Montreal

Montreal!

While not as handy as Ottawa, the riches of Montreal run deep. From our base at the old port we explored both the old historic town and surrounding quartiers. As in many cities, we started with a trolley tour to get the big picture, and Montreal is big. The tour was almost three hours with several short pauses for photo opts and provided us a short history of Montreal – whose name is derived from the prominent Mont Royal, one of our scenic overlook stops.

Being located in the heart of the old well preserved historic district meant we could easily visit scores of museums during our stay and easily find restaurants and shopping when we needed a rest from those more educational pursuits. Next to the marina is a cute shopping area – all the boutiques are housed in shipping containers. Watching the parade of shoppers from our back deck was almost as much fun as checking out the shops ourselves.  

Several tour boat companies also operate from this marina – the famed Bateau Mouche dinner cruises, small open air cruisers and larger and largest traditional tour boats. All of these add to the hustle and bustle of this area and enhance our people watching opportunities.

The Da Vinci exhibit of inventions was popular with the engineer while I gravitated to the Chateau Ramezay and Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum both educating us on the early days of Montreal. 

As avid travelers ourselves, we both enjoyed the Marco Polo exhibit and the archeology sites of the area. The main building of this museum is built on the landing site of Jacques Cartier who was the first European visitor to Mont Royal and claimed it for France. 

We alternated indoor and outdoor activities to match the occasional rain showers or muggy afternoons. Besides museums and historic venues, our fun included a bike ride or two on the Lachine canal, a climb up the clock tower, strolls along cobble stone streets and trip to Canadian Tire for a new hose and toaster oven. 

Two of the markets were also big hits.  One of the advantages of living on a boat is we can buy local products and explore markets. Both the Atwater and Jean Talon markets were stuffed with fresh veggies and fruits, plus wonderful butcher shops and bakeries not to mention the cheese stores.  Stocking up and eating in were no hardship but we did manage a few meals out – one of the best by accident – Maison Christian Faure on Place Royal! Outstanding - like our visit to Magic Montreal!