Montréal is a sophisticated, bilingual city that is built on several islands in the St. Lawrence River, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city has a violent history, mainly because of differences between French and English speakers, but nowadays the fights are only fought through elections. Montréal was founded as Ville-Marie in 1642 and has grown to become the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec.
In the city's old town are several interesting sights. Since Montréal has been an important industrial center since its inception, there are numerous historic buildings, including factories, elevators, warehouses, mills and refineries. Some of the oldest buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries. Montreal's oldest buildings are characterized by their uniquely French influence and grey stone construction.
Some of them include the Notre-Dame Basilica that was founded in 1687 and the Sulpician Seminary right next to it. Château Ramezay was built in 1705. The oldest unaltered building in Montréal is the Le Ber-Le Moyne House in the Lachine neightborhood. It was completed in 1671. Another old building is the Maison Saint-Gabriel in Point St. Charles. It dates from 1698.
Other old buildings in the city's old town includes the Bonsecours Market. The headquarters of all major Canadian banks are housed in 19th‑century buildings on St. James Street (Rue Saint Jacques).
Some newer architecture include Saint Joseph's Oratory, which was completed in 1967; Ernest Cormier's Art Deco Université de Montréal main building; the Place Ville Marie office building and the Olympic Stadium with its surrounding structures.
Some pavilions from Expo 67 still remain, although most of them were supposed to be temporary structures. The most striking ones are the Buckminster Fuller's U.S. Pavillion with its geodesic dome and the Habitat 67 apartment complex.
The Underground City is officially called RÉSO. It's an underground network of 32 km (20 mi) of tunnels that connect shopping centres, pedestrian thoroughfares, universities, hotels, restaurants, bistros and subway stations in downtown Montréal. It is very popular with tourists, especially during the winter when the weather gets very cold outside.
More restaurants are found on street level throughout the city. There are also numerous hotels and motels in Montréal. Especially west of the city center are many places where you can find a room. Montréal has a fairly good nightlife scene.
The city hosts numerous international event throughout the year. In the past they have included the Olympic Games, the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Les Francos de Montréal, the largest French-language music festival in the world.
The Museum of Archaeology & History is housed in the 18th-century Pointe-a-Calliere and in the vicinity are several other interesting old buildings, as well as nice museums.
Mont Royal is the peak that looms over the city and Montréal's name is derived from the mountain's.
The city is 190 km (120 mi) east of Ottawa.
Montréal ©Matthias Mullie
Parc de la Cité-du-Havre ©Marc-Olivier Jodoin
Square-Victoria ©Michael Descharles
Le Plateau Mont Royal ©the Bialons
Montréal ©Daniel Baylis
McGill University ©Phil Desforges
Montréal ©Steven Wright
Montréal ©Brandon Sehl
Montréal in winter ©Jani Godari
Montréal ©Fenil Patel
McGill University ©Ehalo Travel
Montréal ©Jp Valery
Montréal by night ©Michael Schaffler
Montréal ©Nathalia Segato
Montréal ©Manny Fortin
The interior of Montréal's Notre Dame Cathedral ©Yomex Owo