Overview
French-speaking Montreal is romantic and elegant.
Those who choose to holiday in the city come for its music, art,
and joie de vivre. This charming city has plenty to see and do with
regards to culture, and those who plan to travel to Montreal can
check out a full calendar of events and enjoy the many plays,
ballets, and concerts that spice up the entertainment scene
year-round. Montreal has also earned its reputation as a great
destinations for foodies and boasts an extremely energetic
nightlife.
Montreal was founded as a missionary village in 1642,
a century after Jacques Cartier became the first European to
discover the area. Despite some undeniably English architectural
and cultural influences, Montreal is today one of the world's
largest French-speaking cities on an overwhelmingly
English-speaking continent. A metropolis of international repute,
this large inland port is framed between Mont Royal and the St
Lawrence River.
The city is in the south of Canada's Quebec province,
only 37 miles (60km) from the United States border, and is an
important hub of North American trade. It is a spacious and
beautiful city, characterised by a series of underground shopping
and recreation complexes linked by walkways and the metro. This
subterranean city contains more than 18.5 miles (30km) of office
and apartment complexes, major stores, hotels, restaurants, metro
stations, parking garages, movie theatres, concert halls, and more,
all snugly accessible during the snowy winters.
Its population is a multicultural mix which has
fostered a vibrant cultural life, showcased in a number of
world-class art galleries and museums. Like most Canadian cities,
Montreal has interspersed urban development with green areas. In
this case, pride is taken by the spacious Parc du Mont-Royal
designed by Frederic Olmsted, the American landscape artist who
also designed Central Park in New York. The city boasts numerous
other attractions of interest to visitors all year round, but
tourists do tend to avoid the freezing winter months.