Montréal: Innovation & Heritage

Vibrant, cosmopolitan Montreal combines tourist appeal with industrial vitality. The profusion of ethnic restaurants, markets, and boutiques along The Main (as residents call the Boulevard St-Laurent) testify to the immerse diversity of this city, the second largest in Canada. Tour the hundred-year-old cobblestone streets of Old Montreal with your Tour Director and stop in Place Jacques Cartier, a favourite hangout of the city’s students, artists and tourists

When he saw his church completed, the Protestant architect of the Notre Dame Basilica was so inspired that he converted to Catholicism. The blue-and-gold interior certainly is inspiring; practically every bit of the immense wooden church is covered in gold leaf. The imported stained-glass windows show the history of Montréal, further illustrated by the statues of famous residents outside (the dog depicted warned the city of an impending attack in 1644). Equally impressive is St. Joseph's Oratory, rising majestically from Montréal's highest point. The church's dome is second only to St. Peter's in Rome. Dive from high to low in Montreal’s Underground City, a 19-mile-long series of tunnels and galleries connecting shops, hotels, offices, and subway terminals that provides refuge from the often inhospitable weather above.

When he saw his church completed, the Protestant architect of the Notre Dame Basilica was so inspired that he converted to Catholicism. The blue-and-gold interior certainly is inspiring: practically every bit of the immense wooden church is covered in gold leaf. The imported stained-glass windows show the history of Montreal, further illustrated by the statues of famous residences outside. This famous Basilica helps demonstrate how the church played an important role in Canada’s history.

Who needs Pisa? Montreal’s Olympic Stadium has the tallest leaning tower in the world, rising 556 feet at a 45-degree angle. The swooping tower was designed to retract the stadium’s plastic roof, but engineering problems led the city to close the dome permanently in 1998. Built for the 1976 Olympics by a Paris architect, the stadium now hosts various exhibitions and concerts throughout the year.

Following the guided visit of the Olympic Stadium, ride the Furniculaire of the Olympic Tower for a beautiful view of the city.

What happens to an Olympic Cyclodome after the Olympics? The Montreal Biodome showcases the different ecosystems of Canada. Tamarins and sea cucumbers and penguins and poison arrow frogs and two-toed sloths. Tour the world’s natural diversity in the four ecosystems, from tropical forest to polar ice cap. Try to spot an anaconda, the most elusive of the thousands of species that call the Biodome home.