Montreal & Resort Areas
Although English is widely spoken, there are times when, wandering through a narrow Vieux-Montréal street, you’ll swear you’re in Europe. But a glance at the city’s whimsical skyline will confirm that you are grounded firmly in the glass-and-steel modern world, full of luxury shopping, fine dining, museums, and 21st-century recreational possibilities.
Activities and Attractions:
Get your bearings by scaling the city’s namesake 761-foot Royal Mountain, surrounded by one of North America’s great urban parks, Parc du Mont-Royal. Then descend to Vieux-Montréal, the city’s oldest quarter. Browse galleries and sip café au lait along cobblestone plazas reminiscent of Paris.
A Montréal shopping expedition will take you through several attractive neighborhoods. Fur and leather buys are good—try Downtown’s rue Sherbrooke. In Vieux-Montréal, rue St. Paul has galleries and boutiques, and in Plateau Mont-Royal, boulevard St-Laurent is the place for French-flavored apparel and furnishings.
When the weather gets bad, head underground. There is a warren of subterranean passageways sheltering 1,700 shops and restaurants, including the have-to-see-it-to-believe-it Complexe Desjardins, complete with landscaping and waterfalls.
When the weather gets good, head out of town. The Laurentian Mountains, including Mont-Tremblant, are best known for skiing, but in warmer weather there is mountain biking and hiking. Spas, of course, operate year round. Similarly, the Cantons-de-l'Est area (also called the Eastern Townships) offers clear lakes, winter and summer sports, and as a bonus, the minor chateaux of the province’s former aristocracy. Both regions offer many luxury resorts, and are an excellent place to base a vacation.
Insider Tip:
Montréalers consider the St. Lawrence River to run to the south of their city. It doesn’t, but directions will always be given in reference to this supposedly southerly landmark. So, if you ask for directions and are pointed “north,” don’t be alarmed to find yourself walking toward the rising sun. Just accept that Montréal marches to a different compass rose.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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