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City Guide - Montreal - Key Attractions | ||
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Key Attractions Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal) Located near the St Lawrence River, Old Montreal (web site: www.old.montreal.qc.ca) is the site of the original fortified city. The buildings and streets date from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and have been carefully restored. The area is filled with tourists throughout the summer, who come to stroll along the cobblestone streets, visit the boutiques, restaurants and jazz clubs or simply soak up the joie de vivre among the street entertainers and pavement cafés in the former marketplace of place Jacques-Cartier. A tour on a horse-drawn calèche is an even more romantic way to see the sights. The Gothic-Revival Basilique Notre-Dame was built in the 1820s. Its twin towers are a landmark of the old town. To the east, the silver-domed neo-classical Marché Bonsecours reprises its former role as a marketplace, with galleries, boutiques and exhibitions. Next door, the Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours is the city's oldest church, which contains original Édouard Meloche frescoes and has a small museum devoted to the life of Marguerite Bourgeoys (Canada's first saint). The tower affords excellent views of the surrounding streets. In the western end of Old Montreal, Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History tells the story of Montreal from its earliest days, with high-tech displays in the stunningly modern Éperon Building and archaeological remains in the portions of the museum below place Royale (including the city's original sewers) and the renovated Old Customs House. Basilique Notre-Dame 110 rue Notre-Dame West, off place-d'Armes Tel: (514) 842 2925. Transport: Metro place-d'Armes. Opening hours: Daily 0700-1800; until 2000 Jun-Aug. Admission: C$2. Marché Bonsecours 350 rue St-Paul East Tel: (514) 872 7730. Web site: www.marchebonsecours.qc.ca Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours 400 rue St-Paul East Tel: (514) 282 8670. Transport: Metro Champ des Mars. Admission: free; (museum) $5. Pointe-à-Callière 350 place Royale Tel: (514) 872 9150. Fax: (514) 872 9151. E-mail: info@musee-Pointe-a-Calliere.qc.ca Web site: www.musee-pointe-a-calliere.qc.ca Transport: Metro place-d'Armes. Opening hours: Sep-Jun Tues-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1100-1700; Jul & Aug Tues-Fri 1000-1800, Sat and Sun 1100-1800. Admission: C$8.50 (concessions available). Vieux-Port The Old Port (tel: (514) 496 7678; web site: www.oldportofmontreal.com) was once one of the most important trading posts in North America. With most shipping activity now taking place downriver, this area has been transformed into an excellent recreation and exhibition area, filled with walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers on the riverside promenades between the Clock Tower and the locks at Parc des Écluses. The latest attraction here is the iSci Centre on King Edward Pier, a science and entertainment centre with the Immersion Cinema (interactive video game on a giant screen) and IMAX cinema. iSci Centre 2 rue de la Commune Tel: (514) 496 4724 or (877) 496 4724. Web site: www.isci.ca Transport: Metro place-d'Armes or Champ-de-Mars. Opening hours: mid-Jun-early Sep daily 1000-2100; early Sep-mid-Jun daily 1000-1800. Admission: C$9.95 (exhibition or IMAX); C$5.50 (Immersion Cinema); C$21.95 (all three); concessions available. Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) This permanent collection includes Canadian art, contemporary art, Inuit and First Nations art, European masters, prints and drawings, and decorative arts. The museum also has a reputation for hosting outstanding temporary exhibitions. 1379-1380 rue Sherbrooke West Tel: (514) 285 2000. Fax: (514) 844 6042. Web site: www.mmfa.qc.ca Transport: Metro Guy-Concordia; bus 24. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1900 (until 2100 Wed). Admission: Permanent collection: free; temporary exhibitions: C$15 (C$7.50 Wed after 1730); concessions available. Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (Montreal Museum of Contemporary Arts) Adjoining the plaza at place-des-Arts, this is Canada's only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The museum's permanent collection is on display in one wing on a rotating basis - the collection of works by Québécois artists is particularly strong. The other wing features temporary exhibitions focusing on one or more artists. A small sculpture garden makes for a quiet retreat. 185 rue Ste-Catherine West Tel: (514) 847 6226. Fax: (514) 847 6291. Web site: www.macm.org Transport: Metro place-des-Arts. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1800 (until 2100 Wed). Admission: C$6 (free Wed after 1800); concessions available. Oratoire St-Joseph St Joseph's Oratory can be found on the northwest side of Mount Royal. This magnificent basilica was begun in 1924 by Brother André, a celebrated healer, and completed in 1967, after his death. The 97m-high (318ft) dome is the second largest in the world (after St Peter's in Rome) and there is room for 10,000 worshippers beneath it. The votive chapel and crypt are worth investigating, and there is a good view over the city from the terrace. 3800 chemin Queen-Mary Tel: (514) 733 8211. Fax: (514) 733 9735. Web site: www.saint-joseph.org Transport: Metro Côte-des-Neiges. Opening hours: Daily 0900-2100. Admission: Free. Parc Olympique The Olympic Park was the site of the 1976 Olympic Games. The unique (and costly - C$990 million to date) Olympic Stadium is now the venue for concerts and Montreal Expos baseball games. Half-hour guided tours are available and visitors can also take a funicular (cable car) ride up the world's tallest inclined tower (175m/575ft). Nearby, the former velodrome is now a major attraction - the Biodôme de Montréal is a recreation of four ecosystems under one roof. Visitors can move from a tropical rainforest to a polar world, with stops in a Laurentian forest and St Lawrence marine environment en route. A museum dedicated to the late hockey legend Maurice 'Rocket' Richard is also part of the complex. Olympic Park 4141 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin Tel: (514) 252 8687 or (877) 997 0919. Web site: www.rio.gouv.qc.ca Transport: Metro Viau. Opening hours: Funicular: mid-Jun to early Sep daily 1000-2100; daily until 1700 or 1800 at other times of the year except closed from mid-Jan to mid-Feb; guided tours: 1240 and 1540. Admission: C$5.25 (guided tour); C$9 (funicular); concessions available. Biodôme de Montréal 4777 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin Tel: (514) 868 3000. Web site: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome Transport: Metro Viau. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (mid-Jun-mid-Sep); daily 0900-1700 (mid-Sep-mid-Jun). Admission: C$9.50; combined with Jardin Botanique and Insectarium: C$15.25 (concessions available). Jardin Botanique de Montréal The Montreal Botanical Garden, opposite the Olympic Stadium, covers 73 hectares (180 acres) and includes a Chinese garden, Japanese garden and the Tree House, which displays information on Quebec's forests. Also on the grounds is the Insectarium, full of crawling and flying creatures. rue Sherbrooke East Tel: (514) 872 1400. Web site: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin or www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/insectarium Transport: Metro Pie-IX or Viau; bus 185. Opening hours: daily 0900-1900 (mid-Jun to mid-Sep); daily 0900-1700 (mid-Sep to mid-Jun). Admission: Jardin Botanique and Insectarium: C$9.50 (May-Oct), C$6.75 (Nov-Apr); combined with Biodôme: C$15.25 (concessions available). |