better idea of the scope of Montreal’s overall charm and architecture.

  

The tour ended on Mount Royal before returning us to the city.

No major city would be complete without a “Chinatown” (above). Here is the entrance to Montreal’s Chinatown.

   

   

  

  

   

The balls decorating Montreal’s Gay Section of town is an art installation by landscape architect Claude Cormier. We spent an evening walking there to have dinner.

  

   

  

Many of the old, cobblestoned streets were closed due to renovation. It was interesting to see the materials used in the ancient roads in Old Montreal, following decades-old cobblestone construction. They won’t have to replace these streets any time soon.

  

  

  

  

   

We spent one-morning researching bakeries and came up with Bar A Beurre.
Best almond croissants ever!

  

  

On one of our first walks in Old Montreal, we came upon Chateau Ramezay and its beautiful Governor’s Garden.

   

  

We heard about Schwartz’s from a friend who said he never goes to Montreal without making a lunch stop at this deli. We spent the late morning taking busses and walking to get to the restaurant, only to find the line to get in extended around the block. It went fairly quickly considering the number of people waiting. it was a yummy treat and we were hungry.