Montréal, Canada

Country: Canada
Location(s): Montreal (Montréal)
Date of Visit: July 2006
Means of Transport: Car

Canada Details
Population: 32,935,300
Government: Federal Constitutional Monarchy
Primary Language(s): English, French
Primary Religion(s): Catholic, Protestant
Currency: Canadian Dollar



Review:
Well I have some family out in a small town in Ontario, so I am fairly often driving through Montréal to get there from the New England area. Last summer we decided to drive into Montréal for the evening to a have a meal and watch some fireworks.

The spotlessly clean city was all dressed up for Canada Day, although not as popular in Quebec, it is still celebrated on a large scale. Everyone was wearing red and white and there were almost as many Canadian flags as Quebecois ones. The riverfront area is particularly special as it was the site for the firework celebration that goes throughout the summer, but were even greater on this Canadian holiday.

The architecture is modern French with a fairly impressive skyline from the river. It is one of the biggest cities in North America yet it seems to be often overlooked. The shopping area and the streets had a quintessentially French vibe about the place, of course, French being the official language of Quebec, its what you hear spoken most frequently. What surprised me however was the large mix of cultures present in the city. I had pictured Montréal as a very white Canadian city, but found it as mixed as a European city.

Also, in the streets were loud football fans cheering on the French national team as they had just won their game in the World Cup. Driving down the streets singing and chanting, soon to be followed by Portuguese and Italians doing the same thing.

I may be going back this summer for a bit longer to do some more exploring. I wasn't able to see many of the sites as such due to our very brief period there.